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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 45 – True Body?

The ancient powers watched the images of the battle from their position in the dark abyss.

"He's infused an attacking sword-art into a defensive domain, but managed to keep the essence of his domain intact." A partially bald man let out a laugh. "Although Darknorth isn't a match for Bertulu, he's still quite a rare talent. Once he enters our Palace of the Sword, we'll give him some good training. Perhaps a miracle will happen and he will be able to be Bertulu's equal in the future."

"Has this kid even chosen your Sword Palace yet? Even if he has, should really be so shameless in praising him? His sword-arts aren't bad and have reached incredible heights in terms of defensiveness, but for him to be Bertulu's match in the future? Haha, how many Bertulus do you think our Brightshore Kingdom will give rise to?"

"Daolord Woodflower, you are going a bit too far in your praise."

"Well, Woodflower belongs to the Sword Palace. It isn't surprising for him to praise someone else who will be in his palace."

"I do have to admit that Darknorth's defensive abilities are quite excellent."

The ancient powers all gave their own opinions as they watched Ning and Bertulu continue to furiously battle against each other.

Rumble…

It was as though the world itself was breaking apart. Space had been shattered and distorted, and each of those two warhammers carried enough power to cause this entire world to tremble. Ning had to use three or four swords to block each attack; for him to use just a single sword was no longer enough.

"Although he is skilled in using heavy warhammers, I imagine he only has two of these Eternal warhammers." Ning was able to hang on with some difficulty.

Actually, it was with quite a bit of difficulty.

Bertulu was most skilled in hammer-arts, and he sent his attacks forward in an open, straightforward, and awe-inspiring display of power! Ning was being completely crushed in this fight, and he was only able to just barely survive because his newly developed Unicorn Domain allowed him to perfectly execute every strike and avoid facing the power of each hammer head on.

"His hammer-art is so profound that I can't even understand it. Although the golden-robed emperor in the Mirrorsnow Painting also had an open and straightforward fighting style, there is obviously an enormous difference between the two of them!" Ning couldn't help but sigh. If the golden-robed emperor was described as a child who had just learned to walk, then Bertulu was a valiant warrior who bounded to and fro with the fierceness of a tiger.

Fortunately, Ning had infused his Astral stance into this Unicorn's Domain. Otherwise, if he was merely relying on the Unicorn's Heart stance, he would have been completely unable to withstand this assault.

"You are actually still able to hold on?" Bertulu was slightly startled as well. He then called out, "Watch out, Darknorth!"

"Eh?" Ning's face tightened slightly.

Rumble…

The world around him suddenly changed.

Previously, he had been on an oceanic island that was surrounded by an endless sea. Although the island had begun to crumble from the effects of their fight, the endless waters of the sea hadn't changed.

However, Ning now realized to his astonishment that the world around him had completely changed. It had become a world of rolling plains and towering mountains, and at the very peak of one mountain there was a sacred shrine that glowed with breathtaking light, allowing the great plains to bask in its radiance.

As for Ning and Bertulu, they were battling within the plains.

"Ning, son."

Yuchi Snow and Ji Yichuan both appeared. They were staring at Ning, eyes filled with joy.

"Junior apprentice-brother." Yu Wei appeared as well.

A surge of invisible power had been applied to Ning's truesoul, pulling his deepest desires and most sacred memories out from the bottom of his heart. Ning's heart was forever occupied with his longing for his father, his mother, and for Yu Wei. They had been the most important people in his life, and he deeply desired to one day rescue Yu Wei and allow their family of three to reunite.

"Break!" Ning continued to battle furiously against Bertulu, not allowing any of this to affect him in the slightest. He let out a furious roar, causing Yuchi Snow, Ji Yichuan, and Yu Wei to all vanish.

"He actually wasn't affected by it." Bertulu was a bit surprised.

"What a powerful heartforce illusion. Eh?" Ning's face turned slightly pale as he realized that he was still surrounded by rolling plains and towering mountains.

Ever since the Endwar of the Three Realms, Ning's Dao-heart had continuously risen and grown more powerful. As he mastered the Heartsword stance, his own heartforce had reached the threshold of the fifth stage of heartforce. The problem was that he was still just a hair away from making that breakthrough. Although his heartforce was quite strong, it was nothing compared to Bertulu's heartforce illusions.

However, Ning's strongest aspect was his truesoul! His truesoul was bathed in the power of the azureflower mist energy, causing it to be comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step.

Anyone who wished to successfully bewilder Ning would have to overwhelm his truesoul with a heartforce technique or some other secret art. Take Eternal Emperors for example. Eternal Emperors might go insane or berserk in some instances, but to shake their truesouls would be almost impossibly hard. Ning's truesoul was incredibly powerful, and he had decently strong heartforce as well. This was why he had been able to withstand the illusions just now.

"Come forth! As Bertulu continued to battle against Ning, he suddenly let out a loud shout.

Boom!

The plains around them suddenly split apart. Many long chains began to fly out from within the crevices and spin towards Ning.

"More illusions? Break!" Ning willed his powerful truesoul and mighty will to cause all these things to dissipate.

"Haha, illusions? You underestimate us Heartforce Cultivators. What is illusory is real, what is real is illusory." Bertulu shook his head. "What you are seeing is all real."

Ning had no time to do anything else. Swoosh! A crimson-black gourd suddenly appeared next to him, then released two streaks of lightning that shot out like dragons. One streak of lightning caused dark stormclouds to gather as it shot out, with the other causing crimson clouds of flame to appear around it. The two swept out against the surroundings, incinerating and shattering the chains that had sought to bind Ning. Alas, the chains reformed after being broken apart and continued to attack Ning in an endless stream.

The two streaks of Dao lightning destroyed everything in the surrounding area, and Ning was like the god of lightning himself. Even Bertulu, who had been fighting Ning in close combat, was impacted by the lightning.

"Omnipresence." Bertulu said this word calmly.

Whoosh.

Instantly, golden light began to emanate from every single part of the plains. Endless streams of golden light surrounded Ning, constricting him and slowing him down. The two streaks of Dao lightly furiously hammered down upon the light, but it was omnipresent and inescapable.

"Attack!" Ning took direct control over the two streaks of Dao lightning, sending them sweeping out against everything around him in a net.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The warhammers continued their dance, causing the earth to shake and the mountains to tremble.

Ning's swords continuously formed Unicorn's Domains, allowing him to defend with some difficulty. Thankfully, Ning had the azureflower mist energy supporting him, giving him the strength to withstand his foe.

"Let's stop here." Bertulu suddenly retreated.

The rolling plains and towering mountains around them all vanished, as did the shrine atop the mountain. The surrounding area returned to its normal, 'real' appearance. The island had long ago been completely reduced to rubble. The two were standing in the middle of the air, surrounded by the endless waves of the ocean.

"Stop?" Ning was slightly surprised.

Even though he had taken out his Elementum Waterflame Gourd, he still found it extremely hard to hold on. He could sense that defeat might come at any moment, but he had continued to do his best to delay the inevitable for as long as he could.

"I admit defeat," Bertulu suddenly said in a loud voice.

"You admit what?" Ning was stunned. His foe's hammer-arts were incredibly, incredibly profound. In addition, Ning could sense that Bertulu hadn't really been going all-out in the fight; he had simply been fighting in a fairly casual, relaxed matter. Despite that, Ning had been able to sense that he was going to lose soon, if for no other reason than the fact that he was perpetually on the defense and unable to launch any attacks of his own.

"I promised Kilostar that I would transfer this heartforce legacy over to him." Bertulu suddenly produced a single white feather. "This duel was my final duel. After this, I will be leaving the Astral Islands. Before leaving, I wanted to hand this heartforce legacy over to you. After you learn it, challenge Kilostar and transfer it to him."

As he spoke, he sent the white plume flying towards Ning.

"…Oh." Ning accepted the plume blankly. This white plume was the heartforce legacy that was ranked number one amongst the ninety-nine legacies. It had been in Bertulu's hands all this time.

"But you obviously were stronger than me…" Ning stared at Bertulu.

"There's no need for me to be so stubborn about a mere duel in the Astral Islands." Bertulu laughed calmly.

"But… you are a special lifeform! You haven't even revealed your true form." Ning couldn't help but argue back.

He had battled against quite a few special lifeforms in recent years. He knew that these special lifeforms had all used shapeshifting techniques to take a humanoid form. Cultivators were generally humanoids, and they were the most numerous living creatures in all the Endless Territories. However, special lifeforms who were in human form were often only able to unleash perhaps ten to twenty percent of their true power. Once they revealed their true forms, they would become far more powerful.

If they also possessed powerful innate abilities, they would become even more freakishly strong once they assumed their true forms.

"My true form?" Bertulu laughed as he glanced at Ning. "I've never shown my true form in the Astral Islands."

"Exit," Bertulu called out. Instantly, spacetime twisted around him and caused him to vanish.

Ning just stood there blankly, that white plume in his hands. He had won, right? Then why did he feel so pissed off? He hadn't even had the chance to see Bertulu's true form.

The bottom of the dark abyss. The ancient powers were still watching.

"I once saw Bertulu's true form. The first time I saw him, I misidentified him as an Ancient cultivator." Daolord Thousand Waves let out a loud laugh. "This kid has never used his true body in any of his duels in the Astral Islands. Each time, he's only used his human form."

"Given the level of his insights, if he uses his true form he would probably be able to slay Daolords of the First Step right now."

"He should be at the absolute maximum level of power, theoretical or otherwise, for any World-level cultivator."

Ancient cultivators as well as the Brightshore Imperials represented the ultimate heights of racial power. They were very rare in number, but they possessed utterly unearthly levels of power. Waterwalker was a special lifeform who was comparable to Ancient cultivators in power, while Bertulu possessed similarly strong innate gifts. If he truly did reveal his true body, he would instantly become more than ten times as powerful!

"Alright. Bertulu has already decided to leave the Astral Islands." The white-bearded elder laughed merrily. "It will be up to the two of you to convince him to join either the Palace of Radiance or the Palace of Heartforce."

Laughing, the white-bearded old man turned and walked away, disappearing into the darkness.

"Time to go."

"Hurry!"

"Daolord Thousand Waves, the Heartforce Palace really does need more Daolords! We don't have enough!"

The many Daolords quickly flew out of the dark abyss and towards the astral islands in the sky.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 46 – Heartforce Legacy

"How is this possible?" Kilostar stared in astonishment from within his own astral island. The highest astral island, the island within the sixth stratum, was actually descending?

"No way."

"How can this be?"

"How could Bertulu have lost?"

"Darknorth beat Bertulu? Is this some kind of joke?"

All the other defeated geniuses, be they cultivators, Aeonians, or special lifeforms, were all in a state of disbelief. They all knew how powerful Bertulu was, which was why they completely refused to believe that he could've been defeated!

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators watched as Bertulu's island descended from the exalted sixth stratum. All of them were equally stunned.

There were currently two islands that floated within the fifth stratum. Ji Ning was seated within his own island, and he was mumbling to himself. "He lost on purpose? Did he think I'd be really happy once I won? I didn't even get to see his true form…" Ning didn't feel any excitement at this 'victory', because he knew his opponent had thrown the fight.

"Still… I didn't expect to get a copy of the heartforce legacy before leaving." Ning waved his hand, causing that white plume to appear.

The white plume was incredibly beautiful. This single feather was actually formed from 3600 strands of silk. Ning sent his senses into it, discovering the legacy hiding within it.

"Although I didn't expect to acquire it, being able to learn it is a decent stroke of luck." Ning immediately swore the oath required of him, allowing an enormous flood of complicated information to flood into his mind.

Although Ning had some talent for the water, lightning, and heartforce, he hadn't really been planning on spending too much effort on them. There was a limit to how much energy he had, and he had chosen to pour it all into his Dao of the Sword. His advantage in this field was far greater than in the other fields, and he naturally wanted to focus more on it.

As for those other Daos, once he had some more leisure time or once he reached an unbreachable bottleneck in the Dao of the Sword, he would slowly spend some time getting his other Daos up to speed. Daolord Allgod was a good example. Only after becoming a Verge-level Daolord had he chosen to start studying the Dao of the Sword. By then, his overall level of understanding regarding the Dao was so great that he was able to train quite quickly in his secondary or tertiary Daos.

Once Ji Ning became a Verge-level Daolord, he would probably be able to reach the early Daolord level in water in just one day. After that, his training would also proceed quite quickly. It was entirely possible that he'd be able to progress to the Verge in water as well. But of course, if his innate affinity for a Dao was low, training in it would be extremely slow. Daolord Allgod had spent an tremendous amount of effort in order to upgrade his skill in the Dao of the Sword to the early Daolord level, which was why he himself had declared that he simply had no talent for the Dao of the Sword at all.

"I would probably have to spend a hundred times as much effort in training in the Dao of Water in order to make it comparable to my Dao of the Sword, and it wouldn't even help me that much. If I put all that work into the sword instead, I'll improve far more." Ning understood this quite well.

A long period of time passed. Finally, Ning finished memorizing the heartforce legacy. It truly was the top legacy of the ninety-ninety legacies of the Astral Islands, and it contained a correspondingly enormous amount of information.

"So this is what being a true Heartforce Cultivator is all about." Ning was stupefied.

He finally understood.

Heartforce could be divided into six stages. The first five stages were essentially the stages which Houyi had described.

The first stage was the elementary level. It was extremely hard to reach the first level; if you couldn't succeed in it, you would have no hope of progressing as a Heartforce Cultivator.

The second stage, 'iceheart'.

The third stage, 'ruler'.

The fourth stage, 'mortal dust'.

Ning had reached the mortal dust level long ago during the Crimsonbright Realmwar. Even though the Endwar and its various battles had an enormous impact on Ning, and he had reached the threshold of the fifth stage after seeing so many of the major powers of the Three Realms die. Alas, he still stubbornly clung on to certain things and was unable to truly let go.

The fifth stage, 'truth'. This was a very high level of heartforce for most cultivators. To reach this level was extremely difficult! Strength didn't have much to do it with it. Although many powerful cultivators had gained their power through enormous mental tempering and stress, resulting in them possessing powerful hearts, there were many special lifeforms such as Waterwalker who were born with incredible power but who had very weak hearts. Waterwalker hadn't even reached the elementary stage of heartforce.

The sixth stage, 'world'. This was the highest level of heartforce!

"After your heartforce reaches the stage of 'truth', you will be able to see through the truth of all things. Your heartforce will transform, allowing all your thoughts and desires to coalesce into a sea of consciousness. You will then be able to establish your own heartworld," Ning murmured softly to himself.

Finally, he understood.

Prior to reaching the sixth stage, heartforce could only be used in fairly crude ways. In the Endless Territories, Old Man Yuan would be considered a Heartforce Cultivator by Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, but technically speaking he wasn't a true Heartforce Cultivator. He was just someone who understood certain heartforce secret arts, but those arts were enough for quite a few Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals to refer to him as a Heartforce Cultivator.

Actually World-level Heartforce Cultivators were incredibly rare. There was simply no way for someone like Old Man Yuan to rely on heartforce to reach the World level.

Once your heartforce reached the sixth stage, all of your heartforce would pool together within that sea of consciousness. If your heartforce was strong enough, it could affect reality itself, forming a singularity where what was real and what was false would collide. A single grain of sand could become an entire real world.

"Ki Refiners cultivate Immortal ki and the Dao-tree in their bodies will continuously grow taller.

"Fiendgod Body Refiners cultivate divine power and their divine bodies will continuously grow stronger.

"Heartforce Cultivators cultivate their worlds. They need to establish their heartworlds, with their insights into the Dao perfecting those worlds and making them more and more real."

Ning murmured softly, "Heartforce Cultivators truly are unique."

These were three completely different paths of cultivation.

By comparison, Heartforce Cultivators didn't need to gain incredibly profound insights into the Dao. What they needed to do was to slowly build up their heartworlds, allowing their heartworlds to become increasingly like real worlds. Only when their heartworlds became sufficiently stable could they be expanded… but it was possible for heartworlds to become greater than entire territories in size. In fact, they could become greater than a hundred territories!

The larger a heartworld was, the more powerful a Heartforce Cultivator was! This was because all the World energy within this heartworld would be available to the Heartforce Cultivator to command. If the heartworld was the size of a territory, then its 'heartworld projection' alone would be able to crush Verge-level Daolords to death, to say nothing of someone like Ning.

"When I fought against Bertulu, he caused the area around us to transform into a world of grassy plains and tall mountains. I thought that was all just an illusion… but it was actually his heartworld projection." Ning finally understood.

The manifestation of a heartworld projection was a symbol of all the power of an entire world being brought to bear! Even Ning felt constricted and restrained by its power. If it had been an ordinary master-class World God, that person probably would've been crushed straight to death! Even Ning was forced to use his Elementum Waterflame Gourd in order to hold on.

The difference in power was simply too great.

Both Fiendgods and Ki Refiners had to pursue increasingly greater heights in the Dao, but Heartforce Cultivators focused on greater stability in their heartworlds. Only with great stability would they be able to expand the size of their heartworld. As a result, Daos that were excessively oriented in a certain direction were actually unsuitable for inclusion in a heartworld! What heartworlds truly needed were highly stable and balanced Daos.

"To make the false real, to make the real false. The goal of Heartforce Cultivators is to make their heartworlds into true worlds, to make that which is illusory into something which is real."

"Once they reach that level… with but a thought, a Heartforce Cultivator can produce a hundred Eternal weapons within his heartworld, and those Eternal weapons will all be real. He will be able to pull them out and use them in battle. With but a thought, he would be able to produce powerful pills, golems…" Ning was frightened just thinking about it.

Still, according to the heartforce legacy this only happened at the absolute apex of power. In addition, it didn't contain any instructions on how to actually reach this level.

"I haven't even reached the fifth stage of heartforce yet." Ning shook his head, putting away the white plume. He had to reach the sixth stage of heartforce before he would even have his own heartworld. Only then would he be able to use the guidance of this legacy, which would teach him how to quickly and stably expand his own heartworld.

"No wonder there are so few Heartforce Cultivators. To reach the sixth stage of heartforce is impossibly difficult." Ning shook his head. Even Houyi himself had most likely failed to reach the sixth stage of heartforce. The only person Ning knew of who had reached the sixth stage of heartforce was Bertulu.

One day later, Ning challenged Kilostar.

"Take it." Ning handed the white plume to Kilostar. "Bertulu asked me to transfer this to you."

"I knew it. I knew he had to have thrown the fight." Kilostar looked at Ning. "Oh, right. What weapons did he use?"

"Hammers," Ning said.

"You actually forced him to use his hammers? Oh! Did you see his true form?" Kilostar was quite curious. Although he was on decent terms with Bertulu, he had never been able to get Bertulu to show his true form.

"No." Ning shook his head. "Now that I've given you this legacy, my business here is done. Kilostar, if you ever want to meet me you can go to the Palace of the Sword."

"You are leaving? So soon?" Kilostar was quite surprised.

"Yes." Ning nodded.

"Alright. I'll be leaving soon as well. You will be in the Sword Palace while I will be in the Saber Palace." Kilostar nodded. "Let's see which of us will be the first to become a Samsara Daolord."

"Alright. Let's see who makes it first!"

After Ning bid Kilostar farewell, he shattered the talisman which a Daolord of the Sword Palace had given him. The only members of the Twelve Palaces who had come to visit Ning had been from the Sword Palace or the Thunder Palace.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 47 – Departure

Ji Ning stood within his astral island by himself, staring at the emptiness around his island. The island which had represented Bertulu had already descended into the dark abyss, because Bertulu had already left.

Whoosh.

A streak of light suddenly flew towards him from afar.

Ning immediately turned to look. The person who had flown over was an azure-armored alien Daolord. This man was fairly ugly, and his skin was a coarse, dark-red color. Although he looked rather frightening, Ning knew that this man, Daolord Grayvast, was actually a very good man who was easy to get along with.

"Brother Darknorth." The azure-armored, muscular-looking Daolord Grayvast landed on the island, then laughed. "You are planning to leave so soon?"

"Yes." Ning nodded. "My sword-arts have reached a bottleneck. It'll probably be quite some time before I can improve any further. In addition, I understand more than half of the more powerful experts are planning to leave as well."

Bertulu had left, Kilostar was leaving, and many of the old timers were leaving as well.

"You might as well. The Sword Palace is a much better place than this place." Daolord Grayvast laughed. "Even in the Endless Territories, our Palace of the Sword is considered a holy land for those who train in the Dao of the Sword."

Ning nodded in agreement. Brightshore Kingdom was an organization on the same general level of power as the Dao Alliance and the Aeonian Kingdom. Almost all of its elite cultivators in the Dao of the Sword were gathered within the Palace of the Sword. One could imagine what an accumulation of wealth, talent, and legacies it had accumulated over the course of countless ages.

"Oh, right. Senior Grayvast, please have a seat first." Ning hurriedly produced some Immortal wine, personally filling Daolord Grayvast's cup. He asked curiously, "Bertulu's astral island has already sank into that dark abyss. That means he should've left already. Senior, do you know which palace he chose?"

"You aren't the only one curious about this. Many of the Daolords have been paying attention to him as well." Daolord Grayvast sat down, then picked up a cup of wine and gave it a sip. "In the end, he chose the Palace of Radiance."

"The Radiant Palace?" Ning was startled. "He plans to walk the Dao of Light?"

Heartforce Cultivators were incredibly powerful. Daolord Featherdress, who had left behind the heartforce legacy, was publicly acknowledged as the most powerful Daolord in the Endless Territories during his era! After gaining this legacy, Ning came to understand that once a heartworld reached truly massive proportions, a simple heartworld projection would be enough to crush an opponent to death. Even if it didn't directly kill one's opponent, it could still suppress and restrict them, causing them to be limited to a mere twenty percent of their true power.

And Heartforce Cultivators had more tricks up their sleeves than just that…

"Choosing the Dao of Light is the most stable, appropriate path." Daolord Grayvast let out a sigh. "Everyone knows how powerful and inscrutable Heartforce Cultivators are, but training in heartforce is simply too difficult. There are incredibly few World-level Heartforce Cultivators. As for Daolords who are Heartforce Cultivators… very few of them exist in the Endless Territories. The Heartforce Palace is one of the Twelve Palaces, but it has a total of less than ten Daolords!"

Daolord Grayvast shook his head. "The Dao of Light is actually a fairly normal Dao in comparison. Bertulu can focus on the Dao of Light while spending some time in heartforce as well."

"Now that I think about it…" Ning said softly, "When I fought against him, he only used his heartworld projection to suppress me, then engaged me in close combat. He didn't really use a lot of heartforce techniques. It seems as though he decided long ago that he would use heartforce as a supporting skill. His main focus is on fighting in close combat."

"A very solid choice." Daolord Grayvast sighed. "This solid choice means that we can already imagine how dazzlingly powerful he will be in the future. In fact, if he successfully walks down the path he has started on, he will become either the Palace Lord or a vice Palace Lord."

Ning chatted and drank with Daolord Grayvast, learning much more about the Twelve Palaces. Soon, the wine was all finished.

"Time to go." Ning rose to his feet.

"There is a teleportation array within the Astral Islands. It can send you straight to the Sword Palace." Daolord Grayvast rose to his feet as well.

"No need." Ning shook his head. "I have a good friend who came with me to the Brightshore Kingdom. She is currently somewhere in the Brightshore Kingdom. I plan to find her first, then I'll go to the Sword Palace."

"Oh?" Daolord Grayvast frowned slightly, then solemnly handed over a medallion. This medallion looked illusory and translucent, but one could vaguely make out the word 'sword' on the medallion. Daolord Grayvast handed the medallion over to Ning. "Technically speaking, you should only be given this medallion after you go to the Sword Palace and become one of our formal members. However, since you need to find your friend first, I'll let you bind this medallion right now. Once you bind it, you'll be one of our formal members."

Ning was startled. "You are going to give it to me in advance?"

"The Brightshore Kingdom is a dangerous place," Daolord Grayvast explained. "If I didn't give it to you… you might end up dying while traveling to the Sword Palace."

"Ah?!" Ning was shocked.

"The Brightshore Kingdom is an extremely large place with countless living beings within it. The almighty Hegemon actually went out of his way to personally create many dangers, hiding many legacies within those dangers," Daolord Grayvast explained. "He wishes for the countless living beings within the Brightshore Kingdom to be filled with energy and courage. If everything is too peaceful and everyone lives in peace, the kingdom will produce far, far fewer major powers."

Ning understood this principle. A peaceful life sapped one's willpower. Even chaosworlds were filled with battle, to say nothing of the Endless Territories.

"Anyone who becomes a Daolord is required to join the Twelve Palaces," Daolord Grayvast said. "Within the Twelve Palaces, all internal strife is forbidden. Even if you do hold a grudge against someone, we would encourage you to do your best to resolve things peacefully through mediation. If the mediation fails, you will still have to get advance permission before entering into a life-and-death duel. If you dare to kill one of your colleagues without getting that permission, you will be devoured by your lifeblood oath and killed on the spot."

"Many of the Daolords will leave the Brightshore Kingdom to adventure through the outside lands." Daolord Grayvast laughed. "If you want to kill people, do it outside. Don't kill other Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom."

"Once you bind this medallion, none of the Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom will dare to lay a finger on you," Daolord Grayvast said. "That will make things much safer for you! To physically travel from this place to the Sword Palace means crossing more than half of the entire Brightshore Kingdom. There will be many Daolords on the way, including some special lifeforms who have bad tempers or strange dispositions. There are some who will slaughter anyone who crosses their path…"

Ning was speechless upon hearing all this.

"So… hurry up and bind it," Daolord Grayvast urged.

Ning immediately sent his senses into the medallion. This medallion did indeed hold a lifeblood oath within it that was quite similar to the one which Daolord Grayvast had just described. The Twelve Palaces forbade its members from engaging in internal combat. In addition, if the Brightshore Imperials or the Twelve Palaces fell into danger, the members of the palaces would have to do their utmost to rescue them. But of course, if one of the Imperials sought to kill you then you would be permitted to fight back; there would be no need to defend them.

"The Twelve Palaces must protect the imperial clan?" Ning raised his head to look at Daolord Grayvast.

Protecting the imperial clan was actually part of the charter of the lifeblood oath. But of course, in order to ensure that the experts of the Twelve Palaces were sincere in their loyalty, the Brightshore Imperials also had to swear oaths that they absolutely would not attack any members of the Twelve Palaces. If they did, they would no logner be protected and they could instead be counter-attacked and killed!

"Yes." Daolord Grayvast nodded. "The Brightshore Kingdom was established by the almighty Hegemon. He created the Brightshore Kingdom for the sake of protecting his imperial clan. Although the Imperials are very powerful, they are extremely few in number."

"Alright." Ning understood.

Ning could also sense what an extraordinary aura this medallion had. Most likely, it was the almighty Hegemon himself who had created this medallion as well as the lifeblood oath. But of course, the Twelve Palaces had to agree with the wording of the oath. Only then would such a mighty organization have staying power.

"I suppose I can accept that." Ning immediately swore the lifeblood oath. The medallion was instantly and easily bound as well.

"Eh?" As soon as he bound the medallion, Ning could sense ten ripples of power coming from the Astral Islands region. These were ripples emanating from other similar medallions.

"The Twelve Palaces and the Brightshore Imperials all have similar medallions. The ripples coming from those medallions will testify to their identity, ensuring that we won't get into accidental fights against our fellows without realizing it," Daolord Grayvast said. "Now, no Daolord will dare to act against you here in the Brightshore Kingdom. As for World-level cultivators? I'm confident that you should be able to easily defeat any World-level cultivators. Oh – here is a star map of the Brightshore Kingdom."

Daolord Grayvast handed Ning a furled star map.

Ning accepted it. "Thank you, senior Grayvast. I'll be leaving now."

"I'll see you in the Sword Palace," Daolord Grayvast said. "Be careful on your journey."

"I will." Ning immediately transformed into a streak of light and flew away.

Daolord Grayvast watched as the sword-carrying white-robed youth flew away, then turned to leave as well.

The astral island which Ning had been on began to sink downwards into that dark abyss below. As for the random legacy treasures which Ning had left behind, they all scattered and began to fly towards the various other islands.

All the legacy treasures of the ninety-nine legacies would forever remain within the Astral Islands.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 48 – Yet Another Mirrorsnow Painting

The Brightshore Kingdom was an exceedingly large place.

Clouds fluttered about in the skies as a shuttle flew at high speed through the air. Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position aboard his ship, staring at the beautiful world of the Brightshore Kingdom.

"So the Astral Islands were over there. As for the Sword Palace, that's over there. And oh, that's where they greet newcomers? So that's the place I was taken to when I was first abducted." Ning now had a rough understanding of the geography of the Brightshore Kingdom. "I remember when I first arrived here and more than thirty thousand fellow World-level cultivators were led by those two silver-armored Daolords all the way to the Astral Islands. We flew for roughly forty-six days. On the eleventh day, I could sense the presence of another Mirrorsnow Painting."

Teleportation was impossible within the borders of the Brightshore Kingdom. One would have to slowly fly from destination to destination.

"To go from the arrival area to the Astral Islands…" Ning engaged in a bit of calculation and was able to easily calculate the rough location of the Mirrorsnow Painting.

Those two silver-armored Daolords had flown in a straight line, and the painting was roughly a quarter of the distance between the arrival area and the Astral Islands.

"Eh? The Mirrorsnow Painting isn't that far away from Youji's position. I won't have to make as much of a detour as I thought." Ning was quite delighted.

Swoosh! His flying vessel transformed into a streak of light and sped off into the distance.

Ning had given Su Youji a message talisman. Due to the great distance which separated them, he was only able to get a rough sense of the direction where she was located. He flew for three full months, and on the way he sensed the auras of quite a few Daolords. Those Daolords could sense that Ning belonged to the Twelve Palaces and so they naturally had no interest in causing trouble for Ning. Still, this journey gave Ning a good understanding of how dangerous the Brightshore Kingdom was.

Ning was ambushed multiple times on his trip. Clearly, the Brightshore Kingdom was a rather chaotic and brutal place. There was even more strife here than there was in the territory controlled by the Dao Alliance. Unfortunately for those poor bandits who attempted to waylay Ning, they quickly discovered that they had kicked a metal plate! The results of their attempts were foregone conclusions.

"Eh? A ripple!" The flying vessel quickly began to slow down and descend from its position within the clouds. The white-robed Ning was seated in the lotus position, a sword across his lap. Ning opened his eyes, a look of eagerness in his gaze.

"That ripple is coming from the Mirrorsnow Painting!" Ning could sense the resonance being generated by his own three Mirrorsnow Paintings. "I didn't expect that after a thousand years, that painting would still remain in this location."

Deep underneath a lake that was located a ten billion kilometers away from Ning. There was a beautiful palace located here in the depths, filled with many maids and guards.

"Eh?" Within a side hall of this palace was an azure-scaled creature who was leaning against a throne while sipping some wine. The creature's face suddenly tightened ,causing the maid who had been giving him a neck massage to be badly startled.

"A Mirrorsnow Painting? Wait, three of them?" The azure-scaled creature was both shocked and delighted… but then, his face tightened once more.

A thousand years ago, when Ning had passed by this place after being abducted, this creature had already sensed the presence of those paintings. He was in possession of a copy, allowing him to sense the presence of three other copies. He had been quite delighted, but as soon as he saw those two silver-armored Daolords who ignored him he had immediately realized that it was most likely an abducted World-level cultivator who was in possession of the paintings.

"Those are the same three copies I sensed last time. Did one of those World-level cultivators escape from the Astral Islands already?" The azure-scaled creature narrowed his eyes.

Swoosh! He transformed into a streak of light, almost instantly emerging from his aquatic palace. He soon emerged from the lake, lifting his head up out of the water to stare upwards.

Following the resonance, he turned his rather dark and icy gaze to stare towards that flying vessel that was ten billion kilometers away. He was able to see the vessel quite clearly, as well as the white-robed youth aboard the vessel.

"He's not a Daolord. He's just a World-level cultivator." The azure-scaled creature was immediately delighted. He guessed that this person had most likely discovered him, and so he no longer hid his presence. He immediately sent out his godsense, sweeping it out to a distance of ten billion kilometers.

"He's actually by himself? He's the only one on his ship?" The azure-scaled creature grew increasingly excited. "It makes sense. He came out of the Astral Islands. Those people who leave the islands usually travel by themselves; it is quite rare for them to move around in groups. Even if he does have some subordinates in an estate-world treasure, they probably aren't that strong given the fact that they are hiding."

The azure-scaled creature let out a cold grin. "So you have three of the paintings but you want mine as well? How greedy. This fellow seems quite confident." The azure-scaled creature slipped below the waves once more, quickly returning to his underwater palace.

The underwater palace.

As soon as the azure-scaled creature returned to his palace, he headed straight towards the main hall. He picked up an enormous thigh-bone and then began to bang on a nearby drum with it. Boom! The drum emanated a series of ripples that instantly spread throughout the entire hall. One person after another began to emerge from locations throughout the palace, and all of them possessed auras of tremendous power that were at least as strong as the azure-scaled creature's aura.

"Azurekai."

"Azurekai, why have you suddenly summoned us?"

"You even banged on the royal dragon drum. What is this all about?"

Soon, a total of twenty-six World-level experts appeared within the main hall. All of them could be considered cultivators, but they were all cultivators of various aquatic races. This was why they had placed their palace within the lake.

"Something wonderful has happened." The azure-skinned creature let out a loud laugh. "Ten billion kilometers away, there is a World-level cultivator who is flying towards us at high speed."

"Flying straight for us? A World-level cultivator?"

"Is he suicidal?"

The World-level experts present were all puzzled.

The azure-scaled creature said hurriedly, "He's from the Astral Islands. There's a bit of a grudge between the two of us." He didn't dare to admit that it was due to the Mirrorsnow Paintings, because those paintings were simply too valuable. Between the two of them, they held a total of four Mirrorsnow Paintings… this was a fortune that would cause even Daolords to grow desirous. If he admitted it, his 'friends' would probably start to bicker with him over the items.

"I once won a treasure off of him, but he had two sets of that treasure. These treasures resonate with each other, which is why he has followed me to this place," the azure-scaled creature said. "He has an incredibly high number of treasures. After we kill him… I don't want anything special, just those three paintings he holds. What do you say?"

"Three paintings?" The other World-level cultivators were instantly able to guess that the three paintings were fairly valuable.

"His other treasures won't disappoint you either." The azure-scaled creature frowned. "He came from the Astral Islands, but he was merely on par with me in strength. If the twenty-seven of us fight together, we can easily kill him."

"If he came from the Astral Islands, he might've joined the Twelve Palaces."

"Don't worry." The azure-scaled creature swept them with his gaze, then let out a cold laugh. "I came from the Astral Islands. I know it better than anyone else. Everyone who was directly admitted into the Twelve Palaces was an absolute monster. Very few were allowed entrance! The vast majority who escaped that place did so because they were lucky enough to piece together a full legacy. That fellow is probably on par with me at best! Even if we are unlucky enough to encounter someone freakishly strong… no matter how much of a freak he is, he can't possibly fight the twenty-seven of us together. I'm telling you, this genius had many treasures on him."

The others instantly grew excited and intrigued.

"We are the twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords of the Royal Dragon Palace. There's no way we'd be afraid of him."

"Kill him and take his treasures."

"Kill him."

The twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords of the Royal Dragon Palace were incredibly famous in this area. There were all members of aquatic races who had trained to the World-level, but only those who had reached certain levels of strength would be granted entry into this small squad. Within the Brightshore Kingdom, the powerful sects were generally guarded by Daolords, but most of them had rather strict rules. The Brightshore Kingdom was filled with many dangers and many fortunes; to locate good techniques or legacies wasn't very hard here. Thus, many unaffiliated World-level cultivators ended up joining into minor groups to work together.

World God Azurekai had relied on his own power to escape the Astral Islands. Although he didn't enter the Twelve Palaces, he just missed the cutoff by a tiny amount. He was the second most powerful individual in the palace, which was why others came when he called.

"That kid just emerged from the Astral Islands. He has no idea about our Royal Dragon Palace." The azure-skinned man said hurriedly, "Everyone, stay patient. Let's wait here inside our palace. Our palace has formations and restrictive spells protecting it; this will prevent him from realizing how many of us are here. After he reaches the outside of our palace, we'll charge out and surround him. We won't even give him a chance to run."

"Right."

"We are hiding in the shadows while he is standing in the light. So what if he made it out of the Astral Islands? We aren't pushovers either!"

Whoosh.

A distance of ten billion kilometers was fairly far. Ning had to fly for quite a few hours before arriving outside the lake. Ning's skill gave him courage, and his godsense had revealed the Royal Dragon Palace below him.

Swish! Ning put away his flying vessel, then charged straight into the lake and flew towards the palace. Soon, he reached the palace gates. He immediately saw the guards and maids within the palace.

"You actually dared to come to our Royal Dragon Palace?"

"So many paths lead to life, but you had to choose the one that leads to death."

Suddenly, streaks of light began to fly out from the Royal Dragon Palace. There were twenty-seven streaks of light in total, and they simultaneously released murderous auras as they joined together into a formation.

Ning just watched calmly. He murmured to himself, "Royal Dragon Palace, eh?"

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 49 – The Twenty-Seven Waterfiend Lords

The twenty-seven streaks of light came to a halt after surrounding Ji Ning.

Ning glanced at them. The twenty-seven figures before him were all quite bizarre-looking. These were all creatures that were born as members of aquatic races. Although as World-level cultivators, they could now survive equally well on dry land or in the void of space, they still had an innate fondness for water. Ning similarly could live equally well in water or on land, but he still preferred to dwell on land.

"Eh?" Ning's gaze fell upon the azure-scaled creature's form. He could sense that the painting was being carried by that creature.

"Three paintings!" The azure-scaled creature felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

"Everyone…" Ning spoke out.

"Haha, are you afraid now? Too late!"

"Kill him."

The twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords couldn't be bothered to chat with Ning. They had dominated this region for quite some time and were figures of renown. They showed no mercy at all when attacking. They truly weren't worried about this World-level cultivator at all; they had never encountered someone on their level who could withstand the twenty-seven of them.

The weakest of the twenty-seven was a master-class World God, while the strongest was a transcendent World God!

Boom! A black streak of lightning thundered down towards Ning.

Whoosh! A current of freezing energy surged out to try and freeze Ning.

Swish! An enormous web-shaped treasure swept out to capture Ning.

Hiss! A serpentine rope-like treasure twirled out to bind Ning.

The twenty-seven cultivators instantly launched simultaneously attacks in a very practiced manner. Generally speaking, most World-level cultivators were only able to control two powerful treasures at the same time. A situation like this was a testament to the old saying, strength in numbers. A dazzling array of spells and treasures instantly swept out towards Ning in a wave, seeking to drown him. As for the World Gods amongst the twenty-seven, they charged straight towards Ning.

Whoooosh.

Rings of sword-light began to spread outwards.

Ning just stood there, surrounded by rings of sword-light. Although the freezing current of energy was able to freeze the waters of the lake as it reached out towards Ning, it instantly shattered whenever it touched the sword-light. As for the web treasures and the other treasures? They were completely stopped by Ning's sword-light.

"How average." Ning couldn't help but sigh to himself. When he had used his Unicorn's Domain had been able to withstand Bertulu, he had been under tremendous pressure. But now that he was fighting these twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords… he felt things were far too easy. He didn't even have to really focus on this fight; he instead simply activated his domain, allowing his sword-intent to automatically defend against the attacks.

"Kill!"

"Kill!"

Nineteen of the twenty-seven were World Gods. This was quite a powerful force, after all. World God Azurekai had been able to leave the Astral Islands without anyone helping him, and he had the power of a transcendent World God, but he was merely the second most powerful figure in their group. Only sufficiently powerful individuals would be admitted into their ranks, and these nineteen World Gods were filled with tremendous power, especially after being reinforced by their formation.

"Die." A streak of silver light shot out at tremendous speed towards Ning.

"Hm?" Ning held a single sword in his hands. He glanced sideways at the attack, then executed a simple sword-stance.

Clang! Crack!

Ning's sword was even faster and his attack was even more profound!

It must be understood that the Unicorn's Domain was based off the perfect fusion of the 'Astral' stance and the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the Unicorn's Heart. The [Nameless] sword-art was a sword-art that had been left behind by an Eternal Emperor, while the Astral stance had been developed based on Violetjewel's quintessence. Both were incredibly high-level sword-arts.

"What?!" The silver-streak of light was shocked after this clash. Ning's sword-light had actually brushed him across the chest!

BOOM!

The silver streak of light retreated at tremendous speeds. The power of Ning's strike was simply too enormous, and he was simply too strong. With a boom, the streak of light slammed into the distant walls of the Royal Dragon Palace, causing the entire palace to tremble. The other twenty-six Waterfiend Lords were all horrified, to say nothing of the palace attendants and maids.

The person Ning had just sent flying was the leader of the group… World God Dragonking.

World God Dragonking was a transcendent World God who was supported by a formation with multiple other World Gods! How could he have been beaten in just a single clash!

"Not good."

"We are in trouble."

"This opponent is too powerful."

The other Waterfiend Lords all felt their hearts clench.

"Don't fight him solo. Let's all fight together." Although World God Azurekai was rather shocked at how terrifyingly strong this opponent was, the allure of those three paintings was simply too great. He immediately roared mentally, "Big brother Dragonking, let's join forces!"

"Alright!" World God Dragonking had a decent protective divine ability. Although he had been knocked flying, he hadn't suffered any significant injuries. "His sword-arts are quite profound. None of us are a match for him in solo combat. All of us need to fight together. There's no way he can take us all on at once. Find a chance to tie him up and bind him!"

"Right. Let's all join together."

World God Dragonking quickly flew back to rejoin them. They were all much more somber now. They either attacked with magic treasures from afar or cautiously advanced en masse towards Ning. By now, even the most arrogant member of their group, World God Dragonking, no longer dared to act brashly.

"The Brightshore Kingdom's territory really is rather lawless. Is this what the almighty Hegemon desires?" Ning shook his head. He had been waylaid and accosted multiple times on his trip to this place from the Astral Islands. This time, these twenty-seven had attacked him without even bothering to talk to him. From this, one could see how unruly this kingdom was.

By comparison… although there was also danger and combat within the territory of the Dao Alliance, it was a far more peaceful place! The Dao Alliance followed the principles of governance through inaction, but there was a reason for it. Ninety-nine percent of the territory of the Endless Territories was under the control of the Dao Alliance, and virtually all cultivators were a member of the alliance. There were simply too many cultivators! Even though they governed through inaction, they were still able to produce a few Daolords within each territory. How vast and powerful was the entire Dao Alliance?

The main weakness of the Dao Alliance was that its cultivators were too scattered out.

The Brightshore Kingdom's power was much more concentrated, even though it held much less territory. The almighty Hegemon was a Brightshore Imperial, which meant he really didn't feel much pity or sympathy for 'alien' forms of life. He would use whatever means were effective in rearing a crop of powerful experts! The fatality rate in the Astral Islands was a testament to how cold and ruthless the almighty Hegemon could be.

According to the Twelve Palaces, the reason they existed and the reason the Hegemon had created the Brightshore Kingdom was so that Imperials would be protected. Because the Twelve Palaces had become extremely powerful, the almighty Hegemon respected them and placed them on an equal level.

Swish! Crack! Whoosh!

Many weapons and spells flew towards Ning in a steady stream.

Moments ago, Ning had been able to rely on his supreme sword-arts to easily defeat his opponent. However, simply relying on sword-arts was no longer enough. He would now have to actually fight.

Boom!

The nineteen World Gods were all sent flying backwards.

"What?!"

"He's too strong."

"Quick, flee!"

Slash! Sword-light flashed as the tip of Ning's sword pierced into the body of World God Dragonking, the fastest of the twenty-seven. This time, Ning infused his strike with the power of his azureflower mist energy. Although the strike had to first pass through a layer of armor, and although World God Dragonking's body was comparable to a Chaos treasure… his body began to tremble, then crack apart as blood began to flow from every single part of his body.

"Die." Ning showed no mercy at all as he delivered three consecutive furious strikes upon the body of World God Dragonking.

"No!" World God Dragonking was utterly horrified. "How can he be this strong? He's clearly just at the World level. How can he be this much stronger than me?!" The three consecutive blows smashed World God Dragonking's body into dust, causing even his truesoul to dissipate.

"How can a World-level cultivator be this strong?"

"He's too strong!"

The Waterfiend Lords began to flee in utter terror. Even when they joined forces, they were still defeated in the very first clash? But of course, if they knew that Kilostar's thousand clones weren't able to do anything against Ji Ning, they would no longer be surprised by their defeat.

"He's a freak! He's one of those horrifyingly, freakishly talented geniuses that were in the higher strata of the Astral Islands. He must've been admitted into the Twelve Palaces already!" The fleeing World God Azurekai was more frightened than anyone else. "And he must've been one of the top freaks!"

Some of those 'freaks' were strong because of special treasures or secret arts, while others held enormous advantages in terms of speed and strength. Those freakishly strong cultivators who were as strong and fast as Daolords of the First Step were the most terrifying ones of all. Kilostar and Ning both belonged to this category. Even when Ning's sword-arts had been weak, his powerful divine body had allowed him to stably reside within the fifth stratum. Once his sword-arts improved, he became strong enough that even Bertulu would have to reveal his true form in order to be certain of victory over Ning.

"Fleeing?" After slaying World God Dragonking, Ning's body flickered as he began to chase after World God Azurekai.

World God Azurekai and World God Dragonking were both transcendent World Gods and the strongest members of the twenty-seven. As for the others? Ning really didn't care about them.

Boom! Sword-light descended.

"No!" World God Azurekai struggled to defend, utterly terrified. But after a few strokes of sword-light, he was finished.

World God Northrest had acquired something like the [Golden Idol] out of pure luck. In contrast, World God Azurekai had only been able to train his body to make it comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure. He hadn't even reached the Chaos treasure level. Protective divine abilities were very rare, after all, and they were extremely hard to train in. Elite protective divine abilities were even more rare!

Soon, World God Azurekai disappeared into a cloud of dust.

Ning glanced at the treasures he had left behind, then waved his hand and collected it all.

As for the other Waterfiend Lords, they had all fled long ago. They didn't even want their palace any longer. As for the attendants and maids inside the palace, they had hidden themselves in terror.

"Time to go." Ning soared into the skies, shooting out of the lake and into his flying vessel as he departed. Once he entered his vessel, Ning began to bind the treasures which World God Azurekai had left behind. Soon, he located the Mirrorsnow Painting he was looking for.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 50 – Bloodfire Cloudfruit

The flying shuttle flew through the clouds with Ji Ning seated on the deck, going through the treasures he had just acquired.

"It is actually…" Ning stared at the Mirrorsnow Painting in his hands. This painting was a painting of a beautiful palace. This palace was slightly different from the painting of a palace which Ning had already acquired, but Ning immediately recognized it as being painted by Emperor Mirrorsnow… partially because of how ugly it was, but also because no one could imitate his distinct sword-intent.

"A painting of a palace? Is this another copy of the first painting?" Ning nodded slowly. "It makes sense. I would have to have stupid good luck in order to find the fourth painting right away."

Ning wasn't too surprised by the fact that this painting wasn't the fourth painting.

"Still… at least this painting can be sold for roughly a hundred or two hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar. In fact, someone who desperately needs it would probably be willing to pay even more." Ning was in quite a good mood. These paintings were popular, valuable items. Generally speaking, those who acquired the paintings wouldn't divulge it to others! Given that there were only forty of them in all the Endless Territories, and given that some might have multiple copies of each…

It certainly wasn't going to be easy for him to just randomly encounter the exact piece he needed. For him to even find a copy of the first one here in the Brightshore Kingdom was already a stroke of great luck.

"After I go to the Palace of the Sword, I'll ask the Twelve Palaces to help me locate the fourth painting," Ning mused to himself.

The Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom were on the same general level of power as the Dao Alliance.

Last time, Ning had asked Daolord Badlands to help him buy Mirrorsnow Paintings, and Daolord Badlands had sought out the Dao Alliance to carry out this task. Because they were on a tight time schedule, the Dao Alliance didn't really carry a large-scale search. The Twelve Palaces, however, was itself an incredibly powerful organization that held cultivators, Aeonians, and other special lifeforms.

In the future, Ji Ning would be one of their links to the Dao Alliance.

In the future, Gorho would be one of their links to the Aeonians.

As a result, the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore were on very good terms with many of the organizations of the Endless Territories. It might be hard for the Twelve Palaces to immediately procure a copy of the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting, but if they were given enough time they stood an extremely good chance of succeeding. But of course… that was only if you were willing to pay the price!

Ning sent out a strand of his divine power into his new copy of the first painting, creating a divine clone within it.

Within the palace inside the painting. A golden-robed emperor manifested atop the royal throne within the palace.

Ning sighed upon seeing this. "Although there are slight differences, I can sense that he is similar to the golden-robed emperor within my original first painting."

"Oh. A while ago, it was World God Azurekai who met with me. Did you kill Azurekai?" The golden-robed emperor looked downwards at Ning.

"Yes." Ning nodded. "I already acquired other Mirrorsnow Paintings in the past. Do all ten copies of the first Mirrorsnow Painting created by Emperor Mirrorsnow hold the exact same 'type' of person?"

"They do." The golden-robed emperor smiled and nodded. He didn't really care about Azurekai's death. He existed for the sake of completing the Eternal Emperor's mission, and for someone to be able to kill Azurekai meant that this person should be even stronger.

"Let's have a little competition," Ning said.

"Azurekai was never able to defeat me." The golden-robed emperor produced a golden greatsword in his hands as he walked down the stairs towards Ning. "You said you already have other Mirrorsnow Paintings. You should know the rules."

"I know them." Ning nodded.

After a brief battle, Ning defeated the golden-robed emperor.

Aboard the flying vessel, the true Ning revealed a look of resignation. "Although there are slight differences in the sword-arts they use, the two golden-robed emperors really do belong to the exact same 'school'. This is of no use to my sword-arts whatsoever."

"What else is there?" Ning began to go through the rest of his spoils of war.

World God Azurekai didn't have any particularly good treasures aside from the painting. He did have an azure sword which was an Eternal weapon, but Ning was quickly able to judge that it was merely a low-grade Eternal weapon that was actually weaker than his Violetjewels! And there was only one Eternal weapon. As for the other treasures, they were negligible.

"He did have two decent techniques." Ning glanced through them. "Useless to me, but I can transmit them to the Three Realms."

"I wonder what World God Dragonking had?" Ning scanned through these treasures as well. World God Dragonking was a spear-wielder, but his spear was also merely a low-grade Eternal treasure.

The Brightshore Kingdom was a place filled with many dangers but also many treasures and legacies. So long as you were willing to brave the dangers, you would have a good chance of acquiring powerful treasures and legacies. Some of the more powerful World-level cultivators were thus able to acquire Eternal weapons, but most of those weapons were merely low-grade.

"The almighty Hegemony is such a cheapskate. I bet most of the Eternal weapons he scattered throughout the Brightshore Kingdom are just low-grade," Ning muttered to himself. "The Dao Alliance is better. In the rest of the Endless Territories, Eternal weapons are quite rare and hard to obtain, but the ones that you do find are usually pretty good. In fact, some ruins might even hold top-grade Eternal weapons."

The ruins and relic sites of the Endless Territories were generally left behind by Daolords. It was only natural that they would hold excellent treasures. The equivalent places in the Brightshore Kingdom, however, were intentionally created by the almighty Hegemon! As a result, almost all of the treasures were 'mere' low-grade Eternal weapons at best.

"Eh?" A jade bottle suddenly appeared in Ning's hands, causing him to reveal a look of surprise.

"A pureloop jade bottle? And it holds a Bloodfire Cloudfruit inside?" Ning willed the stopper of the bottle to pop out, allowing a fruit to emerge from within the bottle. This was a fruit that was completely crimson in color, and mist could be seen swirling in the air around it. Ning had noticed this bottle earlier in his estate-world when he had quickly scanned through World God Dragonking's treasures, but only now did he realize what a treasure it was and what it held inside.

"Pureloop jade bottles can contain vast worlds within them. The vast world inside this one can form a mighty Pureloop Jade Formation that will draw upon all the chaos energy of that entire vast world, distilling it into chaos nectar." Ning sighed in amazement. This pureloop jade bottle was far better at distilling chaos nectar than the prisonworlds created by World God Pangaea.

This pureloop jade bottle was able to distill a full cube of chaos nectar every chaos cycle. Still… even Daolords had finite lifespans. With each step they took, they walked the boundaries between life and death. Some would perish after living for a mere thousand chaos cycles. Thus, these bottles generally weren't sold for too high a price. Most were collected by sects and would be sold for roughly ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar.

Aside from being used to distill chaos nectar, the bottle could also be used to hold some of the marvelous items that were birthed from the primordial chaos. There were certain treasures such as fruits or spirit-leaves that would quickly lose their efficacy if not stored in a proper manner. If you placed them within the heart of a Pureloop Jade Formation, the formation would be able to prevent any leakage at all. This formation was able to hold any type of energy, making it quite suitable for storing treasures.

"It actually held a Bloodfire Cloudfruit within it." Ning mumbled to himself, "Did this guy even know how valuable this thing is?"

Ning had gained much information from Daolord Solesky, which was why he knew about more than 90% of the known treasures which existed in the Endless Territories. World God Dragonking hadn't been given a similar legacy, and it really was possible that he didn't know what a Bloodfire Cloudfruit was.

"Bloodfire Cloudfruit is incredibly valuable. These fruits are naturally born from the primordial chaos and are extremely few in number. A single cloudfruit can completely transform the divine body of a cultivator, converting it into a divine body that is completely formed from the element of fire. With this new body, the cultivator will find that training in the Dao of Fire will be much easier than it was before. He will also be able to merge and release Bloodfire, then use it to fly." Ning was truly quite amazed.

Ning, for example, was able to control his [Novessence Thunder] and even had possession of Dao lightning, but there was no way for him to fully merge into those types of lightning. This was because there was simply no way for his body to connect with them.

The Golden Crows were able to ride Golden Solarfire because their divine bodies were able to perfectly join together with that fire.

Exalted Celestial Thundergod was unable to fly using Ninehorn Lightning Serpents because his divine body was unable to perfectly join together with them.

Ning had lost quite a few clones in order to transform his divine body, making it thunder-aligned and capable of using the lightning serpents to fly. However, Ninehorn Lightning Serpents were ranked as a type of Elder lightning. They weren't even at the Chaos level! There was naturally no way for Ning's body to take control over Chaos lightning and use it to fly. If there was, Ning would be moving at a truly astonishing speed.

However, Bloodfire Cloudfruits were suitable for controlling Bloodfire, a type of Chaos fire. If you used it to flee, the vast majority of Daolords would be unable to catch up to you.

This single fruit was worthy roughly a million cubes of chaos nectar… and it generally could not be found in the open market. These types of treasures that were born from the primordial chaos were incredibly rare, unlike Eternal weapons which could be forged.

"Or perhaps this World God Dragonking did know, but was afraid to reveal it?" Ning mused. "Did he know? Or didn't he? Still, it doesn't matter. This fruit is useless to me. If I encounter any treasures that I need, I can sell it off or trade it." Ning was in no rush to sell it. This was a fine treasure for a Daolord who walked the Dao of Fire. If he waited for an opportune time, he would be able to sell it for a very high price.

"I really didn't expect to be waylaid so many times after leaving the Astral Islands. I killed quite a few of those bandits, but unexpected my most valuable loot was this Bloodfire Cloudfruit rather than the Mirrorsnow Painting." Ning hurriedly stored the fruit back into the pureloop jade bottle.

"Time to go." Ning had quite a few valuable treasures on him already, and so he was quickly able to return to his usual calm.

After leaving the Royal Dragon Palace, Ning flew for more than two more months before finally reaching the place where Su Youji had secreted herself.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 51 – Bluegrace Sect

The Bluegrace Sect was one of the many sects within the enormous territory ruled over by the Brightshore Kingdom. It had been established by Daolord Bluegrace and was an ancient organization with deep roots.

The Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect. The residential area for high-level sect members.

There was an estate located at the peak of one of these mountains, and outside this estate sat eighteen World-level cultivators in the lotus position.

"Hmph." A white-robed woman at the entrance to the estate glanced at those eighteen, then let out a cold snort.

"Junior apprentice-sister Qingfan, you should urge the Flamefairy Su Youji to stop resisting." A black-robed elder, one of the eighteen seated World-level cultivators, spoke out. "Have her obediently hand over her golems, her bugbeast, and that statue of Feixian the Exalted. If she does that, we naturally won't cause any further trouble for her. Otherwise… once the order comes from the headquarters, she shall perish and her Dao shall vanish!"

"Little sister Youji rescued some of our fellow disciples. Not only have you shown no gratitude, you've plotted against her and tried to take her treasures away from her. Little sister Youji risked her life in order to acquire that statue of Feixian the Exalted." The white-robed woman said angrily, "An order from the headquarters? You might be able to cause trouble here in this local branch, but the main base isn't a place where you fools can do as you please!"

The eighteen World-level cultivators no longer spoke. They just continued their silent vigil.

"Hmph." The white-robed woman angrily returned to the estate.

Within the estate.

Su Youji was seated in the lotus position within one of the rooms in the estate, engaging in silent meditation. Dressed in fiery robes, Su Youji emanated an aura of incredible allure and magnetism . It was as though she was the most beautiful, most seductive woman who had ever been born, so beautiful that even World-level cultivators would be affected by her presence. Suddenly, she opened her eyes. When she did so, she withdrew her aura of magnetism. She glanced outside, then smiled. "Elder sister Qingfan."

"Little sister Youji." The white-robed woman walked into the room.

"I'm sorry to have caused you trouble, elder sister Qingfan," Su Youji said. "I put you in a precarious situation here in your sect."

"Don't worry. This is my estate. World-level cultivators are barred from barging into the residences of their fellow disciples. They'll only be able to enter if they receive a command from the sectlord to do so," the white-robed woman said. "So long as you are in my estate, they will be completely unable to get their hands on you. As for the sectlord, he's a figure of incredible power. If they think they can convince him to issue an order… hmph. Hmph!"

Su Youji couldn't help but sigh silently to herself.

This entire affair…

After she left the Astral Islands, she had quickly realized how chaotic and unruly the Brightshore Kingdom was. She had acted with great caution, first purchasing a star map and getting an understanding of the Brightshore Kingdom's rough geography. Her goal was to go to the Palace of Fire and test her luck, but midway on her journey she accidentally entered a strange, dangerous location.

There were many such locations within the Brightshore Kingdom. Some had been personally crafted by the almighty Hegemon, but some were left behind by deceased Daolords. There were many dangerous locations which were undiscovered and unknown to most cultivators.

Su Youji ended up entering a dangerous region which had been set up by Feixian the Exalted. She encountered many dangers in that place, and eventually she found herself in a dangerous situation but was rescued by Fairy Qingfan's group. To be specific, it was Fairy Qingfan herself who had rescued her. Su Youji felt very grateful towards her, and so she had joined Fairy Qingfan's group of three.

They had braved the dangers of that place together, and Su Youji had put her golems and bugbeasts into full effect. In the end… she actually passed the trial which Feixian the Exalted had laid down, becoming her personal disciple.

Feixian the Exalted had left behind many treasures, all of which now belonged to Su Youji. The rest of his treasures had been located within an estate-world which Su Youji had easily taken away without notice, but his statue had been located at the very highest position within the palace. Su Youji had to personally climb up to grab it, and this was witnessed by Fairy Qingfan and the others.

Fairy Qingfan's group had experienced many life-and-death battles alongside Su Youji. They all trusted each other very much, and Fairy Qingfan had even saved Su Youji's life. Thus, Su Youji didn't harbor any suspicions regarding them.

Back then, Fairy Qingfan had said to her, "Little sister Youji, you are heading to the Twelve Palaces? That's in the same direction as we are headed. We are going back to our Eastsmoke branch. Let's travel together!"

Su Youji and Fairy Qingfan had quickly become fast friends and had grown close to each other, and so they continued to travel together after exiting the trials.. Fairy Qingfan had grown up here in the Brightshore Kingdom and so was quite familiar with the local region. They arrived at the Eastsmoke branch without any trouble… but right after they had sat down and drank two cups of wine within Fairy Qingfan's residence, these World-level cultivators had immediately shown up and surrounded them.

As it turned out, one of the other companions on their journey, World God Whiteswan, had reported on the outcome of their adventures to the branch leader of the Eastsmoke branch. The Eastsmoke branch leader was merely a World-level cultivator, and he grew greedy for Su Youji's bugbeasts and golems. Since Su Youji wasn't a member of this sect, he immediately issued an order to kill her and take her treasures.

"Don't worry, little sister. He's just a branch leader. As far as status goes, he isn't significantly superior to me. He just has a few connections in the main base, which was why he was given the position of branch leader. Without the sectlord's orders, there's not a damn thing he can do. You can stay here for as long as you wish, little sister."

Su Youji nodded.

A flying vessel had just appeared in the clouds high above the Bluegrace Sect. A white-robed youth was seated in the lotus position on the decks of the vessel, a sword across his lap. The youth glanced downwards.

"My message-talisman is directly below. Based on the star map which Daolord Grayvast gave me, this place should be one of the nine branches of the Bluegrace Sect." Ning was rather puzzled. "Why did Youji come to the Bluegrace Sect?"

The Bluegrace Sect had been established by Daolord Bluegrace. The entire sect had a total of four Daolords! Daolord Bluegrace was an extremely powerful figure, but the other three Daolords were a bit weaker; they were merely black-armored Daolords.

The Daolords of the Twelve Palaces were divided up into several different levels of power. There were black-armored, azure-armored, silver-armored, and gold-armored Daolords. The black-armored Daolords were the lowest level Daolords.

"No ripples?" Ning stared downwards at the Eastsmoke branch. "There are no Daolords protecting this place."

It made sense. There were only four Daolords, while the Bluegrace Sect had a total of nine branches. According to what Ning's star map claimed, the four Daolords usually resided in the main base.

"Youji is in the Eastsmoke branch…" Although Ning was puzzled, he still put away his flying vessel then began to fly downwards in person.

"Quite impressive." Ning stared downwards at the Eastsmoke branch. The Eastsmoke branch covered an extremely vast territory of over ten million kilometers. "According to this star map, this branch holds a total of more than three hundred World-level cultivators. The Brightshore Kingdom really is quite unlike the Dao Alliance. The sects of the Dao Alliance are all extremely cautious when they recruit new World-level cultivators, keeping their numbers low. Here, it seems their motto is 'the more the merrier'."

The Dao Alliance governed through inaction. The Badlands Court was a good example. Daolord Badlands was the leader of the Court and the entire territory, but he only had roughly a hundred World-level cultivators under his command. The vast Badlands Territory had more than ten thousand World-level cultivators, but they were all scattered across many smaller organizations.

The Brightshore Kingdom was different. The Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom and the organizations they established, such as the Bluegrace Sect, centralized things far more. The main base and nine branches of the Bluegrace Sect alone held more than five thousand World-level cultivators! They really did believe in the concept of strength in numbers. This was because the Daolords of the Brightshore Kingdom were all prevented from fighting amongst each other, due to all of them being members of the Twelve Palaces.

Since Daolords were unable to directly do battle, battles amongst sects in the Brightshore Kingdom had to be carried out by World-level cultivators. Thus, the more the merrier! The battles amongst World-level cultivators were quite brutal and savage.

"Halt, fellow Daoist! This place is the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect." A tall, skinny World-level cultivator flew out and shouted at Ning.

"I am Darknorth." Ning smiled. "I've come to join the Bluegrace Sect."

"Fellow Daoist, you wish to join our Bluegrace Sect?" The tall, skinny cultivator gave Ning a weighing glance. World-level cultivators were generally mid-level figures within the Brightshore Kingdom. If Ning was an Elder God, he wouldn't be treated in such a friendly manner. "Haha, the doors of our Bluegrace Sect are always open and welcome. Fellow Daoist, please follow me."

Ning smiled as he followed the man inside, moving past the protective formations and entering the sect itself.

This was one of the branches of the Bluegrace Sect. The formations protecting it had naturally been laid down by Daolord Bluegrace himself. Although the formations weren't that strong when being controlled by a group of World-level cultivators, Ning wasn't certain that he would be able to overcome it.

"Please follow me, fellow Daoist." The tall, skinny World-level cultivator flew alongside Ning. The branch was more than ten million kilometers in size, quite large.

"What's going on over there?" Ning pointed off into the distance, towards the direction where he could sense Su Youji was located.

"The sect has disciples of varying levels of strength. The stronger World-level cultivators reside in that area." The tall, skinny World-level cultivator pointed while speaking.

"Oh." Ning now understood. Suddenly, he stretched out his palm, making it expand in size to become dozens of meters long. He immediately grabbed onto that World God as easily as he would grab onto a mouse. This person was responsible for welcoming and greeting guests, but he merely had the power of an elite World God. In the face of Ning's power, he wasn't even able to struggle.

"Fellow Daoist!" The man was utterly terrified.

"If I wanted your life, I could take it in an instant. If you want to stay alive, don't fight me," Ning sent mentally. Then, with a whoosh, he transferred the man into his own estate-world.

Ning transformed into a streak of light, flying towards Su Youji's residence at high speed.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 52 – A New Disciple

Ji Ning flew through the air towards the region where he sensed Su Youji was residing. She was within an estate at the very peak of a mountain, and there were eighteen f igures seated in the lotus position in front of it.

"Why are eighteen World-level cultivators keeping watch over this estate?" Ning muttered softly to himself.

Within Ning's estate-world.

The cultivator Ning had captured stared at the white-robed Ning in terror. "Senior, please spare me!"

"Smart kid. Answer all of my questions accurately. There exists no grudge between the two of us. Unless absolutely necessary, I won't kill you," Ning said calmly. He had created this clone using half of his divine power, and his clone would be easily capable of slaying this cultivator.

"Understood." The tall, skinny World-level cultivator nodded repeatedly.

This was no joke. He had been captured so quickly that he didn't even have a chance to fight back. He knew exactly how great the disparity between their power levels was. In fact, he even suspected that this white-robed youth might actually be a Daolord in disguise. Now that he was trapped in this estate-world, how could he dare to be disobedient? Wisdom lay in knowing when to resist and when to comply.

"I ask you this." Ning pointed at the air next to him with a finger, causing a map of the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect to appear. This map included the estate at the top of the mountain, as well as the eighteen World-level cultivators seated in the lotus position before it.

"Who resides within this estate?" Ning pointed at the estate at the top of the mountain.

"That's the estate of senior apprentice-sister Qingfan," the captured cultivator said hurriedly. "Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan is extremely strong, and she has the power of a supreme World God. She ranks as one of the top ten cultivators here in the Eastsmoke branch."

Ning nodded, then pointed and asked, "Why are there eighteen World-level cultivators in front of her estate?"

"Senior, are you friends with senior apprentice-sister Qingfan?" The captured cultivator suddenly asked in a soft voice.

"Answer me." Ning frowned.

"Senior, senior apprentice-sister Qingfan is in a lot of trouble right now. That's why her estate is under watch." The captured cultivator said hurriedly, "When she was out adventuring with two other fellow disciples, she became friends with an outsider known as the Flamefairy. The two of them are very close to each other."

A sharp light flickered through Ning's eyes. Flamefairy?

"I heard that they met each other and helped rescue each other in a dangerous ruins whch had been left behind by Feixian the Exalted. They experienced many dangers together, and in the end this Flamefairy acquired the statue of Feixian the Exalted," the captured cultivator said. "Afterwards, the Flamefairy accompanied senior apprentice-sister Qingfan to our Eastsmoke branch…"

The captured cultivator let out an awkward laugh. "And here, a few rather embarrassing things happened."

"Speak!" Ning barked.

"Y-y-es! I'll tell you everything!" The captured cultivator said hurriedly, "One of the two fellow disciples who went out alongside senior apprentice-sister Qingfan, a World God known as Whiteswan, immediately made a report to the branch leader once he returned to the branch. My understanding is that our branch leader was interested in this Flamefairy's treasures and was planning to kill her and take them all."

Ning's eyes narrowed.

"Killing and looting is very common here, and it is said that this Flamefairy has a set of very powerful bugbeasts and golems, as well as that statue of Feixian the Exalted. She might have other valuable treasures as well." The captured cultivator let out a sigh. "But who would've thought that senior apprentice-sister Qingfan would notice that something was off? She helped the Flamefairy fight back, then actually helped the Flamefairy hide within her own estate. Now, the Flamefairy just hides in there and refuses to leave no matter what."

The captured cultivator explained, "Our Bluegrace Sect forbids its disciples from barging into the personal estates of our World-level cultivators. No one would dare to violate this rule, unless they were doing so on the orders of the sectlord himself. This is one of our laws. Thus, there's nothing our branch leader can do. All he can do is have his loyal subordinates keep a close watch as he tries to come up with some other ideas.

"Our branch leader wishes to kill the Flamefairy, whereas senior apprentice-sister Qingfan wishes to protect her. As a result, senior apprentice-sister Qingfan's been living a rather unpleasant life recently. I hear that she hasn't left her estate at all." The man secretly glanced at Ning's expressions. He was guessing that there had to be some sort of a special connection between Ning and Qingfan.

"Let me ask you something else. What type of protective formations does the Eastsmoke branch have?" Ning asked.

The cultivator immediately and obediently revealed everything he knew.

Ning began to fly towards that distant estate, his mind filled with thoughts. He had been able to easily enter this branch, but taking Su Youji out of it would be no easy task. This was the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect, after all. If all the protective formations here were activated, things would become quite problematic.

Swoosh. Ning began to descend at high speed.

"Eh?" The eighteen World-level cultivators seated before the estate all raised their heads to look at Ning.

"Who are you?" One of the black-robed elders said coldly, "I don't believe I've seen you before."

"I am Darknorth. Greetings, fellow Daoists." Ning smiled. "I just recently joined the Bluegrace Sect, and so I haven't met with the vast majority of our fellow disciples yet."

"Oh, a new arrival?"

"So a new junior apprentice-brother has joined our ranks."

These eighteen were merely responsible for keeping a watch over this place. Aside from the black-robed elder who was in charge of them, these cultivators didn't really have a great deal of status within the Eastsmoke branch. Thus, they were all quite courteous when they met fellow disciples.

In most schools, people knew each other by their unique auras. Once you met someone, you would be able to easily recognize that person in the future.

Schools like the Twelve Palaces had far too many members who were scattered throughout the Endless Territories, which was why the almighty Hegemon had personally crafted those identity medallions. It wasn't easy to create these medallions, all of which resonated with each other. The Mirrorsnow Paintings had similar resonances as well. Even though these weren't particularly high-quality items, the cost of creating each medallion wasn't exactly cheap. The forging process was quite complicated! The Bluegrace Sect had more than five thousand World-level cultivators. It naturally wouldn't outfit all of its people with such treasures!

The eighteen didn't suspect a thing. This was a central region in the Eastsmoke branch, with hundreds of World-level cultivators present and a protective formation which had been personally established by Daolord Bluegrace himself. The formations here were all extremely complicated and profound. Which World-level cultivator would dare to barge into this place? Only a suicidal one!

"Junior apprentice-brother, why have you come here?" The black-robed elder said coldly.

"To meet with senior apprentice-sister Qingfan." Ning smiled.

"Oh?" The faces of all eighteen tightened slightly.

"What sort of a relationship is between you and her?" The black-robed elder asked.

"Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan was my benefactor. To her, it was nothing more than a bit of casual guidance, but I've never forgotten it. Because of her, I decided to join the Bluegrace Sect after I became a World God, all for the sake of repaying her kindness," Ning said.

The black-robed elder frowned as he looked at Ning, then instructed coldly, "Go ahead."

In recent years, quite a few people had come to visit Qingfan. However, no one had been able to rescue the Flamefairy Su Youji from this gilded cage.

"Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan!" Ning walked to the entrance of the estate, then called out, "Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan! Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan!"

He called out multiple times.

Instantly, Ning could make out the vague form of a white-robed woman appear off in the distance. The woman gracefully walked out of the estate, then looked at Ning.

Ning immediately sent her a mental message. "If you want to save Youji, cooperate with me."

Fairy Qingfan couldn't help but feel startled by this. The Eastsmoke branch wasn't a large place, and the story of the Flamefairy had quickly been made public. However, there were very, very few people who knew that the Flamefairy's name was Su Youji. In addition, this sword-bearing white-robed youth was someone who she had never met before.

"Senior apprentice-sister Qingfan, long ago you provided me with tutelage. I finally have broken through to the World level and have joined the Bluegrace Sect as well." A look of gratefulness was on Ning's face. "Thank you for your guidance all those years ago, senior apprentice-sister."

"I just gave you a few casual pointers." A hint of a smile was on Fairy Qingfan's face. "I didn't expect that the Elder God I guided would have become a World God by now."

The eighteen World-level cultivators could hear their oral conversation. But of course, there was no way they could eavesdrop on the mental one.

"Who are you?" Fairy Qingfan sent mentally. "Hmph. You wish to help out Youji? Hmph. These fools tried to use this method to cheat me before. Don't even dream about getting into my estate."

"Just help me tell Youji one thing, and she'll know who I am," Ning sent back.

Su Youji was seated in the lotus position within her room. Everything was perfectly still.

"Little sister Youji." Divine power flowed through the area, manifesting as a clone of Fairy Qingfan. Her true form was still conversing with Ning at the entrance, which was why she had manifested a clone here to speak with Su Youji.

"What is it, big sister Qingfan?" Su Youji opened her eyes and looked puzzledly at Fairy Qingfan.

Fairy Qingfan asked her, "Someone wishes to meet with you. Any idea who this person is?"

"Me? I don't think I know many people at all, here at the Eastsmoke branch." Su Youji was confused.

Fairy Qingfan looked at her. "He said… his name is Ji Ning."

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 53 – Leave It To Me

Su Youji's body trembled.

His name was Ji Ning?

"He came for me?" Su Youji's mind was filled with many complex thoughts and feelings. She felt a hint of excitement, but she also felt a hint of remorse! She knew that this place was where the Eastmoke branch was headquartered, and that it naturally was protected by many restrictive spells. This was an extremely tightly guarded place. Although Ji Ning was quite formidable, fighting in an enemy's nest was still an extremely problematic affair.

She had thought that Ji Ning would spend a million years in the Astral Islands. She had planned in quietly training in the legacy left behind by Daolord Feixian the Exalted, as Feixian's skills primarily lay in the realms of charm, illusion, and control! She was a Daolord who was so terrifyingly powerful that she was given the title of 'the Exalted'. Generally speaking, Daolords who were slightly weaker than her would instantly fall under her control after a single glance!

She was an individual who was incredibly powerful!

Su Youji was born with tremendous affinity for skills involving charm and allure. Even when she had no legacies to guide her, she had been able to create a charming technique of tremendous power. This was why she had been able to pass all of the deadly trials left behind by Feixian the Exalted, and in the end she was found to be qualified to become Feixian's personal disciple!

"My original plan had been to train here for ten thousand years and reach the third stage of the 'Flying Immortal' secret-art, then take control of the eighteen World-level cultivators outside and leave stealthily." Even right now, Su Youji was capable of taking control over two or three World-level cultivators at the same time. However, this sort of mind control spell could only be maintained for a brief period of time.

Su Youji had never attempted to leave by force. This was a branch headquarters of the Bluegrace Sect; who would dare to try to force their way in or out of a place like this? Her goal was to take control of those eighteen, then leave stealthily.

"Should I let him in?" Fairy Qingfan asked.

"Yes." Su Youji nodded.

"Understood." Fairy Qingfan looked at Su Youji and smiled. "You look so dazed and befuddled right now. What sort of a relationship do you have with him, exactly?"

Su Youji shook her head. "What do you mean, 'dazed and befuddled'? I'm his retainer. He is my master."

"Master…?" Fairy Qingfan was startled.

At the entrance to Fairy Qingfan's estate.

Ning and Fairy Qingfan were continuing to chat here.

"For you to join the Bluegrace Sect shows that karmic ties continue to bind us. Enter my estate. Stay here for a while and have a good conversation with me. As of late, your big sister's been bored senseless." Fairy Qingfan tossed Ning an intentionally playful look. Now that she knew that Ning was Su Youji's master, she found herself quite impressed. This white-robed youth was definitely an figure of extraordinary power and ability. To have such an extraordinary figure address her as 'big sister' was quite diverting.

Ning gave her a look, then chuckled. "Please lead the way, senior apprentice-sister."

"Mm." Fairy Qingfan turned and walked towards her estate, with Ning following behind her.

The eighteen World-level cultivators seated outside all watched as this transpired. When the black-robed elder saw Fairy Qingfan actively invite Ning into the estate, a rather ugly look appeared on his face. He barked coldly, "Junior apprentice-sister Qingfan, don't try to seduce this new junior apprentice-brother of ours into helping you out."

"None of your damn business." Fairy Qingfan didn't even turn back to look at him. She simply let out a cold snort.

"Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, remember… there are some things which you should do and some things which you should not do." A chill filled the voice of the black-robed elder.

By now, Su Youji had already emerged from her room and was staring at the pathways in front of her, waiting eagerly.

Finally, Fairy Qingfan emerged from around the bends, and behind her was a white-robed youth who bore a longsword on his back. The youth looked the same as he always had, the same as he had in her memories.

"Master…" Su Youji stared at him, her heart filled with many emotions.

Guilt?

Gratitude?

In the Astral Islands, she had battled until she was at the point of absolute despair and exhaustion. When she saw Ji Ning appear, she had actually wept. And now, they were meeting at the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect. Even for someone like Ji Ning, a fight here would be quite troublesome. And yet… he had still come.

"It is always you helping me out, rather than vice versa. I'm your retainer, but I've never been able to do anything for you." In this instant, Su Youji suddenly realized that she would never be able to forget how Ji Ning had saved her from the Astral Islands. That moment had been indelibly imprinted into her very soul… and now, they were meeting again here at this branch of the Bluegrace Sect.

"Youji." Ning walked over towards her.

"Master." Su Youji nodded slightly. "I've caused trouble for you."

"I hear that this branch leader of the Eastsmoke branch is mainly trying to steal your treasures. I also heard something about a statue of Feixian the Exalted?" Ning asked.

Su Youji looked at Ning with some degree of surprise. "You already know?"

Ning turned to glance at the nearby Fairy Qingfan. "Fairy Qingfan, if Youji wishes to leave, who will try to stop her?"

Fairy Qingfan could instantly sense that this white-robed youth was now speaking in a very different way and had a very different attitude. When they had been at the entrance to her estate, he had modestly addressed her as 'senior apprentice-sister Qingfan'. Although he still spoke in a very relaxed way, his words and his demeanor revealed his absolute self-confidence and his dominating presence.

"If little sister Youji wishes to leave, she would first need to deal with those eighteen World-level cultivators standing guard," Fairy Qingfan said. "They are keeping a tight watch, and if anything happens they will immediately make a report to that fool of a branch leader. When that happens, that fool will undoubtedly order many of our other World-level cultivators to attack. In fact, he might even activate the many formations protecting this place. Once that happens, there really will be nowhere to run."

Ning nodded slowly. This was what he had expected.

"Master, give me another hundred thousand years and I might be able to work something out," Su youji said. A hundred thousand years would actually be millions of years if she used a temporal acceleration treasure. That should be more than enough.

"If too much time passes, new variables will enter the equation," Ning said. "Since this man was able to become the local branch leader, he probably has certain connections within the main base. If he wants to barge into the estate of a fellow disciple and seize an unaffiliated World-level cultivator, all he has to do is find a suitable excuse and he'll probably be able to convince Daolord Bluegrace into agreeing. You've only been here a few centuries, which is why he has been able to bide his time. If you wait too long, that will no longer be the case."

Su Youji's face turned pale. Right. Once the local branch leader received permission from the main base, he would be able to enter this estate and seize her. By then, she would have no recourse at all.

"Leave it to me. I'll bring you out of here," Ning said.

Su Youji felt a warm feeling in her heart. Although she was worried about Ning, as his retainer she held enormous faith in him. He was indeed an absolute freak of nature!

"Fellow Daoist Ji Ning." The nearby Fairy Qingfan said in a rather unhappy manner, "You must not act rashly. If you remain inside, they'll be limited by the rules of the sect and won't dare to cause trouble. But if you were to take little sister Youji out of this place… they'll be allowed to attack. They won't show mercy to an outsider who isn't a member of our sect."

"Fairy Qingfan, all you need to do is stand back and watch." Ning turned his head and said to Su Youji, "I'll take you into my estate-world."

"Alright." Su Youji nodded.

Fairy Qingfan said unhappily, "Little sister Youji, this isn't…"

Ning just waved his hand, drawing Su Youji into his estate-treasure. He then turned and began to walk towards the outside.

"You-!" Fairy Qingfan immediately hurried after him.

The entrance to the estate.

Ning emerged from the estate and saw the eighteen World-level cultivators seated outside of it.

"Leaving already?" The black-robed elder stared at Ning in a very solemn manner, as did all of the other cultivators.

"Did Fairy Qingfan ask you to help her out by taking the Flamefairy out with you?" The black-robed elder's voice turned icy cold.

"She did not," Ning said.

"Junior apprentice-brother, the Flamefairy's matter has grave implications for everyone here. As a result, we can't just let you leave like this." A nearby red-haired child spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Do you plan on inspecting my treasures?" Ning frowned.

"Cultivators often hide many of their secrets in their treasures. We won't insist on inspecting everything by force. However… you will need to swear a lifeblood oath that you are not taking the Flamefairy out of this place." The black-robed elder said calmly, "If you truly are not carrying her with you, then this oath will have no impact on you at all. But if you are… then this lifeblood oath will immediately rebound upon you and devour your life. You'll die on the spot."

"Swear the lifeblood oath and we will let you leave." Swish! A dark-red crystalline rod was sent flying towards Ning.

Ning glanced at the dark-red rod, then shook his head.

Suddenly, he manifested three heads and six arms. His six arms dramatically increased in size, and his palms became so large as to block out the skies as he struck out towards the eighteen cultivators nearby.

"What?!"

"Careful!"

Fairy Qingfan was standing right behind him, and her eyes immediately bulged out. He actually went straight to fighting? How could Su Youji's master be such a fool? He actually dared to launch an attack within the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect?!

"Hmph."

"What a fool."

The eighteen World-level cultivators instantly activated their formation, allowing Immortal energy to pool together and then flow over their bodies. The reason there were eighteen of them here was so that they could join forces and fight against tough foes. Even if Su Youji tried to use her bugbeasts and golems to force her way out of the estate, they would be able to hold on against her for a period of time.

BOOM!

As the six enormous palms swept towards them, an enormous collision could be heard as one of the World-level cultivators was captured as easily as one might pick up a little chick. The man was forcibly dragged into Ning's estate-treasure, the entire formation having been forcibly torn apart.

Whoooooosh. The six enormous palms continued to howl forth and strike out towards them.

"Flee!"

"How can he be this powerful?!"

"Run away!"

The remaining World-level cultivators were all stupefied. This initial clash had just resulted in Ning capturing eleven of them, and the rest hurriedly began to scatter and flee.

However, the enormous power ripples caused by this clash spread out to encompass the entire Eastsmoke branch, which was merely ten million kilometers in size. Every single World-level cultivator here was able to easily sense that something had happened, and many streams of godsense swept outwards towards this region.

"Who dare you! How dare you barge into our Bluegrace Sect!" One stream of godsense carried a voice that exploded loudly within Ning's mind.

"Hmph!" Ning suddenly poured out his own godsense, sweeping it in all four directions in an all-encompassing wave. Thanks to the nurturing effect of his azureflower mist energy, Ning's soulw as comparable to that of a Daolord of the First Step, as was his godsense. Other World-level cultivators truly had far weaker godsenses by comparison.

As Ning's godsense flooded out, it boomed as it slammed into the streams of godsense that had flooded this area. Ning's godsense crushed everything in its path, smashing apart nearly three hundred different streams of godsense and chaosense. The difference between a World-level cultivator and a Daolord was simply too apparent.

Rumble…

For a moment, the only stream of godsense present within the ten million kilometer region of the Eastsmoke Sect belonged to Ji Ning. All the others had been completely crushed and wiped out!

"The Flamefairy is my retainer. Today, I've come to the Eastsmoke branch of the Bluegrace Sect to take my retainer away from this place." Ning's voice boomed out, echoing in every corner of the entire Eastsmoke branch. "I trust that most of you know about the matter of your branch leader seeking to steal my retainer's treasures, and you all know in your hearts who is in the right and who is in the wrong. I am going to take my retainer out of this place, and I'd rather not launch a massacre… but if anyone who seeks to bar my path shall die!"

His voice blasted out across every inch of the local branch's territory. Every single World-level cultivator found his godsense or chaosense completely suppressed, and they were all completely unable to push back.

Fairy Qingfan stood there at the entrance to her home, staring in amazement as this all happened. When she heard this earth-shattering voice boom out in her mind, she couldn't help but be shocked once again!

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 54 – Launching A Massacre

Fairy Qingfan was completely stunned by the dominating power of Ji Ning's godsense. The power of one's godsense was derived from the strength of one's soul. This was something that simply couldn't be faked! All by himself, Ji Ning had crushed the godsenses of all the other World-level cultivators in the Eastsmoke branch. This alone was proof that he was a person who ordinary cultivators absolutely could not compare to! And, judging from Ning's words… he had only revealed a tiny fraction of his true power.

"Fellow Daoist Ji Ning." Although Fairy Qingfan was so stunned that she immediately spoke and acted in a much more humble manner, she still said to Ning frantically, "This place is the local headquarters of our Bluegrace Sect. It is protected by many mighty formations which Daolord Bluegrace personally set down! No matter how strong are you, you can't possibly withstand our guardian formations! You are acting far too impetuously!"

Ning gave her a glance. "Fairy Qingfan, I already told you that you only need to do is stand back and watch."

"Then I'll do just that." Fairy Qingfan gritted her teeth. "Although that idiot branch leader is a real imbecile, he won't show any mercy in activating those formations."

"If I really can't beat him, I'll just hide in your estate again, Fairy." Ning tossed a smile her way.

"You…" Fairy Qingfan stared, dazed. Good point. Ji Ning was standing right at the entrance to her estate. He really could simply retreat into it whenever he wished.

Ning then turned to stare at the distant main palace of the Eastsmoke branch, his gaze turning cold. The choice of how to proceed was up to the local branch leader. If he was wise enough to let Ning leave, Ning wouldn't pursue this matter any further and simply wipe the slate clean! It was very common for cultivators to fight each other out of greed for each other's treasures, after all, and Su Youji hadn't actually been harmed. This matter was a matter that could be easily glossed over.

However, if he chose to fight…

The outcome would be completely different. Ning wasn't certain in his ability to overcome the local formations, and so he wouldn't show any mercy at all.

The main hall of the Eastsmoke branch.

"Who is he? Where the hell did he come from?" The Eastsmoke leader was a fairly handsome man, but his eyes were as cold as ice.

"No idea where he's from."

"Given how powerful his godsense is, he's definitely an extraordinary World-level cultivator. In fact, he might be strong enough to enter the Twelve Palaces or might have already done so." There were three other World-level cultivators in the main hall. Usually the various World-level cultivators of the Eastsmoke branch would reside within their own residences, and so the main palace only had three on duty.

The Eastsmoke leader's face sank.

"Branch leader, what should we do?"

"Should we activate the formation and let them leave?"

The other three all looked at their branch leader.

The Eastsmoke leader was considering this very question as well. "It seems as though the master of the Flamefairy is quite a powerful figure… but no matter what, he's just one man! So what if he really is a member of the Twelve Palaces? In this place, I can still kill him!"

The almighty Hegemon had long ago ordered all members of the Twelve Palaces to swear lifeblood oaths, preventing them from killing each other. However, these oaths were not binding upon the other cultivators of the Brightshore Kingdom! Although World-level cultivators who had been granted entry into the Twelve Palaces were generally incredibly powerful, over the course of countless years there had been a few occasions in which ordinary World-level cultivators had managed to somehow kill World-level cultivators of the Twelve Palaces. When this happened, the response was simple: Too bad! It was his own damn fault!

If you were protected from Daolords but ended up being killed by World-level cultivators, you deserved it!

"His retainer had so many treasures. He has to have even more." The Eastsmoke leader grew more and more greedy as he thought about this. "No matter what, he's just a World-level cultivator. The sectlord once said that not even the most powerful World-level cultivator would be able to defeat these protective formations."

"Kill. Kill him!" The Eastsmoke leader made his decision, born of personal greed as well as confidence in the protective formation's power. Ning's own display of dominance and power had also angered the Eastsmoke leader, contributing to this decision.

Boom! The Eastsmoke leader sent out a strand of his will, merging it into the protective formation that covered the entire Eastsmoke branch. This was a sealing formation that prevented anyone from entering or leaving the place. This formation was perpetually active, which was why Ning had to pretend that he was interested in joining the Bluegrace Sect and be granted entry. If he hadn't, there would've been no way for him to force his way inside. The sealing formation would've stopped him dead in his tracks, and the many other formations would've begun to launch spells against him as various World-level cultivators took control over them.

"Not only did you barge into the Bluegrace Sect, you act with such arrogance. It seems as though you truly have a death wish!" The Eastsmoke leader's mind had become one with the formation, and his voice boomed out through the natural energy controlled by the formation as it echoed throughout the region. "On my orders, all disciples of the sect are to take control over our various formations and kill him!"

Giving this order through godsense would've been more subtle, but Ning's godsense had completely permeated this entire region, giving him no option but to send the order through his formation.

"Yes."

"Take control of the formations!"

"Quick!"

Some of the World-level cultivators were hesitating, as they all knew that the Eastsmoke leader was in the wrong for lusting over the treasures of this man's retainer! In addition, the man's godsense was so strong that he was clearly an unfathomably powerful figure. Some of the vacillating cultivators began to delay on purpose, wanting to see exactly how powerful this mysterious expert was.

However, some of them did obey the orders right away. As for the ones who were extremely good friends with the Eastsmoke leader, they all began to fly straight towards the various formation-cores. "Once we kill him, we'll split some of the spoils as well."

"He dared to enter our base. He truly doesn't know his own limits!"

So long as they rendered merits in battle, there would be no way that the Eastsmoke leader would be able to refuse giving them a portion of the spoils. World-level fellow disciples were fairly important and respected, after all.

Ning stood there in front of Fairy Qingfan's estate. When Ning heard the Eastsmoke leader send out a booming order to kill him, he just slowly shook his head.

"Think of something, quick!" Fairy Qingfan said desperately.

"Formations… have to be operated by cultivators," Ning said coldly.

"Come out!" A crimson-black gourd instantly appeared in the air next to Ning. This was the Elementum Waterflame Gourd, and it immediately unleashed two dragon-like streaks of lightning. One was the Watersmoke Lightning, which surged out like a dark stormclouds that was filled with crashing waves of water. The other was the Firecloud Lightning, which spread out like an enormous billowing cloud of flames. The two streaks of lightning wrapped around each other, then began to blast out in every direction!

It must be understood that Chaos lightning moved faster than almost all Daolords. As for Dao lightning, it moved with such terrifying speed that even Daolords would be befuddled by it, to say nothing of World-level cultivators.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Dao lightning blasted out in every direction. In the blink of an eye, every part of the ten million kilometers of the Eastsmoke branch became filled by the Watersmoke Lightning and the Firecloud Lightning. These two mighty types of Dao lightning were incompatible with each other, due to being water-aligned and fire-aligned, and each time they clashed with each other they would explode with utterly earth-shaking force.

"What?!"

"How is this possible?!"

The cultivators who had been the first to move, hoping to help kill Ning and then get a share of his treasures, watched in utter despair as Dao lightning blanketed the skies above them! The Dao lightning moved with such incredible speed that they were filled with complete hopeless. It must be remembered that Daolord Allgod himself had used those nine secret arts including the [Novessence Thunder] to strike down Emperor Melobo. In terms of speed alone, Dao lightning was generally so fast that even Eternal Emperors were unable to dodge it.

Boom! The two streaks of Dao lightning slammed downwards.

"NO-!" Some of the World-level cultivators brandished their weapons, seeking to block. Alas, as the divine lightning swept past them they were instantly reduced to dust, their truesouls completely annihilated.

The two mighty streaks of Dao lightning were so powerful that when they were completely focused on a single opponent, they would be able to slay even a supreme World God with a single blow. Even transcendent World Gods would suffer heavy injuries, and a few repeated strikes would result in their deaths!

However, since Ning had spread out his two streaks of Dao lightning into an area attack, the power of the attack was somewhat lessened. The elite World Gods were instantly swept through and destroyed! The master-class World Gods would be able to survive for two breaths before also perishing. As for supreme World Gods, they would generally be able to survive. However, this small Eastsmoke branch only had a total of around three hundred World-level cultivators. It only had roughly ten or so who had reached the supreme World God level of power!

Boom! The cultivators who had been the first to respond to their leader's orders and charge forward began to die under the horrifying power of the two types of Dao lightning.

There had only been a single supreme World God who had responded to the Eastsmoke leader's orders right away, and Ning focused an enormous amount of lightning on him, causing him to perish after a few breaths as well.

It had only been ten breaths worth of time, but all of the thirty-nine cultivators who had acknowledged their branch leader's orders had perished! As for those who were hesitating or who were just watching, Ning didn't act against them yet.

"Thank goodness."

"Thank goodness I was cautious."

"Thank goodness I hate that idiot."

The many hesitating World-level cultivators in the branch all raised their heads to stare at the boundless streaks of Dao lightning filling the skies. The black lightning and the blazing lightning were tangled together, constantly crackling and exploding with such power that they all felt chilled to the core.

Fairy Qingfan stared in a similarly stupefied manner at the endless lightning crackling in the skies. She then turned to stare at the crimson-black gourd hanging in the air next to Ning. The gourd was still emitting more streaks of lightning.

"As I said. Anyone who seeks to bar my path shall die.' Ning's voice boomed out with the thunder, shaking the heavens and the earth. "If you do not get involved, I will not harm you. I do not harm the innocent."

"You've killed the disciples of our sect. You must die!" The Eastsmoke leader's furious voice echoed in the skies as well. "The nineteen of you who are already in position, activate the formations right away and kill him!"

The Eastsmoke leader had been driven absolutely furious. Normally, if an enemy attacked they would be able to rely on the protective sealing formation to defend them as the various World-level cultivators took control of the various attacking formations and used them to surround and assault their foe. The more powerful formations required multiple World-level cultivators to use, and there was obviously no point in having all of their cultivators be permanently stationed within the various formations. They needed to train and to go out on adventure! They would usually train in their own residences; all they had to do was hurry out and take part in any battles that did arise.

The problem was that Ji Ning was already inside the formation!

Even so, normal enemies would not have been able to prevent them from entering their various formation-cores. The problem was that Ning had the Elementum Waterflame Gourd, allowing him to wipe out all of them at one ago. Alas, nineteen World-level cultivators were permanently stationed in some of the formation-cores at all times, and so some of the formations were still activatable.

"If the nineteen of you do not get involved, I won't act against you." Ning's voice boomed out once more. "But if you try to stop me… I guarantee that I will kill you all, no matter how much time and effort it takes."

Instantly, the nineteen World-level cultivators within the formation-cores began to hesitate.

Should they get involved in this? If they didn't get involved, they wouldn't be in any danger. But if they did get involved and were unable to kill this mysterious expert, they would be in for a world of hurt.

"Kill him! Later, I'll give all nineteen of you an equal share of his treasures." The Eastsmoke leader spoke out using his Immortal energy through his formation.

"Kill him."

"We are inside our formation. There's no way he can touch us."

"Kill him and his treasures will be ours."

"If we act, we have to make sure we get rid of him."

Three of the World-level cultivators chose not to get involved and instead just watch, but the other sixteen elected to activate their formations out of greed. Activating all the formations would require sixty cultivators, and they were only sixteen of them in position. Only a small part of the power of the formations had been unleashed, but they still felt quite confident. They trusted in the might of Daolord Bluegrace's formation.

Rumble…

Multiple formations throughout the region began to activate!

Ning raised his head to stare into the skies, his eyes as cold as death.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 55 – The Formations Activate

The Eastsmoke leader was in charge of the most important formation. This was the one preventing Ji Ning from leaving.

As for the other sixteen, they were able to control roughly eight other formations. Three of them were meant for bewildering opponents while the other five were meant for launching attacks.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! The enormous illusion of a axe slowly began to manifest in the air, drawing upon more and more of the power of Heaven and Earth as it corporealized. The illusion became increasingly solid, and its aura continued to increase.

"The power of this divine axe is so great that even a hundred World Gods would be slain by a single chop." Fairy Qingfan had already hidden herself inside the estate behind Ning, and she watched all this happen with concern.

Rumble…

Thunder rang out, shaking both the heavens and the earth as streaks of lightning began to appear. These were all streaks of Chaos lightning, but they were so numerous that they still possessed tremendous power.

An axe, lightning bolts, flames, black mist, a divine sword… all five attacking formations had been activated. The three bewildering formations also began to unleash their power as well.

"Hmph. How laughable." Ning simply stood there. His soul was so strong and his will was so resolute that all of the bewildering illusions were useless against him. It must be understood that not even a Heartforce Cultivator like Bertulu had been successful in using illusions to deceive Ning, to say nothing of these formations. These formations were designed to be used against World-level cultivators. They were completely useless against Ning.

"Break!!!"

Ning raised his head to the skies and let out a furious howl.

The two mighty streaks of Dao lightning immediately blasted out once more, striking towards the enormous axe, the Chaos lightning, the flames, the black mist, and the divine sword.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

One explosion after another could be heard as the Dao lightning began to battle the five offensive formations.

The first to be destroyed was the Chaos lightning. Next was the strange, billowing black mist, which was wiped out by the supremely yang-attribute, forceful, and destructive Dao lightning. As for the giant greataxe and the divine sword, they contained so much condensed power that not even the Dao lightning could shake them! The destruction of the Chaos lightning and the strange black fog had used up a tremendous amount of the Dao lightnings' power. In the end, it was only able to slightly weaken the blazing, Fiendgod-shaped flames.

"Kill!" The blazing Fiendgod flew through the air, roaring furiously as flames erupted in its wake.

"Kill!" The enormous greataxe hanging in the air quickly descended like a scythe, chopping down towards Ning with fury.

"Kill." The divine sword hanging in the air descended tip-first as it stabbed straight towards Ning.

"Die. Die! DIE!" The Eastsmoke branch leader gritted his teeth as he watched from within the main palace. He repeated the word 'die' over and over again, hoping that when the power of these three formations descended they would utterly annihilate this white-robed brat.

"You have to do. You HAVE to die." The sixteen World-level cultivators controlling the formations watched eagerly as well.

It was forbidden for members of the Twelve Palaces to fight amongst themselves, but ordinary World-level cultivators often dreamed of having the chance to slay a member of the Twelve Palaces! The status difference between the two was as great as the difference between the heavens and the earth, after all. However, the difference in power was similarly great, and those who were capable of completing such a momentous task were few and far between.

They now had a chance to accomplish such a deed… and if they won, they would gain access to this terrifyingly powerful World God's treasures.

"Ji Ning…" Fairy Qingfan raised her head to stare at the blazing Fiendgod, the enormous greataxe, and the divine sword.

"I wonder what will happen?"

The other World-level cultivators who were simply watching on the sidelines stared as the three weapons descended towards that tiny white-robed figure.

"Hmph." Ning suddenly let out an angry snort, instantly expanding in size to become a three-headed, six-armed Fiendgod who was more than thirty thousand meters tall. His six enormous palms were large enough to blot out the skies, and he swept them towards the three attacking formations.

"Kill! Kill!" The blazing Fiendgod continued to bellow furiously.

BOOM! BOOM!

Ning was using the same sword-art with all six of his palms – the Heavenbreaker stance!

This strike focused on using raw strength and power to overwhelm and crush foes in a head-on clash! After his experiences in the Astral Islands, Ning's [Brightmoon] sword-art had become dramatically more powerful as well. They were now comparable to the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art! Ning's Heavenbreaker stance now had a similar aura of overwhelming dominance as the third stance of the [Quintessence Sword-Intent, the Astral stance, but it was even more direct and brutish in its might.

BANG! BANG! Two of the mighty palms slammed into blazing Fiendgod in succession. The blazing Fiendgod bellowed furiously as it attempted to fight back… but as the two palms simultaneously collided with it, its body began to break apart.

BOOM! Two enormous palms slammed direct into the chopping greataxe in a frontal collision. The result was the the greataxe was actually shaken into pieces, causing it to dissipate.

The final two palms smashed straight towards that descending sword.

In the blink of an eye, Ning had transformed into a towering Fiendgod, manifested three heads and six arms, then used his six palms to crush all three attacks. This sight caused all of the World-level cultivators in the Eastsmoke branch to fall silent.

"B-but…"

"How can he be this strong?"

"Thank goodness I didn't get involved!"

They all stared slack-jawed, especially Fairy Qingfan. She was completely dazed! "Youji mainly relied on her bugbeasts and golems! She herself wasn't that powerful. When this Ji Ning guy took out one of those legendary Elementum Waterflame Gourds, I thought that he had to be just like Youji, someone who relied on magic treasures. I never imagined that he himself is even more powerful than those treasures! H-he… he must be close to a Daolord in might!"

"That blazing Fiendgod, in terms of raw strength alone, was actually comparable to a Daolord of the First Step. Unfortunately, its insights into the Dao were so poor that it was even weaker than ordinary World-level cultivators in this regard." Ning couldn't help but shake his head. "As for that axe and the sword, they were materialized with many profound mysteries and were actually quite strong. Unfortunately, all the power they contained was used up after a single strike."

The weakness of the blazing Fiendgod was that it possessed a very low level of insight into the Dao. As for the greataxe and the divine sword, they had no staying power. They were only able to stay materialized for a brief period of time at their maximum level of power. Ning, however, was a cultivator and was thus able to fight at maximum power for quite some time.

"All things crumble before the face of my Heavenbreaker stance," Ning said calmly.

This was the fifth stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art, the Heavenbreaker stance. This was Ning's most physically powerful attack, an attack relying on overwhelming might! It was far more ferocious and forceful than the Blood Drop stance or the Shadowless stance. However, the Blood Drop stance had better penetration while the Shadowless stance was more unpredictable. When Ning battled against powerful cultivators, he generally tended to use some of the other stances, but when faced with these fairly weak formations it was actually the Heavenbreaker stance which was the most suitable attack.

"What should I do? What should I do?!" The Eastsmoke leader began to freak out, his eyes turning red with panic. "The formations can't kill him. What should I do?"

"Branch leader, what should we do?"

"How are supposed to beat him?"

The other sixteen World-level cultivators in charge of those eight formations began to panic as well.

The Eastsmoke leader's eyes were now bloodshot. Through his formation, he howled furiously, "No need to be afraid! He must have used some sort of incredibly powerful divine ability in order to be able to unleash such tremendous might! The more powerful a divine ability is, the more divine power it uses up. He's probably using up divine power a thousand times faster than he would in a 'normal' battle. There's no way he'll be able to sustain this, but our formations will ensure that we can continue to launch attacks without pause."

"Right."

"Let's kill him through attrition."

"There's no way he'll be able to launch too many of those attacks."

They had already made an enemy out of Ji Ning. If they were to now let him leave… unacceptable! The only choice was to follow this path to its conclusion.

They were using formations, and so they were able to draw upon the endless amount of natural energy that existed in the world. The formations were also powered by chaos jewels, ensuring that the controllers didn't have to use up too much of their own Immortal energy. They'd be able to keep fighting for an extended period of time.

An illusion of an axe, an illusion of a sword, a black mist, a flaming giant, and lightning bolts once more began to form in midair.

Ning glanced upwards at them, then shook his head.

Attrition?

With each attack, the formations would have to build up power for quite some time before striking out. Ning himself was being reinforced by his azureflower mist energy and actually wasn't using much of his own normal power. In a battle like this, the rate at which he absorbed energy from the outside world was actually faster than the rate at which he used it up.

Swoosh. Ning suddenly stepped forward, transforming into a streak of light that flew straight into the air.

"He's moving."

"He's flying towards the main palace."

Many World-level cultivators were watching this fight nervously. They didn't dare to take part in this battle at all, because even if all of them joined forces they would still be butchered by this white-robed youth! The difference between a World-level cultivator and a Daolord of the First Step was simply enormous. Ji Ning had a much lower level of insight compared to a Daolord of the First Step prior to the almighty Hegemon abducting him, but he was now on equal terms with an actual Daolord of the First Step.

As Ning flew forwards, he suffered yet another waves of attacks, but he was once more able to use his six giant palms to effortlessly crush the attackers.

"He's coming for me." When the Eastsmoke branch leader saw the towering white-robed youth fly towards him, an ugly look appeared on his face.

"Break for me!" Ning let out a cold roar as his six giant palms sliced through the air, striking simultaneously at the main palace of the Eastsmoke branch. The Eastsmoke leader was hiding within the main palace, and he was as small as an ant compared to the six mighty palms that were descending.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 56 – Ji Ning's Slaves

The area around the main palace was surrounded by rings of light. When the six colossal heaven-covering hands came crashing down, only the outermost layer of light was shattered, and they regenerated almost instantly.

"Ahahaha! There's no way you'll be able to break through." The Eastsmoke leader was overjoyed upon seeing this. He stood there in the main palace, a cold smile on his lips. "This is the main palace. This is the most important part of the Eastsmoke branch, and it possesses the strongest defenses. It is guarded by eight layers of defenses, and you were only able to breach one of them. You aren't even close! Since you can't kill me, you'll be the one to die. I refuse to believe you'll be able to keep this divine ability of yours active indefinitely."

Ji Ning stared down towards him from his position in the skies. Ning nodded slowly as he mused to himself, "The main palace lives up to its reputation. This is the source of power for the entire restrictive formation"

The grand restrictive formation protecting this place required a formation-core, and the formation-core was under the control of the Eastsmoke branch leader and located in the tightly guarded main palace.

"It seems I'll have to use my full power." A hint of a smile played at the corner of Ning's lips. He then reached out with one hand towards his back, taking a firm hold over the sword which he had been carrying on his back this entire time.

"He's about to draw his sword."

"He's been carrying that sword along this entire time. It seems that sword should be pretty powerful."

"I wonder what will happen?"

The World-level cultivators of the Eastsmoke branch all watched intently, including both Fairy Qingfan and the Eastsmoke leader.

Clink.

The sword left its scabbard!

In the instant that Ning drew his sword, five other swords appeared in his other five hands.

Six hands, six Eternal swords.

"Astral stance!" As soon as Ning drew his swords, his six Eternal blades began to gleam with blinding light. They transformed into six streaks of bloody sword-light that descended towards the main palace like a tempest of blood.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One layer of light after another was shattered. The main palace was guarded by eight formations, and six of them were broken through.

The shockwaves generated by the powerful collisions spread out in every direction, so strong as to cause even the surrounding mountains to crumble and topple. Countless trees were reduced to dust.

"What…" The Eastsmoke leader was so frightened that his face turned bone-white. He then swallowed, hard. "Thankfully, he didn't break through. He won't be able to break through."

"Is this his true power?" Fairy Qingfan, still standing at the entrance to her estate, stared at the distant Ji Ning and the six mighty swords he was wielding. "No wonder little sister Youji was willing to follow and serve him. How can a World-level cultivator be this powerful."

"Oh? It actually didn't break?" Ning frowned, then raised his head to glance at the restrictive formations above him.

Swoosh!

Ning charged high into the skies.

"I knew he wouldn't be able to hold on forever. He had to be using up an enormous amount of divine power to unleash those attacks." A hint of delight appeared on the Eastsmoke leader's face. Through the formation, he sent a mental message to the other sixteen cultivators. "Keep using your formations to attack him. Don't be fooled by how powerful he looks. Soon, he won't be able to fight back at all."

"Right. He's relying on his own power whereas we are relying on our formation."

"He won't be able to overpower us."

The World-level cultivators continued to use their formations to attack.

"Impudent!" Ning frowned as he saw the greataxe, the sword, and the blazing Fiendgod charged towards him once more.

Whoosh.

Three streaks of bloody sword-light shot out into the skies, completely shattering the three oncoming attacks. Now that Ning was using his Eternal swords, these formations were nothing to him at all.

"Since I cannot break through the main palace with a full-force strike, I should give this grand restrictive formation a try." Ning flew high into the air, head raised as he stared at the barrier in front of him. Although he knew that this barrier had to be extremely tough, he still wanted to give it a try.

"Go." Six streaks of sword-light shot out like six meteors, simultaneously raining down together upon a thirty-meter region of the grand restrictive formation. Although the formation covered a region of ten million kilometers, Ning focused all of his attacks on one point. This would make piercing through it easier.

Rumble… the entire grand restrictive formation trembled slightly, then dispersed the power of Ning's attack.

"It didn't break?" Ning's face changed slightly. "Again."

Rumble… the six streaks of bloody sword-light sliced out once more as Ning furiously attacked the grand restrictive formation.

The entire Eastsmoke branch turned silent. All the World-level cultivators watched as the white-robed youth used his power to furiously assault the grand restrictive formation. It would be countless years before they would ever be able to forget this sight. A World-level cultivator was so audacious as to challenge the full power of their barrier… and was able to cause the entire barrier to tremble.

Ning sent ten consecutive attacks out against the formation!

"I really can't break through." Ning slowly shook his head. "It seems as though forcing my way out of this formation is impractical."

If he wasn't able to break out of this place, his only option was to carry out his original plan.

Ning lowered his head, staring downwards with a cold light flashing in his eyes.

Swoosh. Ning immediately charged downwards. In just two seconds, he arrived before a black palace.

"Break." Six dazzling streaks of sword-light descended upon the the black palace. Although the black palace was protected by three layers of barriers, it still exploded into pieces.

"Spare me!"

"Spare us!"

The three World-level cultivators hiding within the black palace immediately ran out, staring at Ning in terror.

Every single formation-core was protected by barrier spells, but those barriers couldn't possibly compare to the barriers protecting the main palace! Transcendent World Gods might not be able to breach them, but Daolords of the First Step would be able to breach them through raw power.

"Hmph." Ning waved his giant hand. Whoosh! The heavens seemed to turn dark as he captured all three of them.

"Next." Ning began to fly towards another formation-core.

"What?!"

"We can't stop him."

"Mystdragon, this is all your fault. You ruined us, you idiot! Qingfan was absolutely right when she said you were an imbecile and buffoon."

"We are finished."

"We are all doomed."

"He said earlier that anyone who stands in his way will be killed."

Ning blew through the various formation-cores with ease, capturing all sixteen World-level cultivators.

"All of them are doomed." The Eastsmoke leader's face was turning pale from his position inside the main palace as he watched this happen. "I'm the only one left. He won't be able to enter. He can't break the main palace's barrier spells."

Although he consoled himself by saying this, he was still filled with terror. Although the barrier was able to trap Ning, it wasn't able to kill. If too much time passed, who knew what additional variables might enter the picture?

"Big brother." The Eastsmoke leader waved his hand, causing a black message-talisman to appear. He gritted his teeth, then crushed it into tiny pieces.

"Big brother. You have to come save me." The Eastsmoke leader could now sense how dangerous this foe was. At a time like this, his only option was to ask his big brother to come protect him. His big brother had always doted on him.

The main headquarters of the Bluegrace Sect.

The main headquarters was a vast place, stretching out to cover more than a hundred million kilometers. There were countless cultivators here, with more than three thousand World-level cultivators and innumerable Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. There were also four Daolords! The most powerful was of course Daolord Bluegrace himself, and he was an extremely famous and reputable figure within the Brightshore Kingdom.

Bang!

A figure suddenly soared into the skies, leaving a deep gorge that was completely shrouded in black mist. This figure was dressed in black robes, had a cold and grim face, and looked quite similar to World God Mystdragon, the branch leader of the Eastsmoke branch. Only, his aura was colder and darker.

"Mystdragon actually shattered the message-talisman I gave him? What sort of danger has he encountered?" Daolord Batdragon's face was grim, but his eyes were filled with worry.

Him and Mystdragon were actual brothers.

It was extremely rare for a pair of fraternal brothers to be able to train together and reach such heights in cultivation. Batdragon had long ago lost all his other kinsmen, and his little brother was the only one left. In truth, Mystdragon wasn't really strong enough to qualify for his current position, but since Daolord Batdragon gave him his full support he was able to become a branch leader.

Mystdragon. His one and only little brother.

"I'll go right now." Daolord Batdragon didn't hesitate at all. He immediately transformed into a streak of light as he flew out of the main headquarters and towards the Eastsmoke branch.

At the top of a mountain of the Eastsmoke branch.

Ning stood there, a group of thirty-four terrified World-level cultivators before him.

Of the thirty-four, sixteen had been using formations to attack Ning while eighteen were the Eastsmoke leader's devoted followers. The eighteen were the ones who had been keeping tabs on the Flamefairy. Ning had captured them all.

"The eighteen of you obeyed the Eastsmoke branch leader's orders and wished to slay my retainer and steal her treasures.

"The sixteen of you wished to slay me!"

Ning swept the thirty-four with his gaze. "Quite frankly, I should kill you all."

The thirty-four were utterly terrified. When cultivators made the wrong enemy or chose the wrong master, they would often find themselves in mortal danger.

"However, I will give you two options. The first option is death! The second option is to immediately swear a lifeblood oath to be my slave." Ning tossed out an oathstone. "The oath is right here. If you are willing to swear the oath, you'll be able to stay alive."

"Slave?"

The World-level cultivators had ugly looks on their faces. World Gods and Chaos Immortals had exalted statuses; how many of them would willingly become the slave of another?

The problem was, if they refused they would die! Ji Ning was simply too powerful, far more powerful than any World God had a right to be. To submit to him… it wasn't completely unacceptable.

"This oath…"

"This is way too stringent…"

"B-but…"

When the thirty-four of them saw the oath, they were stunned.

Once they swore this oath, they would become absolute slaves who would have to serve Ning with utter devotion. In fact, they weren't even permitted to lie to him! This was one of the most stringent oaths possible. The only thing that gave them hope was the clause that said they would regain their freedom after a thousand chaos cycles.

A thousand chaos cycles? This was an incredibly long period of time. How many cultivators would even be able to stay alive for that long?

Ning swept them with a glance. He had actually been planning on killing them all, but he had reconsidered as there was always a need for servants or slaves to take care of some minor matters that he simply didn't have time for. In addition, when he was out adventuring there were some dangerous places he could use them to scout for him. If some of them were so lucky as to stay alive for a thousand chaos cycles, for him to release them then would be fine as well.

A thousand chaos cycles? Ning couldn't even imagine what level of power he would have reached by then.

"Impossible."

"One wrong step, and it all comes to nothing." Several World-level cultivators raised their heads and sighed. Their truesouls immediately dissipated as they perished on the spot.

"I chose the wrong path. I'll have to bear the consequences."

"Forget it, forget it."

In the end, a total of five of them chose suicide. Ning didn't move to stop them.

The other twenty-nine chose to bow their heads and become Ning's slaves. As they saw it, this incomparably terrifying World God would most likely become a Daolord in the future. They were willing to accept becoming the servants and slaves of a Daolord.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, accepting these twenty-nine World-level slaves.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 57 – Daolord Batdragon

World God Mystdragon, the branch leader of the Eastsmoke branch, continued to hide in the main palace of the Eastsmoke branch. He watched as all of this happened, and he felt no sympathy for them at all. Instead, he was celebrating. "Thank goodness the barriers protecting my main palace are much stronger. Although this white-robed kid is strong, he still can't do a damn thing to me. Hmph! Soon, my big brother will arrive. By then… hpmh!"

World God Mystdragon felt tremendous confidence in his big brother.

Whoosh. Ning suddenly transformed into a streak of light, flying away from the mountain and once more charging towards the main palace.

"He's coming back?" The Eastsmoke leader was badly frightened. "Why is he coming back? Does he have some even more powerful tricks up his sleeve?"

The Eastsmoke leader's heart was filled with alarm. He knew that if he didn't have these barriers and had to face Ning by himself, he probably wouldn't be able to withstand even a single blow!

The Bluegrace Sect's area of influence was quite large, as was its territory. Its nine branches were all located in nine different corners of its territory, and even someone like Daolord Batdragon who flew roughly twice as fast as the speed of light would need to fly for roughly an entire day before arriving.

World God Mystdragon had to hold on for at least a day. By when, his big brother the Daolord would arrive and he would be safe.

"Come out."

Ning landed in front of the main palace as a crimson-black gourd appeared behind him. This was the Elementum Waterflame Gourd. The gourd immediately belched out the Watersmoke Lightning and the Firecloud Lightning, and the two mighty streaks of Dao lightning immediately began to hammer down upon the barrier spells, shattering through the two outermost layers.

"I hope this breaks it." Ning manifested three heads and six arms, once more wielding six Violetjewels as he began to furiously assault the main palace.

Boom! Boom! Boom! The main palace echoed with the sound of explosions.

Even though Ning now had the Dao lightning helping him, he was still only able to breach seven of the barriers. The eighth and final barrier remained unbroken, and it was the strongest barrier of all.

"You can't break it." The Eastsmoke leader laughed coldly as he saw this. "And you can forget about escaping."

Ning, however, continued to rain down furious blows with his Eternal weapons. As for his Dao lightning, it was constantly replenished by the natural energy of Heaven and Earth and thus was also able to attack unabated.

"Let's see how long he can keep attacking for. He has to be using up an enormous amount of divine power, but I'm using up very little Immortal energy in maintaining these protective barriers." The Eastsmoke leader smiled coldly.

Two hours later. Ning was still furiously attacking, not having taken any break at all.

"What the hell is going on." The Eastsmoke leader had an ugly look on his face. "He has to be using an insanely powerful divine ability to launch such powerful attacks. It has to be consuming a thousand times as much divine power as a normal strike would. How can he keep going for so long?"

It must be understood that the barriers themselves used up an incredible amount of energy after having been breached and repaired so many times. Although most of this energy came from chaos jewels and the extracted natural energy of the world, a small part of it did have to come from the controller of the formation. His Immortal energy was instrumental in keeping the barriers and the formations active.

After two hours, more than half of his Immortal energy had been used up!

"Let's keep fighting then. I'll be able to hold." The Eastsmoke leader gritted his teeth. "I have plenty of chaos jewels. I'll be able to fight for a long period of time if I use my chaos jewels to replenish my energy."

He was the fraternal brother of a Daolord and a branch leader. He naturally had quite a few chaos jewels, and the main palace itself also had an emergency cache of chaos jewels to ensure that the formations would remain active.

In truth, Ning really was using up quite a bit of energy. Although the azureflower mist energy was being consumed fairly slowly, it was still being used up far faster than he could replenish it. If he continued launching maximum-power attacks like this, he would probably run dry on energy after six hours. However… the one thing which Ning absolutely did not lack for was treasures and chaos jewels. For the sake of being able to end this sooner, using up a few chaos jewels was more than worth it.

Four hours.

Six hours.

Eight hours.

Ning continued his furious attacks. Every so often, Ning would draw some of the chaos jewels into his Jindan chaos region and absorb the pure, distilled chaos energy from the chaos jewels. As for the Eastsmoke leader, he had naturally started to use chaos jewels well before Ning had.

"Mystdragon, I urge you to just withdraw the formation and let him leave." Fairy Qingfan had already flown over to the main palace. In truth, she was feeling quite stunned at the fact that Ji Ning was able to maintain such a high intensity over such a long period of time. It must be understood that World Gods used up divine power at an alarming rate when they launched full-power attacks. Even if they tried to use chaos jewels to replenish their energy, it wouldn't be enough.

There was a limit to how fast chaos jewels could be used to replenish energy. Ning used up energy at a very slow rate, which was why he was able to easily use chaos jewels to keep himself topped off.

For those who truly did rely on powerful divine abilities to fight, they'd usually run out of energy after a short battle. There was simply no way for chaos jewels to keep up with their energy expenditures.

"You traitor." The Eastsmoke leader laughed coldly.

"This was all caused by your attempts at robbery. If you let him go, then this matter will be at an end," Fairy Qingfan urged.

"At an end? Ahaha, he's completely unable to breach the main palace. I'm using up almost no Immortal energy in keeping the barrier spells active. I'll be able to keep going for an extremely long period of time thanks to my chaos jewels. Soon, my big brother will arrive and he'll be in for a world of trouble." How could the Eastsmoke leader be willing to give up at a time like this?

So what if the white-robed kid belonged to the Twelve Palaces? His big brother was a member of the Twelve Palaces as well, and a retainer to Daolord Bluegrace. The Eastsmoke leader didn't feel any fear at all.

And if this kid wasn't a member of the Twelve Palaces, his big brother could simply kill him!

"Big brother?" The furiously attacking Ning cast him a glance. By now, Ning had a belly full of fire. Anyone who had been forced to continuously launch full-force attacks for so long would have a belly full of fire.

"It wouldn't mater even if his big brother is Daolord Bluegrace himself." Ning was truly furious now.

"Mystdragon." The black-robed Daolord Batdragon was flying through the clouds at high speed. His nervousness had caused a layer of bloody light to appear within his eyes. "You have to hang on, Mystdragon. Hang on until I arrive." He couldn't even imagine what sort of threat had caused his little brother to shatter the message-talisman and beg for rescue.

He needed a full day to fly from the main headquarters to the Eastsmoke branch. All sorts of things could happen within a day.

"I don't care who it is, if someone kills my little brother… I, Batdragon, swear that I will pay any price, up to and including my very life itself, to take revenge." The bloody light in Daolord Batdragon's eyes grew even more ominous. The two of them had grown up together as children, then had together embarked upon the path of cultivation. They had even braved many life-and-death dangers together. The relationship between the two simply couldn't be describe by the word 'deep' alone. Mystdragon had been the most important person in his life for countless eons. For the sake of his little brother, he truly was prepared and willing to give up life itself.

"Hold on. Wait for me." Daolord Batdragon continued to fly forwards at high speed.

A full day and a full night later, Daolord Batdragon finally reached the Eastsmoke branch. Thus far the life-tablet of his little brother, which he carried with him at all times, was still intact. That meant that his little brother was still alive.

Whoosh. When Daolord Batdragon arrived at the grand restrictive formation, he immediately charged in while shouting loudly, "Let me in!"

"Big brother?" The Eastsmoke leader was instantly overjoyed. As controller of the formation, he was able to immediately create a small opening for the black-robed Daolord Batdragon to enter through.

The atmosphere in the branch instantly turned quite odd and eery.

Ning, Fairy Qingfan, and many other World Gods could all sense that something had just happened to the formation. They saw that black-robed figure fly in, and they could sense from the overwhelming aura radiating from him. This was indeed the aura of a Daolord.

"A Daolord arrived."

"That's Daolord Batdragon."

"Our branch leader's big brother has arrived. That invader will be in trouble now."

The various World-level cultivators were all secretly chatting amongst themselves. As for Ning, he halted his wild attacks and turned to stare at the black-robed figuring making a beeline in his direction. This black-robed figure had quite a cold and sinister face which was very similar to the Eastsmoke leader's appearance.

"Eh?" When the black-robed World God Batdragon saw Ning, he could immediately sense the ripples from a identity medallion of the Twelve Palaces."

Daolord Batdragon flew into the main palace, and the barriers surrounding the palace all vanished. Clearly, the Eastsmoke leader held complete faith in his big brother.

"Hm." When Daolord Batdragon saw his little brother, a quck and careful scan showed that he wasn't injured at all.

"Big brother, this World-level cultivator barged into my Eastsmoke branch." The Eastsmoke branch leader, World God Mystdragon, pointed at Ning as he howled furiously, "Not only did he kill a group of dozens of my World-level cultivators, he forcibly abducted and enslaved a second group. He wanted to kill me, big brother!"

All of the resentment he had felt was bubbling out now. With his big brother by his side, who did he have to fear?

WHAP!!!!

Daolord Batdragon suddenly struck out with his palm, delivering a vicious blow to the face of the Eastsmoke leader. The Eastsmoke leader's face immediately twisted and distorted as he was sent flying into the walls of the main palace. BOOM! He collided so hard that the entire palace shook. The palace walls were now covered with blood as the Eastsmoke leader lay on the blood-soaked ground, his body twisted brutally.

The Eastsmoke leader raised his head to stare at his elder brother in disbelief.

"Why haven't you apologized to this fellow Daoist yet!" Daolord Batdragon stared at him as he furiously roared out these words.

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Book 26, World Level, Chapter 58 – Resolution

"Big brother." The Eastsmoke leader had a befuddled look on his face as he stared at his elder brother. He was to lower his head and admit that he was in the wrong?

"I told you, apologize to this fellow Daoist immediately!" Rage blazed in Daolord Batdragon's eyes. His voice was very deep, and he growled out one word at a time.

The Eastsmoke leader felt unhappy with this. So what if this white-robed kid really was a member of the Twelve Palaces? His big brother was a member as well. It was forbidden for members of the Twelve Palaces to kill each other; why should he apologize? But judging from the way in which Daolord Batdragon had just spoken, the Eastsmoke leader could sense that his big brother was truly upset this time. He had long ago grown accustomed to obeying his big brother in all things.

"I was in the wrong." The Eastsmoke leader bowed his head towards Ning. "Please pardon me, fellow Daoist."

"I am Batdragon." Daolord Batdragon looked at Ning and spoke in a very courteous manner. "I knew that this good-for-nothing little brother of mine must have done something to offend you, fellow Daoist. I'm willing to offer you fifty thousand cubes of chaos nectar in compensation. I hope that you can spare my little brother, fellow Daoist." As he spoke, he produced a circular bracelet.

"This contains ten thousand cubes of chaos nectar and two Eternal weapons. The total value here is fifty thousand cubes. I hope you are willing to accept this, fellow Daoist." As Daolord Batdragon spoke, the bracelet flew straight towards Ning.

Ning was stunned. An immediate apology, followed by fifty thousand cubes of chaos nectar?

Ning knew that this person was a black-armored Daolord, one who had reached that level only thanks to a Pseudo Samsara Pill. The man wasn't exactly wealthy. The fifty thousand cubes probably didn't represent all of his wealth, but it definitely would sting.

Ning glanced at the bracelet, in no hurry to accept it.

This branch leader had first tried to kill Su Youji, then tried to kill Ning himself. Even though Ning had dominated so many World-level cultivators and nearly breached the main palace, the man had refused to bow his head and insisted on keeping the grand restrictive formation active, preventing Ning from leaving in the hopes that his big brother would arrive. By now, Ning had an extremely deep urge to kill. Was he supposed to just write it all off due to a small token of compensation?

Although Ning wasn't able to do anything to the branch leader now that Daolord Batdragon was here, Ning wasn't willing to accept the bracelet. Accepting it meant accepting that this matter was resolved.

The rage that had built up in Ning's breast after a full day of combat was not going to be quenched so easily.

"Swear a lifeblood oath right now." After delivering the bracelet, Daolord Batdragon turned to glare at the Eastsmoke leader. "Within a thousand years, you must travel to Hydragon Mountain and spend a hundred chaos cycles there as a miner. I can see that you've completely let being the Eastsmoke leader go to your head. You've completely forgotten the proper way to behave. Go mine and get your thoughts straight!"

"Mine for a hundred chaos cycles?" The Eastsmoke leader was instantly furious. "Big brother!" A look of rage and resentment was on his face.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? Swear the lifeblood oath right away!" Daolord Batdragon roared.

The Eastsmoke leader was furious as well. "Big brother, why should we be afraid of this brat? So what if he is a member of the Twelve-"

WHAP!!!!!

Daolord Batdragon delivered another heavy slap. This time, the Eastsmoke leader was injured even more heavily than last time. He was smashed into the nearby wall by this palm, completely staining it in his blood. The Eastbranch leader slowly slid down the wall. He stared at his big brother.

Daolord Batdragon, seeing the look on his face, instantly sent a furious mental message. "Do you think I would ever do anything to hurt you?!"

The Eastsmoke leader slowly began to come to his senses, but he truly didn't understand. He sent back, "But big brother, why?! He's just a World-level cultivator. Giving him fifty thousand cubes of chaos nectar is already giving him more face than he deserves. And you are going to send me off to mine for a hundred chaos cycles? Mining in Hydragon Mountain is an extremely arduous, boring life. Although it is fairly safe, it will sometimes be dangerous."

As the Eastsmoke branch leader, he knew a great deal about the legendary Hydragon Mountain.

Hydragon Mountain wasn't located in the Brightshore Kingdom. It was one of the dangerous zones that was located elsewhere in the Endless Territories. However, the Brightshore Kingdom had taken complete control over it! Combat was forbidden within Hydragon Mountain, making it an extremely safe place, but Hydragon Mountain itself would occasionally give birth to some dangerous things and places. Even when that happened, the miners would still have to go mine. Thus, there were occasionally a few casualties, albeit extremely rare.

"And with you here, big brother, he's not able to do a damn thing to me. You also belong to the Twelve Palaces!" The Eastsmoke leader sent mentally.

"You idiot." Daolord Batdragon explained, "Yes, both of us are members of the Twelve Palaces, but… it isn't the same."

Daolord Batdragon looked at his little brother. "Look. I made my breakthrough because I used a Pseudo Samsara Pill. I'm a black-armored Daolord, the lowest-ranked type of Daolord in the Twelve Palaces." Daolord Batdragon began to mentally explain some of the hidden secrets pertaining to the Twelve Palaces. "The Twelve Palaces have some truly horrifying Daolords who are so strong that many of the other organizations in the Endless Territories are terrified of them. Do you think they have the same level of status as me, someone who relied on a Pseudo Samsara Pill to become a Daolord of the First Step and who will never make any more advancements?"

"But he's still not able to do anything to you, big brother." The Eastsmoke leader was beginning to understand, but he remained a bit stubborn.

"Wrong." Daolord Batdragon sent mentally, "You don't get it. Members of the Twelve Palaces are forbidden from fighting amongst each other, but if an enormous grudge somehow results from something, palace members are generally expected to go through mediation first! If the mediation fails, then the result will be a duel to the death!"

"Ah!" The Eastsmoke leader instantly grew excited. He sent mentally, "Then he should be afraid of you, right? How could he be a match for you in a duel to the death?"

"Wrong again. I'm a black-armored Daolord who only reached this level due to a Pseudo Samsara Pill. How can I be qualified to force him into a duel to the death?" Daolord Batdragon sent mentally, "Generally speaking, the Palace Lords or Vice Palace Lords of the Twelve Palaces are the ones responsible for mediation. Do you think I would dare to reject what their ruling is? I have no future prospects and my position is low… but this Darknorth was given direct entry to the Twelve Palaces at the World level. His future prospects are unlimited! Once he makes his breakthrough, he will quickly reach the power level of a Daolord of the Second Step. In fact, he might become even stronger than that."

Daolord Batdragon shook his head. "People like me generally end up was retainers to more powerful Daolords. All we are… are servants." Daolord Batdragon sighed. "Little brother, you need to understand that in the Twelve Palaces, people like me are looked down upon due to having used Pseudo Samsara Pills. The only reason the other Daolords are somewhat courteous to me is because I am Daolord Bluegrace's retainer, and they wish to give him face."

"Ah?!" The Eastsmoke leader was amazed. He knew none of this, because his big brother rarely discussed matters pertaining to the Twelve Palaces with him.

"It makes sense. People like us will never make any more breakthroughs, which is why we chose to use Pseudo Samsara Pills. To then advance from the First Step to the Second Step as a Daolord? Absolutely impossible." Daolord Batdragon sent mentally, "That's why I wanted to try and resolve matters between you and him. Otherwise… even though he can't kill you, once he becomes a Daolord he'll have plenty of ways to deal with you."

Daolord Batdragon suddenly asked, "Oh, right. What exactly is the problem between the two of you?"

"To be honest, it is because he has a retainer known as the Flamefairy…" The Eastsmoke leader didn't dare to lie to his big brother. He honestly revealed the entire affair to him.

"You imbecile. He was actually able to use his godsense to crush the godsenses of more than three hundred World-level cultivators? Even the Twelve Palaces are rarely able to recruit World-level cultivators of such power. How could you possibly be so reckless as to offend a freak like him?" Daolord Batdragon was once again enraged by what he was hearing. "But let's put that aside from now. He furiously attacked the formation and was able to break through seven of the eight barriers protecting the main palace. Given how strong he was, what you should've done was just cancel the restrictive formation and let him leave! But you insisted on forcing him to fight with you for a full day and night. Also… did he really attack for a full day and night without resting?"

"Yes. He didn't rest at all." The Eastsmoke leader was beginning to feel scared.

"He was able to attack at maximum power for that long?" Daolord Batdragon was growing angrier and angrier. "No wonder he's emanating such a murderous aura! As soon as I arrived here, I could sense his desire to kill. When I offered him that bracelet, he didn't accept it. Ugh! Ever since I became a Daolord and let you become the Eastsmoke leader, you became completely full of yourself! If you continue to act so rashly… even if you survive this time, you'll have a very short life ahead of you!"

"I-I… what should I do?" The Eastsmoke leader looked at his big brother.

"My worry is that this Darknorth is a man who holds grudges," Daolord Batdragon explains. "Swear a lifeblood oath right away that you'll go to Hydragon Mountain. Hydragon Mountain is an important place to the Hegemon, as that's where his mines are. No one will dare to attack you there. A hundred chaos cycles from now, this matter will be ancient history. If he still holds a grudge after a hundred chaos cycles, it'll obviously be a problem with him. I would have an excuse to ask Daolord Bluegrace to intervene and help out."

The Eastsmoke branch leader now completely understood. He now realized that even his big brother was nothing more than a small pawn in the Twelve Palaces. If this Darknorth was the vengeful type, he really would be in trouble in the future.

"Fellow Daoist Darknorth, I was in the wrong and let greed blacken my heart." The Eastsmoke leader looked at Ning. He bowed respectfully, then immediately swore a solemn oath. "I swear on my very life itself that I, Mythdragon, will go to Hydragon Mountain within a thousand years. I will spend a hundred chaos cycles there as a miner in order to expiate my sins towards fellow Daoist Darknorth. If I violate this oath, let my truesoul shatter and let my Dao vanish."

Ning was flabbergasted.

Actually, he wasn't really worried about Daolord Batdragon as Ning himself already had the power of a black-armored Daolord. The two were already on par with each other, but Ning was merely at the World level.

Still… Ning understood that with Daolord Batdragon here, it would be extremely hard for Ning to do anything to the Eastsmoke leader. For the Daolord to offer a gift and an apology was one thing, but the branch leader was now swearing to spend a hundred chaos cycles mining at Hydragon Mountain? A hundred chaos cycles was an extremely long period of time. There were many cultivators who wouldn't even live to be that old. Ning could sense that Daolord Batdragon truly did care about this little brother of his.

"Then let this matter come to an end." Ning accepted the bracelet, in effect accepting the proposed resolution. "I won't stay here any longer. Farewell."

Ning immediately left the main palace.

Daolord Batdragon let out a sigh of relief as he watched Ning accept the bracelet and Ning. Finally, this matter had been included.

Outside the main palace. Ning looked at Fairy Qingfan.

"Fairy Qingfan." Ning looked at her, then waved his hand and sent a message-talisman towards her.

Fairy Qingfan stared blankly at the message talisman.

"This matter has been concluded, and I trust Daolord Batdragon won't pursue this matter any further. Still… if you encounter any problems in the future, you can shatter this talisman and I'll immediately hasten to your side," Ning said. Fairy Qingfan truly had helped the Flamefairy out this time.

"Alright." Fairy Qingfan nodded as she slipped her fingers over the talisman.

Ning soared into the skies, transforming into a streak of light as he flew off into the distance. The grand restrictive formation had long ago been lifted, and Ning soon disappeared into the clouds in the horizon.

Fairy Qingfan watched as Ning left, her fingers unconsciously tightening over the talisman. She murmured to herself, "Just now, if I told him that I wished to become his retainer, he probably would've agreed, right? Perhaps my path of cultivation and my destiny would both completely change…"

The path of cultivation was a path which one would have to choose for one's self. No one else could make these choices for you, and different choices would result in different results.

Daolord Batdragon stood at the entrance to the main palace, letting out a second sigh of relief upon seeing Ji Ning disappear. He then turned to stare at his little brother. He immediately said, "Hurry up and make your preparations. I'm going to send you away from this place today. You are going to Hydragon Mountain right now."

"Today?" The Eastsmoke leader hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Alright. I'll go make the preparations." As he spoke, he immediately turned and left to gather his things.

Daolord Batdragon mused to himself, "This Darknorth fellow doesn't look like the evil, backstabbing type. This matter probably has truly come to an end. Still…" Daolord Batdragon glanced in his little brother's direction. "It is all for the best. Hydragon Mountain will help to temper his disposition. Still, it is true that the place can be dangerous sometimes. Mm… I'll go and request to become one of the overseers. I'll take care of him in secret."

There were overseers who were charged with overseeing the mining operations in Hydragon Mountain. This sort of boring job was almost always carried out by black-robed Daolords. The stronger Daolords would all be out adventuring. None of them would be willing to do this job.

"But I have to help him out in secret. I can't let him know." Daolord Batdragon made his decision.

Now that the matter had been resolved, Ning and Su Youji began to advance in their flying vessel. They spent five months flying before finally reaching the Twelve Palaces.

"So beautiful." Su Youji stared at the surroundings from within the flying vessel.

Ning stared off into the distance as well.

At the edges of the horizon, twelve enormous palaces could be seen hovering there in midair. In their center was a dim black cavern. Those twelve palaces were the actual Twelve Palaces. They looked quite close to each other, but in reality the palaces were all separated by many layers of space. They were actually many trillions of kilometers away from each other, but the almighty Hegemon was so powerful that he was able to make them look as though they were located right next to each other. Together, these Twelve Palaces formed the most supremely powerful formation the Brightshore Kingdom had to offer.

Even Eternal Emperors would not dare to enter the Twelve Palaces without permission.

"To the Sword Palace." Ning laughed.

Swoosh.

The flying vessel quickly began to move towards the direction of the Palace of the Sword.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 1 – Swordlord

The Palace of the Sword was incredibly large. It was like an enormous island-continent that hovered in the air, filled with countless buildings and radiating a sword-aura that caused Ji Ning to feel speechless.

The Sword Palace had numerous black-armored Daolords on patrol outside of it.

"Fellow Daoist." A black-armored Daolord sensed Ning's medallion and immediately flew towards him, then said in a fairly courteous and modest manner, "Is this your first trip to the Sword Palace?"

"Yes." Ning nodded.

"My name is Fudan. Let me guide the way for you, fellow Daoist." This black-armored Daolord was courteous to the point of being obsequious. He glanced at Su Youji. Seeing that Su Youji clearly wasn't a member of the Sword Palace, he didn't say much to her.

"I am Darknorth," Ning said.

"Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, you come to us with an identity medallion on your very first visit. Are you from the Astral Islands?" The black-armored Daolord asked while leading the way.

"Yes." Ning nodded."

"A new entrant into our Sword Palace from the Astral Islands. Junior apprentice-brother, you are incredible!" The black-armored Daolord laughed. By now, they had already reached a stone path that was three thousand meters wide. This path led straight towards the main gates of the Sword Palace. Right above the massive gates were two words that were written in a vigorous, bold manner: 'Sword' 'Palace'!

These two words were overflying with so much sword-intent that it filled the entire Sword Palace, then soared upwards into the skies. Even the multiple layers of folded spacetime around the palace were unable to impede it.

Ning felt stunned upon seeing it. These two characters possessed such incredibly dense sword-intent that they could be described as the most terrifying example of calligraphy he had ever seen.

"These two words were left behind by the first Palace Lord of our Sword Palace, Emperor Windsnow," the black-armored Daolord said. "Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, have you been informed about the rules one needs to follow in order to establish a new palace?"

"Establish a new palace?" NIng was puzzled. He truly had never heard of such a thing.

The black-armored Daolord Fudan explained, "Long, long ago, the almighty Hegemon established the Brightshore Kingdom and put tremendous time and effort into cultivating his Daolords. Back then, the Twelve Palaces didn't exist. As the almighty Hegemon put it, one had to be strong enough to be the equal of an Eternal Emperor before one could set up a new palace of one's own."

The black-armored Daolord continued, "Emperor Windsnow was the earliest of the major powers of the Brightshore Kingdom. Back when he was merely a Daolord, he was already an utterly dazzling figure who was more than strong enough to match an Eternal Emperor in might. He established the Sword Palace and became its first Palace Lord. Later on, he succeeded in his Daomerge and became an Eternal Emperor, at which point he rewrote the words 'Sword Palace' that hung above the palace gates. As the Emperor once said… those two characters contain the essence of the Dao of the Sword which he used to gain eternity."

Ning nodded slowly.

As more time had passed, more palaces had arisen. By now, the Brightshore Kingdom had a total of twelve palaces.

There eventually were quite a few cultivators who were a match for Eternal Emperors or even capable of slaying them! However, these current twelve palaces encompassed the vast majority of cultivation paths, and thus it had been an extremely long time since a new palace had been established. Ning was a good example. His path was that of the Dao of the Sword, and thus even if he became an Eternal Emperor in the future he would belong to the Sword Palace. There was no need and no point to establishing a new palace.

"That is the Dao of the Sword he used to gain eternity?" Ning raised his head to stare at those characters.

"I don't understand it," Su Youji murmured softly.

"Neither do I." Ning laughed. "The intent and will which this Dao of the Sword embodies isn't for people like us to comprehend. The difference between it and us is simply too great. Perhaps when we become Daolords of the Third Step or Daolords of the Fourth Step, we can come back and scrutinize the secrets it holds."

The three continued to advance as they chatted and laughed.

This wide stone path had quite a few other cultivators traversing it as well, all of whom were World-level cultivators. Although they were quite spread out, the path was so long and so wide that Ning estimated that he had seen at least ten thousand people.

"Why?"

"Why did I fail yet again? A hundred chaos cycles, only to fail yet again… ahahaha…"

Wild laughter rang out from afar from a cultivator who seemed to be laughing with tears or crying with laughter. He seemed utterly mad.

"Who is this?" Ning was puzzled.

Daolord Fudan shook his head. "These are all World-level cultivators who seek to pass the trials for joining the Sword Palace. Aside from those like yourself who are given formal invitations, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, cultivators who wish to join us generally have to undergo multiple layers of trials. All of them are here training, and once they reach a certain level of power they will try out the trials. Alas! Ignore them. After enough time passes, most of them realize that they have no hopes of entering and will leave on their own."

Ning nodded slowly.

"This path into the palace is known as Sword Road," Daolord Fudan said. "Aside from those who are taking part in the various trials, most of the visiting World-level cultivators spend their time here on Sword Road. They are forbidden from entering any other part of the Sword Palace."

They continued to walk forwards through Sword Road. Sword Road was ten thousand kilometers long, and they saw many World-level cultivators along the way. When these cultivators saw Ning, many found it difficult to disguise the envy they felt. For a black-armored Daolord to treat Ning with such courtesy and deference meant that he had to be a formal member of the Sword Palace.

Boom!

Bang!

Explosions suddenly rang out from afar.

Ning glanced over with surprise. "Is that a duel?" Upon closer examination, he saw that a red-haired man wielding a greatsword was battling an opponent with six arms. The red-haired man had tousled hair and was standing there in a relaxed fashion as he launched his attacks, while his opponent was fighting back at maximum power with many magic treasures.

Alas, it was like an ant trying to shake a tree. The second person was completely unable to do anything to the red-haired man, but with each strike the red-haired man was able to cause the space around him to oscillate in a manner reminiscent of a beautiful song. Although he was able to force his opponent back repeatedly, his opponent wasn't injured either.

Ning's face turned pale as he watched. What terrifying sword-arts. These sword-arts… they were definitely superior to his own! In the Astral Islands, most likely only Bertulu was at a higher level of skill than this man.

"Haha, senior apprentice-brother Wildfire is dueling," Daolord Fudan said.

"Senior apprentice-brother Wildfire?" Ning was puzzled. Fudan was a Daolord. No matter how badass the red-haired man was, he was still just at the World level. Fudan addressed Ning as 'junior apprentice-brother', but addressed this man as 'senior apprentice-brother Wildfire'?

"Senior apprentice-brother Wildfire is one of the six mighty Swordlords of our Sword Palace," Daolord Fudan immediately explained.

"Six Swordlords? They are all World-level cultivators, right?" Ning was puzzled.

"The Sword Palace has a total of more than a hundred Samsara Daolords and more than two hundred World-level cultivators," Daolord Fudan said. "The two hundred-plus World-level cultivators were accumulated over the course of many years. They represent the most powerful experts of the Dao of the Sword which the Brightshore Kingdom has managed to recruit."

The Brightshore Kingdom was a top-tier power that was on par with the Dao Alliance. Only the most dazzlingly, outstandingly talented World-level sword practitioners were able to join it, and only around two hundred had been granted entry.

"Of these two hundred, only the ones who are acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas are given the title of Swordlord," Daolord Fudan said. "There are more than two hundred World-level cultivators but just six Swordlords. Although they are merely at the World level, the Sword Palace treats them as they would Daolords. This is because they are generally capable of killing some weaker Daolords of the First Step."

"Kill Daolords of the First Step?" Ning stared in amazement at the relaxed-looking red-haired man.

A World-level cultivator who could kill a Daolord of the First Step?

Being 'able to fight' someone and being 'able to kill' someone… these were two completely different concepts.

In the Astral Islands, perhaps only Bertulu in his true form would be capable of killing a Daolord of the First Step. But the Sword Palace actually had six individuals capable of this?

"They could've broken through to become Samsara Daolords long ago, but they refused to do so because their sword-arts are still improving." Daolord Fudan sighed. "Each of them are working on perfecting their sword-arts. They wish to perfect those sword-arts to the absolute maximum possible level before they become Daolords. After all, the more perfect one's Dao of the Sword is, the stronger one will be as a Daolord."

Ning nodded.

Bertulu was a good example of someone who was at such a high level of insight that even without revealing his true form, he was capable of dominating Ning with his two warhammers. Given his profound insights, once he became a Daolord, he would probably be able to match Daolords of the Third Step! Clearly, the six supremely talented Swordlords of the Sword Palace were all people of great ambition.

"My sword-arts are not even enough for me to become a Daolord. This 'senior apprentice-brother Wildfire', however, could've used his sword-arts to become a Daolord long ago… and he's only gotten even better since then." Ning was stunned. "No wonder his sword-arts are so much better than mine."

"Next!"

Suddenly, the red-haired man's greatsword suddenly swept out. Boom! Even before it had touched his opponent, invisible layers of spatial energy crashed out and swept his opponent away, sending him flying multiple kilometers.

"Thank you for your guidance, senior apprentice-brother Wildfire." His opponent hurriedly spoke out to express his thanks. Actually, he had yet to pass the trials of the Sword Palace; for him to address Wildfire as 'senior apprentice-brother' was a show of shamelessness, but that was how most of the other World-level cultivators acted as well.

"Please give me some guidance, senior apprentice-brother." Yet another World-level cultivator stepped forward, then began to use all the techniques he had available to fight Wildfire.

"He's able to effortlessly crush them with a casual blow." Ning couldn't help but sigh. "He is like an old man instructing children. They are all at the World level, and his challengers are extraordinarily strong cultivators who wield Eternal weapons and are comparable to supreme World Gods, but they seem to be absolutely nothing before his might."

"The Sword Palace has built up tremendous power over the years." The nearby Daolord Fudan laughed. "Once you enter the Sword Palace, you'll need to start improving your own skills as well. Still, to reach senior apprentice-brother Wildfire's level will be very difficult. After all, there are over two hundred World-level cultivators in the Sword Palace, but only six have been given the title of 'Swordlord'."

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 2 – A Holy Place for Sword Cultivators

Ji Ning led Su Youji forwards alongside him as Daolord Fudan continued to introduce the people and places within the Sword Palace.

Boom!

The red-haired man sent his opponent flying with a single sword-strike. His gaze then fell upon Ji Ning, and his eyes instantly lit up. He laughed loudly, "Is this a new junior apprentice-brother of ours?"

"I am Darknorth. Greetings, senior apprentice-brother Wildfire," Ning said.

"That explains it. I've sparred with and recognize everyone in our Sword Palace." The red-haired man let out a loud, clear laugh. "Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, since you are a new arrival I won't disturb you, but in two days I'm going to go find you and have a little competition with you. I trust you won't decline?"

"I'd be delighted to accept," Ning said modestly.

"Mm. Go, go. We can chat later," the red-haired man said.

Ning nodded.

As they moved past the red-haired man, Daolord Fudan said in a low voice, "Of the six exalted Swordlords, senior apprentice-brother Wildfire is the most heroic and straightforward. He loves to duel other cultivators and won't look down upon weak ones. He's a person who is easy to make friends with, and is much more approachable than many of the other World-level cultivators of the Sword Palace."

Ning laughed. He could sense how friendly and relaxed this senior apprentice-brother Wildfire was.

A sword cultivator who was capable of breaking through to become a Samsara Daolord at any time would have a clear understanding of his own nature, be it good or bad, honorable or dishonorable. Wildfire clearly was an extremely friendly and straightforward man, and his sword was similarly a sword that crushed all before it in an open and aboveboard manner.

"We are going to go to the Ancient Library next. It is right up ahead." Daolord Fudan pointed towards a large, ancient-looking hall that was made of wood that was beginning to turn yellow with age. The entire ancient hall took up many kilometers, and just by looking at it Ning could sense the power of its aura.

"The Ancient Library was built alongside the Sword Palace itself. It has been around for an extremely, extremely long period of time," Daolord Fudan explained.

"Eh?" Ning stared at it in amazement.

The Ancient Library had quite a few black-armored Daolords around it. Some were seated in the lotus position on the ground, some were relaxing and drinking wine, some were training with their swords. There were over a hundred of the present.

"Senior apprentice-brother Fudan." Ning was puzzled. "On the way over, I saw quite a few black-armored Daolords. If we include in the ones before us, I've seen more than two hundred. But you told me that the entire Sword Palace only has a hundred Samsara Daolords…"

Daolord Fudan paused, a mixed look appearing on his face. "Let me explain." He let out a sigh. "In the Sword Palace, all cultivators are like brothers. There's not much of a difference in terms of status between us. World-level cultivators who run into Verge-level Daolords will simply address them as 'senior apprentice-brother'."

Ning nodded.

The Sword Palace was a place where elite sword cultivators gathered. Everyone treated everyone else in a fairly equal manner.

"But there's still some differences, despite the overall equality," Daolord Fudan said. "The cultivators in the Sword Palace are generally divided into two different types."

"The first type consists of those who relied on themselves and their own insights to become Samsara Daolords! The six Swordlords are categorized along with them, even though they aren't actually Samsara Daolords, because they can break through whenever they wish and possess tremendous potential. Once they break through, they will be far stronger than most Daolords of the First Step. This is why even Samsara Daolords treat these Swordlords as equals.

"The second type consists of the other World-level cultivators as well as black-armored Daolords like us.

"In the end, World-level cultivators are still just cultivators who have a chance of breaking through to become Daolords. They naturally have a somewhat lower status. As for us black-armored Daolords, all of us reached this level through using Pseudo Samsara Pills. We will forever remain at the First Step and have no hope of improving any further. There are even some freakishly strong World-level cultivators who are even stronger than us." Daolord Fudan shook his head. "Some Samsara Daolords view us as the lowest of the low. They'd rather show kindness to World-level cultivators with potential than show us any real respect."

Ning was silent. He could sense the sadness emanating from Daolord Fudan.

"In the Sword Palace, there are actually a total of more than 2300 black-armored Daolords," Daolord Fudan said softly. "There are many more of them than there are World-level cultivators. There were quite a few people in the Brightshore Kingdom who become Daolords through using those pills, after all, and the almighty Hegemon has ordered that all Daolords must join the Twelve Palaces. This is why the Twelve Palaces has so many black-armored Daolords."

Ning finally understood. The Sword Palace had more than two thousand black-armored Daolords, but just two hundred World-level cultivators and around a hundred 'real' Samsara Daolords. Given that they were fairly weak and had no prospects for future advancement, it wasn't surprising that they had low statuses.

"Most of the black-armored Daolords are outside the Sword Palace, with just over five hundred staying inside of it," Daolord Fudan said. "Although they are treated with some disdain, they still choose to remain within the Sword Palace because there, we will have a better chance to improve than we would anywhere else. Power depends on more factors than just enlightenment. Different sword-arts can also result in different levels of power, as do divine abilities and secret arts."

Ning nodded. The [Novessence Thunder] was a great example of a very powerful secret art.

"They have a chance of earning those things in the Sword Palace, which is why so many remain within it," Daolord Fudan said. "Come. I'll take you to the Ancient Library for a look."

They arrived at the Ancient Library.

"Is this a newcomer? You can come in. The one behind you cannot." The two black-armored Daolords standing guard in front of the library looked at Ning.

Ning turned to glance at Su Youji, who was following him from behind.

"Youji, wait for me here," Ning said.

"Alright." Although Su Youji was quite curious, she didn't really care because the Sword Palace was for those who walked the Dao of the Sword. For now, her path was the path of Feixian the Exalted. She was focusing on the path of charm and control, a completely different path from the Dao of the Sword.

Although the wooden floor and walls were protected by powerful formations, the unfeeling power of time had left its mark on them as well.

The ancient hall was incredibly large, and it was completely filled with bookshelves as far as the eye could see. Every single bookshelf was filled with many jade slips and scrolls.

"Eh?" Ning casually picked up a jade slip and sent his godsense into it. He immediately realized that it was filled with a large amount of information, and he accepted the information as it flowed into him.

"What a powerful sword-art." Ning was rather shocked. This was a sword-art of tremendous power. In fact, it was just as strong as the [Nameless] sword-art. Alas, it was fragmentary and incomplete.

NIng couldn't help but spend a bit of time reading through it before finally putting it back down.

"Don't be impatient, junior apprentice-brother." Only now did Daolord Fudan speak. "These sword-arts have been passed down since the most ancient of times. Some were left here by the almighty Hegemon while some were accumulated or created by the Sword Palace's members over the course of countless years. In fact, when the other eleven palaces acquire new sword-arts they will often send them to us. We have tens of millions of sword-arts placed here, all of which are at least at the Daolord level."

"Tens of millions of scrolls?" Ning was speechless.

"The problem is, 99% of them are fragmentary and incomplete," Daolord Fudan said. "The ones on these bookshelves here are all fragmentary. The ones placed on the tables at the very front are all complete, with teachings that will guide you from the early stages to the late stages. That way, you can slowly train in them step by step. The tables have over five hundred thousand techniques."

Tens of millions of incomplete techniques?

More than five hundred thousand complete techniques?

"Some of these sword-arts are strong, some are weak. Some were left behind by Eternal Emperors, while some were acquired by the almighty Hegemon by happenstance and possess incalculable power." Daolord Fudan smiled.

"Are there any limitations or restrictions on learning these sword-arts?" Ning was worried.

"None." Daolord Fudan sighed with emotion. "Any member of the Sword Palace is permitted to freely study any of the scrolls and slips here."

Ning sighed in amazement as well.

As he walked through the Ancient Library and saw the many jade slips that had been placed here for countless chaos cycles, he couldn't help but occasionally reach out to grab a scroll to take a look. Even the fragmentary ones were incredibly profound. If he was to give them to the Fogstone Dominion, they would be treated as supreme techniques.

Any technique placed within the Ancient Library of the Sword Palace had to be at least at the Daolord level.

"Simply incredible." Ning sighed with amazement. He even saw a silver-armored Daolord seated in the lotus position, silently meditating on a sword-art.

"There are simply too many sword-arts here," Daolord Fudan said. "Some of them, especially profound ones such as the ones left behind by Eternal Emperors, will take countless years to learn. There are so many sword-arts here that no one can truly learn them all. They will at most flip through some and try to gain some experience."

Ning was incredibly excited. His Dao of the Sword required him to understand the true essence of the sword by analyzing and dissecting many different sword-arts. This place was an absolute treasure trove for him.

"The Ancient Library is actually considered a fairly 'ordinary' place here in the Sword Palace." Daolord Fudan let out a secretive smile. "It doesn't even rank as one of the top three places here in the Sword Palace."

"Ah?!" Ning was stunned.

As Ning saw it, the Ancient Library was already sacred grounds for those who trained in the sword. And yet, it didn't even rank as one of the top three places in the Sword Palace?

"Come. I'll take you to another place," Daolord Fudan said. "You'll understand once you get there."

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 3 – The Forest of Sword Pagodas

Ji Ning and Su Youji followed Daolord Fudan in flying through a mountainous forest grove.

Every so often, one would be able to see the residences of cultivators spread out throughout the mountains. Daolord Fudan suddenly pointed off into the distance towards a distant valley. "That place is known as Armaments Gorge. That's another one of the very important places in the Sword Palace. It is just as important as the Ancient Library."

"Armaments Gorge?" Ning stared off into the distance, as did the nearby Su Youji. None of this really had anything to do with her, but it was a chance for her to learn a few things.

Distant buildings could be seen hidden throughout the gorge, with some located deep in the very bottom.

"Armaments Gorge is filled with many weapons, magic treasures, and unique artifacts," Daolord Fudan said. "The weapons here are primarily swords of all shapes and sizes, but there are also many types of other magic treasures, including pills. All treasures are stored here."

Ning's eyes lit up. All treasures were stored here? Would perhaps Mirrorsnow Paintings be stored here as well?

"What must be done if I wish to acquire some of those treasures?" Ning said.

"The treasures inside Armaments Gorge were accumulated by the Sword Palace over the course of countless years. They cannot be taken away without paying a cost," Daolord Fudan said. "If everyone just took away treasures as they pleased, the gorge would soon be completely emptied. When you are free, you can go and take a look. The Armaments Gorge has certain rules that govern it. Still, in the outside world, many of these treasures are completely unobtainable no matter what price you are willing to pay. At least they are available in the Armaments Gorge."

Ning nodded. The more valuable a treasure was, the harder it would be to acquire it. Daolord Solesky had been willing to risk his own life and pay a heavy price in order to get Daolord Badlands to help him in his quest to obtain a certain treasure. It seemed as though the Armaments Gorge had many priceless treasures within it.

"The Ancient Library is filled with sword-arts, while this place is filled with treasures." Ning nodded. These two places truly were on par with each other.

"Next, I shall take you to the third-most important place we have." Daolord Fudan continued to fly forwards, leading Ning higher and higher into the skies.

"Look over there." Daolord Fudan pointed at the tallest building in the entire Sword Palace. It was a strangely shaped building that was shaped like a towering pillar of cloud layers. Each layer was thirty thousand meters tall. The first layer was formed of black clouds, the second layer was formed of azure clouds, the third layer was formed of silvery-white clouds, and the highest layer was formed from golden clouds.

The four layers of clouds came together to form this towering edifice that was at the heart of the entire Sword Palace.

"This is the Daolord Cloudworld." Daolord Fudan sighed. "This is one of the most important places in the entire Sword Palace, ranking within the top three."

"What is it for?" Ning was puzzled.

"The Daolord Cloudworld is filled with many powerful golem opponents, and more than 90% of them wield swords. They will use different types of sword-arts, with the strongest ones being comparable to the sword-arts used by Daolords of the Third Step." Daolord Fudan sighed. "Sword cultivators need combat more than anything else, and battles against other supremely skilled swordsmen help more than anything else."

Ning absolutely agreed with this comment. One of the reasons why his sword-arts had improved so quickly was because he had been able to duel those three powerful swordsmen within the three Mirrorsnow Paintings. That had been of tremendous benefit to him.

"When you battle against other supremely skilled swordsmen, not only will you have a chance to discover the flaws in your own sword-arts, you'll also learn from the sword-arts they used." Daolord Fudan sighed. "However, battling against such powerful swordsmen in the outside world carries the risk of death. In the Daolord Cloudworld, however, you won't be at any risk of dying. The Daolord Cloudworld has many golems because the entire Sword Palace has put tremendous resources into it over the course of countless years. That's why it has so many golems of such incredible power."

Ning nodded. There were quite a few cultivators who had sword-arts on the level of most Daolords of the Third Step, but creating a golem that possessed the same level of sword-arts would carry a tremendous price that even Eternal Emperors would feel pain upon paying. Generally speaking, powerful golems relied on using overwhelming speed and power, with their weakness being their insights into the Dao. This was even true for golems who could battle Verge-level Daolords.

Golems weren't cultivators, after all. They were innately weak in this respect.

"There are many powerful expert swordsmen there who all use different types of sword-arts, some of which are comparable to Daolords of the Third Step." Daolord Fudan sighed. "Which cultivator of the sword wouldn't dream of gaining access to such a place as we have here in the Palace of the Sword?"

Ning was growing even more excited. No wonder the Sword Palace was able to give birth to six freakishly strong World-level cultivators like the six Swordlords!

"And there's more! Remember, the Daolord Cloudworld has a total of four layers," Daolord Fudan said. "The Blackcloud World is the first layer; if you overcome it, you will be awarded a set of black armor. This black armor is merely a top-grade Dao armor. The Azurecloud World is the second layer, and if you overcome it you'll be given azure armor. The Silvercloud World is the third layer, and if you overcome it you'll be awarded silver armor. The highest layer is the Goldcloud World, and if you overcome it you will be awarded golden armor. The azure armor, silver armor, and gold armor are all Eternal treasures of different levels of power. The suits of golden armor are top-grade Eternal treasures, and they possess many marvelous properties.

"Being able to acquire the black armor means you have reached the threshold of a Daolord of the First Step.

"Being able to acquire the azure armor means you have reached the threshold of a Daolord of the Second Step.

"Silver armor is for those who have reached the threshold of Daolords of the Third Step.

"Golden armor belongs to those who have reached the threshold for Daolords of the Fourth Step."

Daolord Fudan explained the stages one by one.

Ning nodded. 'Reached the threshold' simply meant that you were at the minimum level of power for that level. When Ning had first broken through to the World-level, he had reached the threshold of a Daolord of the First Step. As for right now? He was comparable to an average Daolord of the First Step.

"In the Sword Palace, we have eight World-level cultivators who have won azure armor," Daolord Fudan said softly.

"What?" Ning was shocked.

Although he was fairly powerful, he didn't think he had reached the threshold of a Daolord of the Second Step. But the Sword Palace had eight such figures?

"Five of them are special lifeforms while three of them were cultivators, but even the cultivators have freakishly powerful divine abilities or secret arts," Daolord Fudan explained. "In challenging the Daolord Cloudworld, you can use all abilities and techniques that you have available, such as divine abilities and secret arts. But of course, you can't use certain single-use treasures, Dao-seals, bugbeasts, golems, or other similar treasures."

"Don't be too surprised. Divine abilities and secrets are can be tremendously powerful," Daolord Fudan said. "I'll take you to another place now."

Daolord Fudan led him to a bamboo hall erected at the peak of a mountain which was wreathed in clouds and mist.

"This is the Pavilion of Mysteries." Daolord Fudan pointed at the bamboo hall. "It is filled with many divine abilities, secret arts, and a few legacies left behind by ancient powers of the Dao of the Sword. Divine abilities can increase your strength a hundredfold, while secret arts are even more difficult to gauge. The strongest secret arts can unleash utterly terrifying levels of power," Daolord Fudan said.

Ning nodded. His own [Novessence Thunder] technique was classified as a secret art! Certain incredibly powerful secret arts truly could allow the wielder to challenge cultivators who were at a higher level of power. If some of the freakishly strong World-level cultivators like Kilostar gained access to some of the terrifyingly strong secret arts or treasures the Twelve Palaces had to offer, it was entirely possible that he would be able to battle his way through the second layer of the Daolord Cloudworld and earn the azure armor.

However, if you had merely reached the threshold of the Second Step as a Daolord, you would probably be defeated in one blow by a true Daolord of the Second Step. Still, you would probably be strong enough to kill most Daolords of the First Step.

"Many of the divine abilities and secret arts stored in this place were left behind by Daolords who were comparable to Eternal Emperors in might. Some were left behind by actual Eternal Emperors. The same is true for the full legacies," Daolord Fudan said. "However, the full legacies are fewer in number."

Ning nodded.

Legacies were completely different from the sword-arts held within the Ancient Library.

To have a legacy was to essentially have a master. Not only did a legacy include many sword-arts and detailed instructions on learning them, it would often include a detailed analysis and explanation of every single stance from the Daolord who had left the legacy behind. To have a Samsara Daolord guide you step by step on your path… true legacies were thousands of times more valuable than mere sword-arts.

Take the [Nameless] sword-art which World God Northrest had transmitted to Ning. Its first five stances all had their own sword-intents, but Northrest himself had never learned the sixth or seventh stance. All he had been able to do was to leave behind a record of the stances.

This was the flaw of the Ancient Library. Its sword-arts consisted of nothing more than movements and techniques; there was no sword-intent for the cultivator to attune to.

"Every newcomer is permitted to choose a single thing from the Pavilion of Mysteries," Daolord Fudan said. "The Daolord Cloudworld and the Pavilion of Mysteries are two of the top three sacred areas here in the Sword Palace. Now… I am going to take you to the most important place of all, the indisputably most sacred place."

They continued to fly forwards, moving towards the very rear of the Sword Palace.

"There. Right there." Daolord Fudan pointed off into the distance, towards a place which was covered in darkness. The black earth was filled with erect towers, and the towers filled the landscape like a forest or like a sea. Every single tower emanated an aura of incredible sword-intent which filled the entire region.

A million chaos cycles or even longer might go by… but the sword-intent here would never dissipate.

"Ever since the Sword Palace was established, every single person whose sword-arts are acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas shall leave behind a Sword Pagoda of his own," Daolord Fudan said softly. "To be acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, you have to at least reach the level of the six Swordlords. Over the course of countless years, every single true Samsara Daolord or Eternal Emperor has left behind a Sword Pagoda that belongs to them. Every single Sword Pagoda holds the sword-arts they learned and developed. They personally recorded those sword-arts down and left them here, infusing their pagoda with their sword-intent.

"Countless Daolords have died since the Sword Palace was founded, and even Eternal Emperors have disappeared into the endless darkness as they went out exploring parts unknown. Their Sword Pagodas, however, have been kept safe.

"There are a total of 83612 Sword Pagodas here!

"This place represents the greatest wealth, the greatest fortune the Sword Palace possesses. This is the most sacred place in the entire palace." A look of awe and veneration was in Daolord Fudan's eyes.

Ning could sense that the sword-intents here were incredibly ancient, having existed for countless chaos cycles. In fact, some of the sword-intents were absolutely lawless and dominating. These sword-intents had all been left behind by some of the most supremely talented cultivators of the Endless Territories, many of whom were capable of battling Eternal Emperors or actually were Eternal Emperors. All of them had been gathered here… and every single Sword Pagoda represented an ancient power.

Samsara Daolords. With each step they took, they walked the tightrope which existed between life and death. Daolords had to eventually succeed in the Daomerge, as they would otherwise die one day. Some of the earliest Daolords had already perished, but their sword-arts and their sword-intents had been left behind and would forever exist.

"The most sacred place of the Sword Palace… the Forest of Sword Pagodas." Daolord Fudan's voice was trembling slightly. He dreamed of one day being able to leave behind a Sword Pagoda of his own… but alas, his sword-arts were not good enough.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 4 – Palace Lord Woodflower

Ji Ning stared off into the distance, where he could vaguely see quite a few figures seated in the lotus position within those ancient, enormous Sword Pagodas.

"All members of the Sword Palace are permitted to come here and meditate," Daolord Fudan said. "Even we black-armored Daolords are permitted."

"I'm going to take a look." Ning walked forwards.

The Sword Pagodas were tall and erect, with each emanating a completely different sword-intent. It was as though mighty sword practitioners were standing right next to Ning! As Ning walked through the ancient Forest of Sword Pagodas, he felt as though he was walking through a sea of time. As Ning stared at the mighty sword-arts and sword-intents which the ancient powers had left behind, he couldn't help but feel utterly stunned.

These were his predecessors, ancient masters of the Dao of the Sword.

The Sword Pagodas had more than just sword-arts. Many also had a few tiny words carved into them.

Ning's gaze turned towards one particular Sword Pagoda. The sword-arts inscribed within this Sword Pagoda were quite similar to his own [Nameless] sword-art. They belonged to the same general style of swordsmanship, and they were similarly exalted and profound. As for the sword-intent, it was awe-inspiringly profound and seemed to encompass all things.

Daolord Everstarter. After joining our Sword Palace, he received the acknowledgment of the Sword Pagodas while still at the World level and became one of our Swordlords. He had a modest disposition and liked to teach his juniors and those weaker than him. He treated the Sword Palace as his home and rarely went out adventuring. Silently and without any fanfare, he reached the Fourth Step as a Daolord. However, because the Ancient cultivators went too far in their actions, Daolord Everstarter ventured forth all by himself and unvealed his utterly terrifying sword-arts, defeating three other Verge-level Daolords who were Ancient cultivators. In fact, he even defeated an Ancient cultivator who was an Eternal Emperor."

"This battle brought him tremendous fame, and he became acknowledged as the number one Daolord of the Endless Territories in his time. Afterwards, as he prepared for his Daomerge, he began to travel to many different places. Ever since then, we have received no word of him. We do not know if he is alive or dead.

Ning was speechless.

This Daolord defeated an Eternal Emperor who was an Ancient cultivator?

Ning knew very little about the Ancient cultivators. All he knew was that they were incredibly, terrifyingly powerful. Only the most supreme of special lifeforms were comparable to Ancient cultivators. Eternal Emperors who were Ancient cultivators were definitely far more powerful than ordinary Eternal Emperors. A Daolord had actually defeated one of them? No wonder he was publicly acclaimed as the number one Daolord in his time.

This feat was far more impressive than Daolord Allgod's feat of attacking and pursuing Emperor Melobo.

"No one knows if Daolord Everstarter is still alive or not." Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Ning was startled. Someone had appeared behind him without him even noticing?

He hurriedly turned and looked backwards, only to see that a golden-armored, tousled-hair, and rather decadent-looking man had appeared behind him.

"Greetings, senior apprentice-brother." Upon seeing the suit of golden armor, Ning immediately addressed the man with respect.

There were no 'masters' or 'apprentices' here in the Sword Palace, only brothers and sisters.

At this moment, Daolord Fudan hurriedly ran over and said with great respect, "Greetings, Lord Woodflower."

"Lord?" Ning was stunned.

"Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, Daolord Woodflower is a Vice Palace Lord of our Sword Palace." Daolord Fudan sent a hurried mental message to Ning.

Although Ning didn't know the names of the various Daolords in the Sword Palace, he knew the general rules of the Twelve Palaces. The strongest member in every single palace was given the title of Palace Lord. Vice Palace Lords were the next most powerful! But of course, there were exceptions such as the Palace of Radiance, which had two powerful Daolords who were roughly on par with each other, which was why both were referred to as Palace Lord. Thus, the Radiant Palace had two Palace Lords.

Generally speaking, Palace Lords and Vice Palace Lords had the power to battle against Eternal Emperors. This was especially true in a place like the Sword Palace, which focused on combat.

"Greetings, Palace Lord," Ning said hurriedly.

"Simply address me as senior apprentice-brother Woodflower." The decadent-looking man chuckled. "I watched the battle between you and Bertulu. You aren't bad at all. Actually, your sword-arts are quite similar to those of Daolord Everstarter. If he is still alive, he should be an Eternal Emperor by now. Given how strong he was as a Daolord, as an Eternal Emperor he would probably be alive to this very day and might be willing to give you some personal pointers."

Ning nodded.

A Daolord who was able to defeat an Eternal Emperor of the Ancients and who was acknowledged as the undisputed number one Daolord of the Endless Territories of his time… if he was to become an Eternal Emperor, killing him would be almost impossible.

"Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower," Ning said hurriedly, "Can it be that he doesn't have an avatar here? Why is it that we don't know if he is alive or not?"

When Ning had entered Undermoon Lake, he had been quite weak, but his clones in the outside world could sense if he was alive or dead. Once his clones in Undermoon Lake perished, he would be able to recreate the clones in the outside world. This was an easy way to judge if he was dead or not.

Daolords, however, would generally leave avatars in their homes when they were entering dangerous regions. If not, they would leave behind other special techniques or spells. Generally speaking, it wasn't too hard to know what was happening or if they were still alive.

"The primordial chaos is vast and endless. Even the almighty Hegemon, who is older than the Twelve Palaces, wouldn't dare claim that he knows everything which happens within it," Lord Woodflower explained. "In the endless primordial chaos, there are indeed some places which will result in you being completely cut off from the outside world once you enter. There would be no way whatsoever to ascertain if you were alive or not."

"Given that we have heard no word from him in countless years, it is very likely that he is dead. However, there's no way to verify it, and so we generally will list these elders as 'status unknown' rather than 'deceased' on their Sword Pagodas," Lord Woodflower explained.

Ning nodded.

After chatting a bit about Daolord Everstarter, Lord Woodflower said, "Darknorth, as a new member of the Sword Palace, you are able to choose a single divine ability, secret art, or legacy from the Pavilion of Mysteries. But of course, some Daolords restricted their legacies, only permitting juniors who passed the trials they set down to make use of those legacies. Generally speaking, the more valuable a legacy, the more common this practice is."

Ning naturally understood this principle. His Mirrorsnow Paintings had trials as well. Actually procuring all four paintings was a major trial in and of itself, and of course he had to defeat the four experts within the four paintings.

"I'll go take a look first," Ning said.

"I'll lead the way." Lord Woodflower waved his hand, sending a surge of Immortal energy to surround Ning.

Sword-light flickered around them, resulting in them disappearing into the skies.

Daolord Fudan raised his head to watch them leave, a look of envy in his eyes. He murmured softly, "Lord Woodflower is quite nice to him. It seems he views Darknorth with great favor." As he spoke, he walked back to the outskirts of the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

"Who was that person who just flew away with my master?" Su Youji immediately asked.

"That was Lord Woodflower of our Sword Palace. Although he behaves in a very casual, laid-back manner, he's a very discerning man. It isn't easy to attract his attention. It seems he quite likes your master," Daolord Fudan said. "Let us wait for him here."

"Alright." Su Youji smiled. The better Ning's live here was, the happier she would be. She felt absolutely delighted by this.

The Pavilion of Mysteries was located at the top of a mountain, surrounded by clouds and mist.

A streak of sword-light flickered and descended in front of the pavilion. Daolord Woodflower and Ji Ning both appeared once more.

"That was fast." Ning was secretly shocked.

"Greetings, Vice Palace Lord." Suddenly, a fiery red golem at the entrance to the pavilion rose to its feet and called out respectfully. Its entire body was made from magic treasures; a simple glance was enough to tell that it wasn't an actual living creature.

"Swordthree, I'm going to take this new arrival of ours, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, in for a look." Daolord Woodflower smiled towards Ning. "This is Swordthree, the overseer of the Pavilion of Mysteries. He's been guarding this place for an extremely long period of time, much longer than any of our Daolords have been alive. He is ranked the third most powerful golem in the Sword Palace, and so we just call him Swordthree. You can call him the same."

"Swordthree," Ning said hurriedly.

"Darknorth." The fiery golem cracked a friendly smile towards Ning.

"Follow me inside." Lord Woodflower led Ning inwards.

Within this bamboo hall, there were a series of jade slips. There were also stone steles, statues, books, paintings, leaves, wine gourds, and all sorts of other items. They all looked quite ordinary, as though this was a flea market filled with many miscellaneous objects.

"This place holds many divine abilities and secret arts," Lord Woodflower said. "All Twelve Palaces share more or less the same divine abilities and secret arts. Our legacies, however, belong to us alone."

Lord Woodflower continued, "There are differences amongst the legacies. Some are more profound, some are less. Some were left behind by fairly ordinary Daolords, some were left behind by awe-inspiringly powerful Daolords who were as strong as Eternal Emperors, and some were left behind by actual Eternal Emperors. There's no need to pass any trials to use the divine abilities or secret arts; all you need to do is choose one and you will be able to train in it. Legacies, however, generally come attached with trials and conditions."

"The legacies left behind by Eternal Emperors are the most valuable. Here within this bamboo hall, there are five legacies that were left behind by Eternal Emperors." Lord Woodflower explained, "Here in the Sword Palace, we have an additional requirement. World-level cultivators have to become acknowledged as 'Swordlords' by the Sword Pagodas before they are qualified to select a legacy left behind by an Eternal Emperor… but of course, they still need to pass the trials which the Eternal Emperor set down."

Ning said with surprise, "Don't some of those freakishly powerful Daolords possess sword-arts that equal the sword-arts of Eternal Emperors? Why is it that the legacies of the Eternal Emperors are so much harder to obtain?"

"Anyone who was able to become an Eternal Emperor had already perfected his Dao of the Sword to a level where it could gain eternity," Lord Woodflower explained. "These legacies will give you experience that will help guide you to eternity. Over the course of countless years, we have seen several freakishly strong Daolords in every single generation. However, very few of them are ever able to become actual Eternal Emperors."

Lord Woodflower continued, "Based on the rough numbers we have for the Endless Territories, less than one in a hundred thousand Daolords shall become an Eternal Emperor. Although our Sword Palace is assisted by the almighty Hegemon and selects only the cream of the crop, the elites of the elites, we've only given birth to a total of three Eternal Emperors since the establishment of the kingdom."

Lord Woodflower shook his head. "Of the three Eternal Emperors… one perished, while the other two were solitary figures who went off wandering by themselves." Lord Woodflower let out a sigh. "Our ratio of Daolords to Eternal Emperors is actually fairly high. The Dao Alliance has a much lower ratio than the Twelve Palaces."

Ning was speechless. At present, the Sword Palace didn't even have a single Eternal Emperor?

"It's simply too hard for a new Eternal Emperor to be born. Even if one is born… they live far too long and easily grow bored, and so they often delight in exploring places which no one has ever been before. Sometimes, they never come back." Lord Woodflower continued, "As for the freakishly strong Daolords… after they fail their Daomerge, they know that they shall die and so they will often go out and try to find chances to slay Eternal Emperors belonging to enemy organizations."

"Although there aren't that many freakishly strong Daolords, there's usually a few in every generation. Although Eternal Emperors are untouched by the ravages of time, they can still perish through other means," Lord Woodflower explained. "But of course, there are always differences. Take our almighty Hegemon. He's actually an Eternal Emperor, but he's just far, far too powerful. As a result, he's still alive to this very day. Even though he occasionally abducts World-level cultivators who belong to other organizations, they just ignore it and pretend not to see it."

Ning let out a sigh.

What sad, sad fates these Eternal Emperors had. They were incredibly rare in number, but the freakishly strong Daolords who failed their Daomerge would often target them in suicidal attacks. Daolord Allgod was a good example. After he failed his Daomerge, he attempted to chase down and kill Emperor Melobo.

Far too many Eternal Emperors disappeared while adventuring, were slain by Daolords, or went into hiding. Only truly almighty figures like the Hegemon were capable of staying alive.

"As a result, there are very few legacies that were left behind by Eternal Emperors. Even the weakest Eternal Emperor's sword-arts are comparable to the sword-arts of supreme Daolords, and they contain a hint of eternity…" Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. "I'm sure you know this, but cultivators must find and walk their own paths. After becoming a Daolord, you must develop a sword-art all your own. These so-called 'legacies' are mainly valuable because they will help guide you in that."

Ning nodded.

"By now, you should understand why the legacies left behind by Eternal Emperors are so rare and valuable," Lord Woodflower said. "I urge you to do your best to acquire one of them if you can. But of course, it is up to you. What do you want? A divine ability, a secret art, or a legacy? What will you choose?"

"What will I choose?" Ning began to ponder this question.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 5 – Hope

A divine ability? Ji Ning's greatest advantage was his azureflower mist energy, but there was no way to use it to execute divine abilities. For now, his [Golden Idol] and [Three Heads, Six Arms] were enough.

A legacy? He was still missing the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting for the legacy of Emperor Mirrorsnow.

"Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower," Ning said.

"Have you made your decision?" Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. "There's no need to choose right away. Think it over. You'll only have one opportunity to pick something of your choosing. After that, you'll have to pay a heavy price."

"I actually want to ask a question. Is it possible for the Twelve Palaces to acquire a copy of the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting?" Ning asked.

"You already have the first three?" Lord Woodflower was surprised.

"Yes." Ning nodded. There was no need to hide this; the Sword Palace had many legacies, and Lord Woodflower himself was a supremely strong Daolord who was comparable to Eternal Emperors in power.

"I don't think the Sword Palace has a copy." Lord Woodflower pondered for a moment, then let out a laugh. "Later, you should go to the Armaments Gorge and take a look for yourself. If they really don't have a copy, you can ask them to help out. They'll help you find a fourth copy in the Endless Territories. Given the might of the Twelve Palaces, I trust that they shouldn't find this to be an overly difficult task. But of course, you'll need to pay for it."

"Understood." Ning relaxed slightly.

"Emperor Mirrorsnow was an extremely powerful Eternal Emperor, and he's still alive." Lord Woodflower let out a sigh. "His legacy is an excellent one."

Ning suddenly gave voice to something which had been puzzling him. "Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower, there's something which has been bothering me. Advancing from the Samsara Daolord level to the Eternal Emperor level should represent an incredible increase in power… and I would imagine that anyone capable of becoming an Eternal Emperor should be have been an extraordinary Daolord as well. Why, then, do I often hear about Daolords slaying Emperors?"

Lord Woodflower was startled, and a complicated look appeared on his face.

"You were going to be told about this eventually." Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. "Samsara Daolords all have their own paths, and different paths will result in different levels of difficulty in becoming Eternal Emperors.

"If you choose a simple path, you will be fairly weak amongst your peers. As a Daolord of the Fourth Step, you probably won't be as strong as I was when I was a Daolord of the Third Step. However… that will also make it somewhat easier for you on your road to gaining eternity.

"If you choose a difficult path, you will be extremely powerful. As a Daolord of the Fourth Step, you might even be able to slay some of the weaker Eternal Emperors. However… to succeed in your Daomerge on this difficult path and gain eternity will be even more difficult."

Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. "That is why there's an old axiom that has rung true for countless chaos cycles… the more powerful the Daolord, the less likely he will be successful in his Daomerge."

"The many freakishly strong Daolords that have appeared over the course of countless years have almost all failed in their Daomerge. Thus, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth… you need to think over what path you would like to take. Shall you choose a path that is a simple one? Or a path that is a difficult one?" Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. "The difficult path means that it is guaranteed that every single step you take as a Daolord will be very dangerous, and your Daomerge will be even more difficult! However, you'll also be incredibly powerful and will be a dazzling figure amongst your peers. The simple path will be easier to walk, and in the end you will have a slightly larger chance of completing your Daomerge and gaining eternity."

Ning was stunned by this revelation.

Still… it made sense. He himself had already found the direction in which his Dao of the Sword would lead. His path involved analyzing and dissecting all sword-arts he encountered in order to better understand the fundamental essence of the sword. His goal was to infuse all of the mysteries of all sword-arts into his own Dao of the Sword.

This path was an insanely ambitious one. To understand the fundamental essence of the sword and to absorb all of its mysteries meant that in the end, he would have developed what could be described as an 'ultimate', perfect sword-art.

Perfection was not so easily achieved.

Ning had chosen an extremely difficult path. In truth, Ning could've chosen to walk a simpler path. For example, right now Ning was extremely skilled in defensive techniques. If he focused all his efforts on defense, things would be much easier for him.

"Why should cultivators fear difficulties?" Ning laughed. "Even if you choose the simpler path, perhaps less than one in a hundred thousand Samsara Daolords shall gain eternity. It is best to follow your own heart and embark upon a path which is hard but glorious. That way, if you do become an Eternal Emperor, you'll be truly invincible and will have nothing and no one to be afraid of."

"Right!" Lord Woodflower laughed loudly. "In the Endless Territories, there are three almighty Hegemons. All three were freakishly powerful Daolords who were capable of slaying Eternal Emperors, and they eventually were successful in breaking through to become Eternal Emperors. After they made their breakthroughs, no one has ever been able to shake them and their positions. To show our respect for them and in order to differentiate them from ordinary Emperors, we revere with them the title of 'Hegemon'. The almighty Hegemony of our own Brightshore Kingdom is one of the three, and he has been alive for far longer than our Twelve Palaces have existed."

Ning nodded. A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, causing him to take a deep breath before asking the question which he cared about more than all other questions. "Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower… if a truesoul is destroyed, is the almighty Hegemon capable of reversing time to save it?"

In terms of mastery over spacetime, it was possible that the almighty Hegemon was second to none in all the Endless Territories. Would it be possible for him to reverse the flow of spacetime and rescue Yu Wei?

Lord Woodflower was startled. He gave Ning a hard look. "In the Endless Territories, there is indeed a legend that says it is possible to invert spacetime itself, allowing you to reach out into the distant past and bring back to life a person whose truesoul has already been destroyed in the present day. However, I've heard that the person who uses this technique would have to pay an utterly ruinous price. I don't know if the almighty Hegemon can accomplish this task, but even if he truly can he wouldn't make it public. To invert spacetime and rescue a truesoul from the distant past is something which would probably cause him to suffer heavy injuries. There's no way he would make something like this public."

Lord Woodflower continued to look at Ning. "Still… it is indeed true that if you can reach a profound enough level of insight, you can invert spacetime and bring someone back to life. However, it will be so difficult that very few of the ancient powers capable of doing it would actually be willing to carry it out."

"Understood." Ning felt excited.

Hope.

He finally saw some hope!

Ning had always clung onto a dream which even he knew was unlikely. He had felt that theoretically, someone who had reached certain incredible heights in the manipulation of spacetime should be able to invert it and reach into the past to save a deceased truesoul. However, there was no proof backing up this theory of his… but today, Lord Woodflower had personally verified that this was indeed possible. And in fact, the almighty Hegemon might be someone who was capable of such a thing.

But of course, if Ning wasn't able to offer enough of an incentive and pay enough of a price, there was no way he would be able to convince the almighty Hegemon to do such a thing.

"Senior apprentice-sister. We will definitely be able to meet each other once again. I don't care how long it takes. I'm going to work hard until the day I see you again."

Ning closed his eyes. When he imagined that day in the distant future, he felt as though he could see Yu Wei smiling at him from afar. Ning felt a warmth spread into his heart, filling him with strength and resolve.

Ning opened his eyes. "Thank you, senior apprentice-brother Woodflower."

Lord Woodflower nodded. "Take some time and consider your choices. If you have any questions regarding the Dao of the Sword, you can go find me in my estate."

"Thank you, senior apprentice-brother Woodflower." Ning could sense Lord Woodflower's goodwill and felt quite grateful towards the man.

Lord Woodflower left, allowing Ning to search through the Pavilion of Mysteries by himself.

"The Windsmoke secret art. The normal price is five hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar, and it involves…

"The Endless Dark divine ability. The normal price is three hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar…"

These divine abilities and secret arts all had a simple explanation regarding how much one had to pay in chaos nectar in order to purchase them. The cheapest started off at a hundred thousand cubes, while the most expensive was as high as three million cubes. Even for Daolords, these techniques were truly consummate, killer techniques. Only in a place like the Sword Palace could one easily gain access to them. In the outside world? Acquiring such techniques would be far more difficult.

"Eh?" Ning was stunned.

"Novessence Fire, a million cubes of chaos nectar. This secret art was developed by Daolord Allgod…

"Novessence Water, a million cubes of chaos nectar…

Ning found five consecutive secret arts which had been developed by Daolord Allgod.

"They even have Daolord Allgod's techniques?" Ning was rather surprised. The five secret arts he found were the [Novessence Fire, [Novessence Water, [Novessence Earth, [Novessence Wood, and [Novessence Metal] techniques.

Ning carefully read through the other secrets arts following them, only to find nothing else.

Curious, Ning hurriedly ran over to the entrance to the Pavilion of Mysteries.

"Have you chosen, Darknorth?" The guardian golem, Swordthree, looked at Ning.

"I saw five of the secret arts left behind by Daolord Allgod," Ning said. "But I heard that Daolord Allgod actually had nine in total?"

"Right. Daolord Allgod was an astonishingly talented man who was skilled in alchemy, artificing, rearing bugbeasts, and more. He was a master of many different skills, and so he was an exceptional developer of secret arts as well. He created nine mighty secret arts, and when those nine secret arts came together they were able to unleash utterly shocking levels of power. Unfortunately, the Dao Alliance completely refuses to give us the entire thing." Swordthree shook his head. "The almighty Hegemon made a personal appearance and paid a considerable price, but was still only able to convince the Dao Alliance to give us five of the secret arts belonging to Daolord Allgod. The four remaining secret arts were even more powerful, but we weren't able to acquire them."

Now Ning understood.

Ning had already come to a decision, but to be careful he still reviewed the basic descriptions of all the divine abilities and secret arts in the entire Pavilion of Mysteries.

Each of the five secret arts of Daolord Allgod cost a million cubes of chaos nectar, and every single one of those secret arts was enough to slay weak Daolords of the Fourth Step. These were terrifying killer techniques.

"Aside from the Dao of the Sword, I have some affinity for lightning, water, and space. Lightning and water resonate with each other and can support each other." These were two naturally aligned elements.

"The nine secret arts of Daolord Allgod were meant to be used together in a combination. I shall choose the [Novessence Water] secret art." Ning quickly made up his mind.

"Are you certain you wish to choose the [Novessence Water] secret art?" Swordthree looked at Ning. "To tell you the truth, legacies are more important for World-level cultivators."

"I am certain." Ning nodded.

"Alright." Swordthree easily dispersed the restrictive spell covering the jade slip. "Go ahead and learn it."

Ning sent his senses into the slip, immediately swearing the relevant lifeblood oath and beginning to study the technique.

Although the [Novessence Water] was very powerful, it was more of a soft, subtle technique. By contrast, the [Novessence Thunder] was a more dominating, destructive technique.

Of the nine secret arts, the five pertaining to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth were slightly weaker, whereas the [Novessence Thunder, [Novessence Light, and the other two were slightly stronger.

"Time to go to the Armaments Gorge." After learning the secret art, Ning departed from the Pavilion of Mysteries and headed towards the Armaments Gorge. He had to acquire the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting as soon as possible.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 6 – Broken Sword?

Ji Ning hovered there in midair, staring downwards at the Armaments Gorge. He then immediately flew downwards and landed in front of an icy building that was erected within the gorge. This was the true Armaments Gorge.

There were two golems guarding the gates to the building.

"Darknorth greets you," Ning said courteously.

"Swordfive."

"Swordsix."

The two golems introduced themselves. They both had stately, solemn auras of tremendous power.

Ning walked past the gates, and the two golems let him enter unimpeded. Although there were many weapons and treasures stored here, not even Eternal Emperors were strong enough to seize them by force. The formations surrounding the most important parts of the Twelve Palaces had been personally established long ago by the almighty Hegemon himself, and the successive generations of geniuses in the Twelve Palaces had repeatedly strengthened them and reinforced them. By now, there were few to none in all the Endless Territories capable of breaking inside.

"What a treasure trove." As soon as Ning entered, he saw the divine swords that had been firmly planted into the ground. They were clustered tightly next to each other, and they all emanated auras of terrifying sword-intent. Even the weakest sword was at least an Eternal weapon.

There was a stone stele next to every single sword, and each stone stele had a simple line of characters on them: "Thirty thousand cubes." "Ninety thousand cubes." "Fifty thousand cubes." These were the prices of the swords, and the prices were actually quite low. Still, it hadn't been easy for the Sword Palaces to collect these wondrous weapons, and there was no way Ning and the others could simply take the swords away without paying anything at all.

"What is…"

Ning's gaze suddenly turned towards the distance, where he sensed an incredibly terrifying sword-intent radiating from afar. Although it was quite a distance off, and although there were thousands of other swords there, Ning could sense that none of them were able to shake that terrifying sword-intent in the slightest. It was a broken sword that was emanating that aura, and it was placed atop a table.

This was the only sword in the entire Armaments Gorge which was placed on a table.

"A broken sword?" Puzzled, Ning walked towards it to give it a careful look.

"Eh? It was broken in such a clean, natural way. It seems as though it was actually forged this way and meant to be this way." Ning quickly was able to tell that this sword wasn't actually 'broken'; it was created this way.

Rumble…

Sword-intent billowed out from the sword. Ning felt as though he was a tiny ship facing the wild waves of the ocean, about to be capsized at any moment. The incomparably ancient sword-intent… it was the most terrifying sword-intent Ning had ever sensed. The [Nameless] sword-art, Violetjewel, the Forest of Sword Pagodas… none of these things had ever given Ning such a sensation before.

It was vast, it was awe-inspiring, and it was unfathomably ancient. It made Ning feel like he was back on Earth, staring into the endless sea of stars.

"Eh?" When Ning reached within thirty meters of the broken sword, a surge of invisible force suddenly stopped him from moving any farther. No matter how Ning tried, he was unable to take so much as a single extra step.

"I actually can't go any closer to it?" By now, Ning realized that there were no other swords within thirty meters of the broken sword. "And it doesn't have a price tag on it?"

The other swords all had clearly labeled prices on the stone steles. Only this broken sword was different. There was nothing within thirty meters of it, not even a stone stele.

Ning gave it a long, deep look, firmly engraving it into his memory.

Roughly a third of the Armaments Gorge was set aside for swords. The rest was used to hold many other types of treasures and unique artifacts, and they too had prices listed next to them.

"Fifty thousand cubes." "Two million cubes." "Ten million cubes." "A hundred and ten thousand cubes."

The treasures and artifacts all had different prices.

Ning wanted to acquire Dao lightning. Things like Watersmoke Lightning, Firecloud Lightning, or Azurewood Lightning represented the Five Elements and thus were fairly cheap, requiring roughly two hundred thousand cubes. Other types of Dao lightning, however, were much more expensive. The 'Worldbury Lightning' cost 1.9 million cubes, and it was the most expensive of the nine types of Dao lightning which Ning needed.

Ning was able to acquire all nine types of Dao lightning here in the Armaments Gorge, but the price was quite steep.

The Armaments Gorge even had a tenth type of Dao lightning that was naturally formed. This lightning was known as the 'Allheaven Lightning' and cost ten million cubes, and it could only be used if one was willing to swear a lifeblood oath! The Allheaven Lightning could only be harvested by the almighty Hegemon himself, and it was unique to the Brightshore Kingdom.

If any of the other supreme organizations wished to acquire the Allheaven Lightning, they would have to pay an utterly shocking fee to the Brightshore Kingdom. Only for actual members of the Brightshore Kingdom would such a 'low' price of ten million cubes be accepted.

"Daolord Allgod himself was only able to acquire nine suitable types of Dao lightning, at which point he created his [Novessence Thunder]." Ning couldn't help but sigh. "But the Brightshore Kingdom actually has ten types…"

Ning's horizons truly were broadened after he spent some time wandering through the Armaments Gorge. He finally began to realize how many treasures existed in the primordial chaos.

"Darknorth, done already?" Swordfive, one of the two golems guarding outside, asked Ning curiously, "What treasure have you chosen?"

"I was looking for but unable to find nine types of divine water, including Netherstring Water and Wormwind Water," Ning said. He was going to train in the [Novessence Water] secret art and needed nine types of water.

Fire could be classified into Elder fire (such as Golden Solarfire), Chaos fire, and Dao fire. The same was true for water. When Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals were touched by Wormwind Water, they would find their bodies riddled with holes. Even their truesoul would begin to collapse.

"Oh, Chaos water?" The nearby Swordsix said in a low voice, "The Sword Palace doesn't have low-level water like that. One of the other palaces, the Palace of Kindwater, definitely has it. If you really need it, we can have the Kindwater Palace deliver it to you."

"I need nine types of Chaos water." Ning carefully listed out the number types of Chaos water he needed.

The [Novessence Water] was also divided into two parts. The upper part involved using nine types of Chaos water, while the lower part involved using nine types of Dao water.

This was a technique which was on par with the [Novessence Lightning]. However, because of certain innate properties of lightning, the [Novessence Thunder] was slightly more powerful. Once these two techniques were used in unison then they would become much more powerful, especially considering that water and lightning were mutually complimentary elements. It must be understood that when Daolord Allgod used all nine secret arts together, he had been able to suppress even Eternal Emperors.

"Right. In the Armaments Gorge, I was only able to find a copy of the third Mirrorsnow Painting?" Ning looked at Swordfive and Swordsix.

"That's the only one we have," Swordfive said. "Emperor Mirrorsnow was a rather dissolute and wanton figure, but his sword-arts were exceedingly profound. Countless World-level cultivators were driven mad with lust for his paintings. If it wasn't for the fact that only World-level cultivators are permitted to study from his legacies, they would probably be much more expensive."

Ning agreed with this assessment. Emperor Mirrorsnow's legacies actually provided even Daolords with good experience. If Daolords could learn from them, the price would become astonishingly high.

The only reason why the price was fairly low was because Emperor Mirrorsnow had decreed that only World-level cultivators could study his legacy. How much money could a World-level cultivator possibly have? Still, every single painting was usually worth around a hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar.

"I need the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting," Ning said.

"The fourth?" Swordfive and Swordsix exchanged a glance.

"It isn't present within the Brightshore Kingdom. We'll need to rely on the strength and reach of the Twelve Palaces in order to find it somewhere else in the primordial chaos," Swordfive said. "If you want us to do that… before we begin, you'll have to pay a certain amount of chaos nectar as a deposit. Also, if you search for one specific painting, it'll probably end up costing you much more money.

"I can accept any price under half a million cubes," Ning said.

"That's fine, then." Swordfive nodded. "Generally speaking, it costs us around two hundred thousand cubes when we purchase one from the outside world. It'll just take us a bit of time. Three hundred thousand cubes is usually the maximum. Just wait for me to send word. Once the Twelve Palaces find the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting, I'll immediately inform you."

"How long will it take, roughly?" Ning asked.

"Anywhere from ten years to a thousand years." Swordfive was rather smug. "The Twelve Palaces are quite influential in the Endless Territories."

Ning was speechless.

Many of the Daolords of the Twelve Palaces had been abducted from other places when they were at the World level. Ning himself was a good example of this. He had been a member of Vastheaven Palace, which was under the Dao Alliance. He was now here in the Brightshore Kingdom, but it was guaranteed that there was no way he would separate himself from the Dao Alliance. This was the reason why the Twelve Palaces had such influence throughout the Endless Territories.

"Within the gorge, I found a broken sword that I couldn't even get close to," Ning suddenly said.

"Couldn't get close to?" Swordfive was startled for a moment, then nodded. "That means you two aren't destined to be together."

"Not destined?" Ning was puzzled.

"What, did you think that it was some sort of a formation preventing you from moving closer to it?" Swordfive asked.

"Wasn't it?" Ning was even more puzzled now.

The nearby Swordsix said, "Of course not! The formations within the Armaments Gorge are only there to prevent you from taking away the treasures without paying the price. Generally speaking, you can get close to and touch the weapons. You were able to do so with the other weapons, right? But that broken sword is so innately powerful that it can actually prevent you from going too close to it."

"Only one with the right karmic destiny will be permitted to move close to it. If it refuses to acknowledge you, there is nothing you can do." Swordfive glanced at Ning. "Not even the two Palace Lords of our Sword Palace were acknowledged by it. After its previous master perished, it has stayed by itself in the Armaments Gorge. It has been silent for a long, long time."

Ning blinked.

Alright, then. If even the Palace Lords, the Vice Palace Lords, and the countless generations of Daolords had failed to receive its approval, it only made sense that Ning himself was unable to receive its approval as well.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 7 – The Blazing Beast

Ji Ning knew very well that the Endless Territories was a place filled with countless marvelous treasures. It wasn't surprising for this particular treasure to have no affinity for him. It was already lucky enough for him to have gained the Nine Chaos Seals.

"Master." After leaving Armaments Gorge, Ning once more reunited with Su Youji.

"Let's find a place to live first." Ning and Su Youji flew through the skies. Suddenly, they saw a solitary mountain peak that jutted high up into the skies, surrounded by clouds and mist. This was one of the taller mountains in the Sword Palace. There were only so many 'formal' members of the Sword Palace, after all. Most people could easily find a place of their choosing within the Sword Palace, so long as there was no one else already there.

Ning waved a finger from afar. Whoosh! An estate suddenly appeared in midair, then descended upon the top of the mountain.

"From this day forth, this estate shall be our residence in the Sword Palace." Ning looked at Su Youji. "Right, Youji. The Twelve Palaces all have spacetime transfer arrays connecting them together. You can give the Palace of Fire a shot. Perhaps you'll be granted entry into it." He wasn't going to be able to give her much advice in the Dao of Fire. She'd have to rely on herself for everything.

"I have to say, now that I've wandered through the Sword Palace I do feel a bit jealous." Su Youji grinned. "Although I know my chances aren't that great, I'll still give it a shot."

"Mm." Ning nodded.

The Sword Pagodas towered around everything around them. It was as though countless ancient powers were standing there in front of Ning. As Ning walked through the Forest of Sword Pagodas, his heart was filled with amazement and regret. So many major powers who had been the dominant forces of their time, who had been able to defeat even Eternal Emperors, had all passed away. The number of Daolords in the Sword Palace who were able to live for more than a hundred thousand chaos cycles could be counted on two hands.

This was the unstoppable, ruinous power of time.

"If I am to become an Eternal Emperor, then I wish to become one who is akin to the almighty Hegemon. Otherwise… I would rather become one of those Daolords capable of slaying Emperors. I have to become powerful enough to convince the almighty Hegemon or someone on his level to rescue and revive my wife!"

A dreamy look was in Ning's eyes. "If I could bring her back… me, her, and Brightmoon would be together once more. Our family of three would be together again. Even if I eventually fail my Daomerge and perish, it will all have been worth it." Although Daolords walked a fine line between life and death with each step, even those who failed their Daomerge would be able to live extremely long lives. If their family of three was able to live together in peace for some time, Ning would be satisfied.

Ning's greatest regret was… his wife Yu Wei had perished shortly after giving birth to Brightmoon.

Whoosh. Ning waved his hand, causing a thatched cottage to suddenly appear next to him. This thatched cottage was actually Ning's temporal acceleration treasure. Ning had made a few cosmetic alterations to it.

Ning entered the thatched cottage, then sat down in the lotus position. He set the flow of time to a hundred times the normal rate, then turned his gaze towards the distant Sword Pagodas.

"So many supreme sword-arts for me to analyze… and in fact, every single sword-art is filled with the sword-intent of its creator." Ning couldn't help but sigh at this. For most cultivators, greed was not a good thing. In fact, if you learned too many techniques, you might end up losing yourself or your own way. However, Ning's path was a path that began from understanding the fundamental essence of the sword, and it was a path he would walk by analyzing and dissecting all other sword-arts, absorbing their best parts into his own [Brightmoon] sword-art.

The [Brightmoon] sword-art was still quite young and incomplete, but Ning had chosen a path where he would use it to embody all the mysteries of the Dao of the Sword.

This path Ning had chosen was a very difficult path. It had been a blurry, unclear path for Ning back when he was in the Three Realms, but the guidance Daolord Solesky had given Ning had made everything clear! He had analyzed thousands of sword-arts in the Allgod Estate, and now he had arrived in the most sacred part of the Sword Palace, the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

"There are 83612 Sword Pagodas here, many of which are comparable to my [Nameless] sword-art. I have to treasure this opportunity." Having come from the Three Realms, Ning knew exactly how precious this opportunity was. It must be understood that the reason why none of the others had been able to reach the World level was because they had no access to good techniques. This was true for Ning's own master, Suhbuti, as well as the martyrs such as Houyi or Three Purities. It was only in recent years that Ning's Primaltwin had begun to transmit more information regarding the Dao back home.

However, this opportunity in the Sword Palace was truly priceless, and Ning valued it immensely. He was the second person to leave the Three Realms, with Mother Nuwa being the first. He didn't know what had happened to Mother Nuwa, but he was determined to seize this opportunity to make himself as strong as he possibly could.

Su Youji stood outside the Forest of Sword Pagodas, staring at that distant form which was seated in that thatched cottage. The white-robed youth was completely absorbed with meditating on his sword-arts, and countless streams of swordforce began to naturally manifest in the area around him, followed by one sword-stance after another. These things manifested whenever Ning had a new insight.

"Master has never had a truly excellent teacher who was able to give him any good guidance. Now, after so long, he has finally reached a truly holy place for cultivation. I imagine this will result in his power skyrocketing. He'll be even more dazzling than before," Su Youji murmured silently to herself.

"I have to work hard as well. Now that I have the legacy of Feixian the Exalted, I should be able to provide him with some assistance." All this time, it had been Ning helping Su Youji rather than vice versa. She felt grateful, but she also wanted to be able to do something for him.

"Time to go to the Palace of Fire." Su Youji turned her head and departed.

The Twelve Palaces were all linked together by spacetime transfer arrays.

"So many World-level cultivators here?" When Su Youji arrived at the Palace of Fire, she saw numerous World-level cultivators on the path before her seated in the lotus position. She walked forwards, quickly reaching the end of the path.

"Halt!" Suddenly, a black-armored Daolord barked out at Su Youji.

"I wish to join the Palace of Fire," Su Youji said.

"You'll have to wait. In about half a month, the next batch of World-level cultivators will be permitted to take part in the trials." The black-armored Daolord gave her a cold look. "You World-level cultivators are only permitted to remain on this path. You are not permitted to go into other parts of the palace without prior permission. If you do, the restrictive spells here will automatically activate and burn you to a crisp."

"Understood." Su Youji immediately nodded.

When she had entered the Sword Palace, she had been alongside Ji Ning and so the black-armored Daolord had been fairly courteous to her. Normally, however, the black-armored Daolords were quite cold and indifferent to these applicants. There were simply too many of them, after all.

"Another half month." Su Youji found an empty spot and sat down in the lotus position.

"Another newcomer. There really are a lot of people who wish to join the Palace of Fire." Just a few hundred meters away from Su Youji was a chubby youth dressed in fiery robes. The chubby youth mumbled to himself, "I'm a venerable grandmaster of alchemy, but I not only was rejected by the Palace of Spacetime, I even failed the trials of the Palace of Fire. Ugh. What should I do? Why the hell isn't there a Palace of Alchemy?"

The chubby youth shook his head. "I'm skilled in alchemy, spacetime, and fire, but I wasn't able to pass the trials of either the Palace of Spacetime or the Palace of Fire…" The chubby youth sighed. "It seems I'll have to seek out brother Darknorth and ask him to help. He definitely entered one of the Twelve Palaces. If I follow him, things will be a bit easier for me."

This chubby youth was World God Pillsaint.

He truly was an unlucky fellow. He himself was an extremely skilled, grandmaster-level alchemist and pillmaker. Why would a person like him be forced to engage in combat? In the past, he had to simply wave his hand and whatever he wished would be carried out, and his master would often give him advice with regards to alchemy. Who would've thought that he would suddenly be abducted to the Astral Islands. In the Astral Islands, combat was all that mattered. Who cared about you being an alchemist? He had started off with an Eternal weapon, but as soon as he arrived he had been robbed of it. Thankfully, alchemy required high levels of insight into both fire and spacetime, and he was quite skilled in both. This was why he had been able to survive for so long… but accumulating a complete legacy and being able to escape was incredibly difficult.

It was all thanks to Ji Ning's assistance that he had been lucky enough to survive.

His skill in alchemy made his life in the Brightshore Kingdom an easy one, which was why he was able to reach the Twelve Palaces. Alas, his skills weren't enough for him to enter the Twelve Palaces.

"I'll keep trying. The trials for the Spacetime Palace were too difficult, but if I improve a bit in the Dao of Fire I might be able to make it into the Fire Palace." World God Pillsaint gritted his teeth. He was determined to make something of this.. He knew that entering the Palace of Fire would be a tremendous boon, and he deeply desired to succeed.

Although Su Youji and Pillsaint were just a few hundred meters from each other, neither knew each other.

The imperial palace of the Brightshore Kingdom.

Whoooooosh.

A blazing beast of fire was racing through the void of space. There were a few chaos stars in this vast region, which was part of the Brightshore Kingdom's even vaster imperial palace. This was the place where the almighty Hegemon usually rested and resided.

The blazing beast was racing happily through it. Ever since it had been captured, it had been living a terrifying life of danger and adventure. Although a powerful member of his race known as 'King Wu' had been keeping eyes on it, it had still been worried that it might die at any moment. Thus, it had never dared to relax in the slightest. But now, it had finally survived and succeeded.

"Child." An enormous behemoth appeared within the emptiness of space. When the behemoth stared at the blazing beast, its eyes were filled with warmth.

"Hegemon." The blazing beast was so frightened that it immediately came to a halt and stood there obediently. It already knew that the almighty Hegemon was the most powerful member of their race.

"Ever since you were born, you have been training by yourself. You are still too young. Most of your time has been spent in slumber. Although you didn't spend too much time in the abyss of the Astral Islands, you have still improved significantly. You are now qualified to enter the Archaeus region." The giant behemoth's head spoke out.

"The Archaeus region?" The blazing beast was puzzled. "Where, exactly?"

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 8 – The Archaeus Region

As the almighty Hegemon used his true form to chat with the blazing beast, something else was happening at another part of the imperial palace, a place where there were thirteen royal thrones.

One of the thrones was as white as snow. The other twelve were golden in color.

A white-bearded, snowy-robed old man with six horns was seated atop the snowy-white throne. The other twelve golden thrones were occupied by twelve golden-armored figures, and Daolord Woodflower was one of them.

"I have summoned you all because there is something I wish to discuss with you." The six-horned, white-bearded old man smiled. "As you all know, my race just gained a new member. This kid was born with exceptional innate gifts, and in a thousand short years he's managed to escape the abyss below the Astral Islands. Even amongst my Imperials, he is a rare breed who stands at the very top."

"Congratulations, Hegemon."

"I am confident that this child shall soon reach the 'King' level of power in your clan."

"The Brightshore Imperials have gained yet another expert."

The twelve golden-armored figures belonged to the Twelve Palaces, and they all spoke some words of flattery. Still, these words were also words of truth. The dark abyss below the Astral Islands was reserved for tempering and training new members of the imperial race. Generally speaking, the new members of the race had been wandering the outside world alone and didn't really have any good teachers. Most of them needed to spend a long period of time in the abyss before overcoming its trials. In addition, the Imperials were so few in number that every new addition to their race was a cause for celebration. A new Imperial who was exceptionally talented was even more precious.

The almighty Hegemon beamed merrily. Clearly, he was in an excellent mood. "This young fellow is so talented that I wish to send him into one of the alternate universes."

"Alternate universe?"

"An alternate universe?"

The faces of the twelve golden-armored figures turned pale.

"Hegemon, none of us have ever been to that place before." They all began to worry.

"Don't worry," the Hegemon said. "As you know, when I was meditating on the Dao of Spacetime, I once discovered traces of a completely different universe within the flows of spacetime and opened up a transversal conduit to it. Our two universes have different essences, which has an impact on my transversal conduit. Only those below the Daolord level of power are able to enter… but I was able to let my will slowly seep into that alternate universe and seduce some of its local lifeforms to come to our universe. Quite a few World-level cultivators from that universe have passed through my transversal conduit to come to our universe. I've gone through their memories and have learned quite a bit regarding that universe."

The Hegemon had discovered an alternate universe, had opened a transversal conduit to it, and then had been able to force his will through the conduit, even though he himself wasn't able to pass through it.

The almighty Hegemon's powers truly were quite terrifying!

"But… that's still an alternate universe." The twelve golden-armored powers were all quite wary.

The 'Endless Territories'…

It was a place that was so incredibly vast that it was still filled with many places which no one had ever explored. Many who broke through to become Eternal Emperors eventually left to wander the territories, only to never be heard from again. However, in the eyes of the greatest powers this infinitely vast region known as the 'Endless Territories' was actually merely just a single 'universe'.

Each universe had its own prime essences. An 'alternate universe' referred to a region which seemed similar but which had its own set of prime essences. For example, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword in this universe would be different from that of the alternate universe. Thus, one could easily sense when one was in an alternate universe, as even the prime essences would be different.

"When I sent my will into that alternate universe, I was able to scan quite a few chaosworlds close to the exit of my conduit," the almighty Hegemon said. "I've been watching this universe for many years, and now know quite a few things about it. There aren't that many differences between our two universes. The main difference is that cultivators in the Endless Territories are spread out across many different organizations, but the alternate universe has a single unified power ruling over it."

The Hegemon continued, "In the alternate universe, there is a place known as the Archaeus region. Countless cultivators in that universe deeply desire to enter the Archaeus region, and even many Daolords dream of having a chance to enter it. However, only a tiny number are able to enter it… but those who enter and then come out alive again are all strengthened dramatically." The almighty Hegemon let out a sigh. "Although it might be a bit dangerous, cultivators who live in perfect safety will get soft. They won't be able to make it far on their paths."

"When you live on the edge between life and death, you'll encounter many dangers but also encounter many miracles. The young fellow's level of talent is so great that it is rare even amongst members of my race. I've prepared quite a few dangerous regions for him to test himself against, and the Archaeus region of the alternate universe is the first place and an extremely important place. If he can survive it, he'll definitely have undergone utterly earthshaking transformations. In addition, once he is able to unify the mysteries of both our universe and the alternate universe, his future potential will be truly unlimited," the almighty Hegemon said.

The twelve golden-armored experts grew increasingly interested as they listened to the Hegemon speak.

It was true that the path of cultivation had to be a path filled with danger. Only by experiencing more things and seeing more wonders would one be able to walk farther along one's path. For example, if Ji Ning had always trained by himself without going out adventuring, how strong could he possibly become? It was due to his adventures that he had first gone to the Allgod Estate, then to the Brightshore Kingdom. This was why he had grown so strong, so quickly.

This alternate universe… it was a place which most likely no one in all the Endless Territories had ever visited!

When the almighty Hegemon had created his transversal conduit, it had been limited by the differences in the laws between the two universes. As a result, only those below the Daolord level of power could use it.

"Hegemon, will members of the Twelve Palaces also be permitted to go?" Daolord Thousand Waves suddenly asked.

"Right, Hegemon. The Twelve Palaces have quite a few talented World-level cultivators as well." Daolord Puregood of the Palace of Fire was a man with a full red beard, and his face was red with excitement right now.

If the Hegemon was going to send one of his own clansmen into that alternate universe, it meant that he probably felt confident in his clansman's chances. It must be understood that the Hegemon was extremely protective of his clansmen. The entire reason he had founded the Brightshore Kingdom and developed the Twelve Palaces was so that there would be more protectors for his race! Given that the blazing beast was an incredibly talented member of his race… although the Daolords didn't know much about this 'Archaeus region', they felt certain that it would be a good place. They naturally had to try and win a chance for their people to enter it as well.

"I've invited you all to come here precisely because of this matter. Over the course of countless years, I've managed to seduce many World-level cultivators into entering our universe, and I managed to acquire a number of Archaeus medallions from them. You must have an Archaeus medallion in order to enter the Archaeus region… but of course, that'll only be enough to gain entry. You will still have to face and overcome all the dangers inside the region itself," the almighty Hegemon said. "I'm not completely confident in the young fellow's chances, which is why I've come to ask you for your help. I would like for the Twelve Palaces to choose four other World-level cultivators to accompany him."

"I have five Archaeus medallions. That means a total of five World-level cultivators," the almighty Hegemon said. "Choose four from the Twelve Palaces. They shall work together with that young fellow of my race, and they'll all stand a better chance as a result."

"Agreed."

"Absolutely."

They all nodded.

The Brightshore Kingdom was one of the supreme organizations of the Endless Territories, after all. If they were only permitted to choose four World-level cultivators, they would most assuredly choose freaks that were strong enough to defeat ordinary Daolords of the First Step. If they went into the alternate universe, they most likely would stand a good chance of overcoming the Archaeus region.

"Just four, Hegemon? Can't we bring a few more?" Daolord Thousand Waves immediately said.

"Hegemon, just four… it'll be a bit hard to choose."

"Just four for all twelve of our palaces? Our Palace of the Saber alone has more than eight Saberlords at the World level." Everyone present began to feel a bit frustrated.

The almighty Hegemon simply said, "Bertulu and Eastcult are peerless geniuses, the likes of which even our Brightshore Kingdom only sees once in countless eons. In addition, both of them are most likely preparing to become Daolords soon. There's no need for them to go."

The twelve golden-armored figures all nodded in agreement.

Bertulu and Eastcult could be said to have reached the true apex of power for World-level cultivators. There was no point to them tempering themselves at the World level any longer, especially Bertulu. Even prior to joining the Twelve Palaces, Bertulu had already reached the utmost peak of what even geniuses could reach. Eastcult, at least, had only reached that level after joining the Palace of the Saber and training in it for a period of time.

"The two of them are exempted. Aside from them, any member of the Twelve Palaces who have been acknowledged by their respective pagodas shall be considered," the Hegemon said.

The Twelve Palaces each had a forest of pagodas. The one in the Sword Palace was known as the Forest of Sword Pagodas, whereas the one in the Fire Palace was known as the Forest of Fire Pagodas. The names were all fairly similar, and the concepts were the same; the World-level cultivators in the Twelve Palaces had to reach extremely high levels of mastery in a relevant Dao in order to be acknowledged by the pagodas.

The Sword Palace only had six Swordlords. As for the Saber Palace, it had eight Saberlords. However, since Eastcult was excluded, it only had seven.

"Aside from Bertulu and Eastcult, the Twelve Palaces have a total of sixty-six World-level cultivators who have been acknowledged by their respective pagodas," Daolord Thousand Waves said. "How are we supposed to choose? Four out of sixty-six! I imagine all of them would badly desire to enter this Archaeus region."

A chance to enter an alternate universe… it truly was a chance which, once missed, might never come again.

"No rush. That young fellow has just recently returned from the Astral Islands' abyss. I need to teach him quite a few techniques first," the almighty Hegemon said. "I'll keep a close eye on him. When he is fully prepared, I'll choose the four strongest cultivators."

The almighty Hegemon waved his hand, causing a series of images to appear in the empty air around him. A total of sixty-six scenes appeared, with the sixty-six candidates having appeared within them. These were all candidates who had been acknowledged by their respective pagodas.

And of course… Ji Ning wasn't one of them.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 9 – The Full Mirrorsnow Set

"The Saber Palace won't push for too much. Two slots is enough."

"Yinwind, there's only four slots total. Your Saber Palace wishes to take half of them?"

"We might even take three."

The twelve golden-armored powers began to chat amongst themselves while they evaluated the sixty-six figures that had appeared in midair. They were actually quite familiar with most of the stronger World-level cultivators in every palace… and it was true that the Saber Palace held the most outstanding World-level cultivators of this generation! Prior to Bertulu's arrival, Eastcult of the Saber Palace had been the indisputably most powerful World-level cultivator in the Twelve Palaces. As for the other Saberlords, they were all shockingly powerful as well.

When the Vice Palace Lord of the Saber Palace, Daolord Yinwind, spoke of possibly taking three slots… he wasn't exaggerating!

There was a reason why this generation of World-level cultivators in the Saber Palace were all so strong. It was because the current Palace Lord of the Saber Palace… was Palace Lord Dawnstar! Lord Dawnstar was indisputably the most powerful expert amongst all the Daolords of the Twelve Palaces. In fact, even if you looked at all of the Daolords belonging to the various organizations of the Endless Territories, Lord Dawnstar would rank in the top three.

He was such a freakishly strong figure that he had needed just three strokes of his saber to slay an Eternal Emperor. He was also a Verge-level Daolord, and one could imagine how difficult the Dao he had chosen was. To successfully Daomerge would be incredibly difficult, and so he focused almost all of his efforts on it. However, for a period of time he had actually chosen to teach the World-level disciples of the Saber Palace in an extremely earnest, diligent manner.

Those World-level cultivators had all received the personal, attentive guidance of Lord Dawnstar! He had spent ten million years educating them, then had left the Brightshore Kingdom and gone off to adventure through other places.

To teach others was also a form of training, in and of itself. To Lord Dawnstar, it was just one of many things he was doing to prepare for his Daomerge, but to those World-level cultivators it had been a stroke of tremendous karmic fortune. Lord Dawnstar was definitely one of the top three experts of the Dao of the Saber in all the Endless Territories, even if one factored in the various Eternal Emperors.

And thus…

This generation of World-level experts in the Palace of the Saber all became incredibly strong, and the geniuses among their ranks became even more dazzling.

The Palace of the Sword.

"Palace Lord." Three World-level cultivators bowed respectfully.

Lord Woodflower was seated in the lotus position as he looked back at the three of them. His true body was here in the Sword Palace; the one which had been in the imperial palace was merely an incarnation.

"A great opportunity has come before you," Lord Woodflower said.

"Oh?" Swordlord Wildfire, Swordlord Yicheng, and Swordlord Graceless's eyes all lit up.

"The other three Swordlords are returning from elsewhere in the Brightshore Kingdom. The six of you will need to make some immediately preparations," Lord Woodflower said. "Bertulu and Eastcult aside, all of the World-level cultivators acknowledged by the pagodas shall have a chance to win this chance. However… in the end, only four will succeed."

Swordlord Wildfire and the others were all surprised upon hearing this.

Those acknowledged by the pagodas were all capable of breaking through to become Daolords at any time… and they would all become extraordinary Daolords! If only four were to be chosen… what sort of opportunity was this?!

"Make your preparations. I hope that at least one of the four will be from our Palace of the Sword." Lord Woodflower sighed.

"Don't worry, Palace Lord."

"We will all work hard."

The three Swordlords present were all filled with resolve and determination.

However, Lord Woodflower knew that determination alone wasn't enough. Everyone acknowledged by the pagodas was filled with determination. In the end, strength was what would matter. Alas, this generation of World-level experts from the Palace of the Saber were simply too strong.

In the following days, those who had been acknowledged by the pagodas were all secretly summoned back from throughout the adventuring areas within the Brightshore Kingdom by the various leaders of the Twelve Palaces.

The Palace of the Sword. The Daolord Cloudworld.

Whoosh.

A white-robed youth appeared out of nowhere within the skies of the Daolord Cloudword. He looked quite bedraggled, and his body was covered with bloody scars. However, he quickly became clean once more after a bit of light flashed over his body. Ji Ning hadn't even heard the news about this exciting opportunity. As a result, he continued to live a relaxed and happy life.

Life really was quite relaxed and exciting. The reason why Ning had focused on the Dao of the Sword for so long was because he truly did love training with the sword. This was a love that came from the bottom of his heart, and the feeling of continuing to improve with the sword was absolutely intoxicating for him.

As for the Sword Palace, it was a holy land for sword practitioners.

"This is absolutely wonderful. I can spend a few hundred years meditating in the Forest of Sword Pagodas and gain many new ideas, then enter the Daolord Cloudworld and use them in actual battle to further verify and refine my sword-arts." Ning flew through the skies in a very pleased manner. It had been twenty years since he had entered the Sword Palace, but his temporal acceleration treasure made it so that he had actually engaged in two thousand years of cultivation. He had already tried out the Daolord Cloudworld on numerous occasions by now.

"Youji still isn't back?" Ning glanced sideways at his distant estate at the peak of the mountain. Su Youji still had yet to return. "It seems she has completely set her mind upon entering the Palace of Fire."

Suddenly…

"Junior apprentice-brother Darknoth! Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth!" Shouts rang out from afar.

Ning turned his head, only to see a tall, muscular, heavily-bearded Daolord dressed in black armor fly towards him.

"Senior apprentice-brother, you are…?" Ning truly didn't recognize this person. The Sword Palace had quite a few black-armored Daolords, and Ning had spent most of his time training and very little time in making friends. He truly didn't know many people in the Sword Palace.

"My name is Jiwang," the black-armored Daolord said. "Swordfive of Armaments Gorge asked me to send word for you to go meet him."

"Swordfive?" Ning's eyes lit up. Swordfive was a golem. Golems focused exclusively on their duty, which meant Swordfive wouldn't summon him without a reason. Ning had long ago purchased the [Novessence Water, which meant the only thing still pending at the Armaments Gorge was his request for them to help him purchase the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting.

"Thank you, Daolord Jiwang," Ning said, then immediately flew away from his estate.

Ning descended upon the Armaments Gorge, then immediately turned to look at Swordfive and Swordsix. They each stood to one side of the entranceway.

"Darknorth." Swordfive nodded at him.

"Is it the Mirrorsnow Painting?" Ning couldn't help but blurt out.

"Aren't you the impatient one." Swordfive chuckled.

Ning grinned as well. "How can I not be? When I joined the Sword Palace, I didn't choose a legacy." Because Ning already had access to Emperor Mirrorsnow's legacy, the other legacies in the Sword Palace really weren't of interest to Ning. Although the Sword Palace did have legacies left behind by Eternal Emperors, they could only be chosen after Ning was acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas and passed the trials the Eternal Emperors had left behind. Ning clearly didn't fulfill these requirements at present… and the other legacies were clearly inferior to Emperor Mirrorsnow's.

"You were wise not to choose," Swordfive said. "Your luck wasn't bad. We didn't need to spend too much effort in finding this fourth painting. However… the other party probably was able to guess that you care deeply about this painting, and so he gave a rather high price. You have to pay three hundred thousand cubes."

Ning nodded. The Twelve Palaces had certain rules governing them. If you sent out word through the Twelve Palaces that you wished for the Daolords to help you find a certain item, there would be many Daolords who would help out. However, only the person who successfully located the treasure you wanted would be given a commission in thanks, as well as the Daolord who helped escort the treasure back to the palaces. The total commission given would be 10%. The other Daolords would have done all their work for nothing.

"Here are the three hundred and thirty thousand cubes." Ning handed a gourd over to Swordfive, who accepted and inspected it.

Whoosh. Swordfive waved his hand, causing a painting which emanated sword-ki to fly out from deep within the Armaments Gorge. This painting depicted an image of an icy, snowy land.

"Take it." Swordfive handed it over to Ning.

Ning couldn't disguise his excitement as he accepted this painting of an icy snowland. Finally. He finally found it! Emperor Mirrorsnow had never accepted any true disciples, and so before he decided to go off adventuring he had produced these ten sets of paintings and spread them out into the universe. Those World-level cultivators who collected a full set of four and overcame his trials would become his personal disciples!

"A personal disciple of an Eternal Emperor? Since he dared make the claim that those who acquired a full set would become his personal disciple, I imagine I won't be disappointed by the legacy he left behind." Ning was filled with eagerness.

Some legacies merely involved individual techniques or abilities. Others had more thought put into them, such as World God Northrest who had worked hard to set up those ninety-eight stone steles to guide Ning.

As for the best ones… they included divine abilities, treasures, secret arts, and more. Daoist Threelives was a classic example. He had left behind everything for his successor.

"I wonder what Emperor Mirrorsnow left behind. Now that I have the full set, all I need to do is pass the fourth and final trial. I've already passed the first three trials; only the last one remains." Ning immediately picked up the painting and put it away.

"Thank you." Ning expressed his thanks to Swordfive and Swordsix, then transformed into a streak of light and disappeared.

Ning quickly returned to his own Immortal estate.

Swoosh! He flew into his estate, then shut the gates with a loud bang! No one would be able to bother him now. Even if Su Youji returned, she would have to stay outside and wait for him. Ning absolutely would not let anyone disturb him at all right now.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 10 – The Personal Disciple of an Eternal Emperor

The world within the fourth painting.

Whooooosh. A cold wind howled through as snow drifted through the skies. This was a world of ice and snow.

Ji Ning appeared out of nowhere. He swept the area with his gaze, then began to walk towards a distant thatched hut. A white-haired, grim-looking man was seated in the lotus position within the thatched hut. In front of him was a flagon of wine that was surrounded by flames. Also on the table, next to the wine, was an ordinary sword.

"Mm?" Ning looked at the white-haired man.

"What, has Daolord Flylead gained yet another disciple in his Snowsword Sect?" The white-haired man looked at Ning.

"Daolord Flylead? I don't know him." Ning shook his head.

"Oh?" The white-haired man glanced at Ning in surprise. "In this chaos cycle, Daolord Flylead has sent more than ten World-level cultivators to duel with me in swordplay. Although he himself isn't that strong, he's still a Daolord of the Third Step. Are you actually strong enough to seize the fourth painting from him by force?"

Ning instantly understood. This painting had been in the hands of a Daolord, and one who often sent different disciples into this place to duel in swordplay. It made sense. The first Mirrorsnow Painting had been in the hands of Daolord Windsource, after all.

"I'm not currently capable of seizing treasures from a Daolord of the Third Step. I bought it," Ning said. "I have already defeated the emperor, the fisherman, and the assassin. Now, the only one left is you."

"You've already defeated the other three?" Light flashed through the eyes of the previously calm-looking man, and a desire to do battle began to radiate from him. He stretched his hand out, picking up the sword from the table as he rose to his feet. He slowly walked out of his thatched hut, his gaze focused on Ning. "You can address me as… swordsman!"

"Swordsman?" Ning was stunned. The man asked him to address him as 'swordsman'. Ning had the sense that this person wasn't going to be easy to deal with.

"I am the final trial for you." The white-haired man stood there atop the snow, staring at Ning. "Draw your sword."

"Alright." With a flash, a Frostice sword appeared in Ning's eyes.

The two were merely competing in swordplay, and so they would refrain from using divine abilities or special treasures.

Swish.

Ning was the first to strike. His sword-light flashed, causing his power to condense so tightly that it didn't even have any impact at all on the snowflakes falling around it. It wasn't necessarily true that a loud commotion and grand display of might meant that a person was strong. Dao lightning was a good example of this. When its power was unchained and flailed out randomly, its power was somewhat weakened. Only by focusing it tightly and using it against a single opponent would it unleash its maximum power.

The same was true for sword-arts!

Clang! The white-haired man struck out as well.

The swords of both moved vastly faster than the limits of the Heavenly Daos, vastly faster than the speed of light. If ordinary mortals were watching… in fact, if Celestial Immortals or Empyrean Gods were watching… they would only see two blurs flickering. They wouldn't even see any sword-light, because the swords were moving faster than they could see.

The two constantly flashed and flickered through the falling snow, their sword-light clashing repeatedly.

"What a powerful and pure sword-art." Ning was secretly shocked. This white-haired man's sword-arts definitely were strong enough for him to be addressed as 'swordsman', and he lived up to his reputation as the final trial. If the emperor, the fisherman, and the assassin all belonged to different schools of swordplay, then this swordsman's sword-arts encompassed all schools.

His sword-arts could be explosive, could be ephemeral, but could also be cold and sharp…

Technically, his sword-arts were 'merely' on the same level of unpredictability as the assassin's and the same level of ephemeralness as the fisherman's. However, because he had reached such a high level in every aspect, his sword-arts became incredibly terrifying to deal with. When a person reached a level where he had no flaws at all, his attacks could easily transform into defensive movements, which could easily translate into deceptive openings, which could easily transform into such assassination strikes. All the changes and transformations were very fluid and natural.

It was like an endless cycle that had inexhaustible moves. Ning had reached a very high level of sword-arts. His sword-arts were significantly better than that of the emperor, the fisherman, and the assassin, making it easy for him to defeat them, but for a time he was completely unable to do anything to this 'swordsman'.

Slash!

Clang!

Sword-light continued to clash repeatedly.

Ning was filled with a strong desire to win, causing him to constantly try new tactics for gaining victory. Slowly, the insights he had gained in the Forest of Sword Pagodas began to merge into his Unicorn's Domain. In truth, Ning had been steadily improving in the Unicorn's Domain during his years in the Sword Palace, as it represented a path in sword cultivation to begin with.

This was a path that could be continuously perfected. It would even allow him to become a Daolord of the First Step, a Daolord of the Second Step, or even a Daolord of the Third Step…

However, this path wasn't the most difficult path. It was merely a path on par with the fisherman's path, and it represented the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art. The seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art represented a path that was even more difficult to take.

Without Ning even realizing it, the two ended up battling for more than six hours. As the fight progressed, Ning's advantage became increasingly apparent.

It made sense. He had already been able to defeat the first three trials while he had been in the Astral Islands. Although he hadn't spent too much time in the Sword Palace, two thousand years of accelerated time had resulted in him improving significantly.

Clang!

An emphemeral streak of sword-light brushed past the white-haired man's sword, then stabbed him in the throat.

Ning then withdrew his sword and stepped back.

"You won." The white-haired man smiled.

Ning, however, had a rather distant look in his gaze. Victory in this battle had taught Ning what choosing a path truly meant.

The Unicorn's Domain was a comparatively easier path. The white-haired man's path was a path that perfectly fused together multiple different paths of the sword. This was a path that was more than ten times harder to traverse, but it was also more powerful.

But of course…

A Daolord of the Fourth Step could easily defeat the white-haired man's sword-arts using the Unicorn's Domain. Ji Ning had similarly reached an incredibly high level of expertise in the Unicorn's Domain, and he could sense that he was just a hair away from becoming a Daolord. If he made some more breakthroughs, he would probably be able to reach the Daolord level whenever he wished… but that would mean that he would have become a Daolord through the Unicorn's Domain.

"However… in the end, the Unicorn's Domain is not my path. Nor is the white-haired man's sword-art my path."

Ning's path was a path that would lead him to the very essence of the sword itself. He would infuse all of the essence of the sword and countless sword-arts into his own [Brightmoon] sword-art, which represented his truest path.

The white-haired man had merely fused a few different sword-arts in a perfect manner. It was more profound than the Unicorn's Domain, but it couldn't really be said to point to the true essence of the sword itself. The latter path was the purest and most difficult path to take… but this was what Ning wished to obtain from his sword cultivation. He had to take this path. Only by taking the path you wished to take would you be on the most suitable path.

Rumble…

Ning was seated in the lotus position within his Immortal estate. It had merely been a divine power clone which he had sent into the fourth world.

After defeating the overseer of the fourth painting, Ning called out with his will and summoned all four Mirrorsnow Paintings. The four paintings hung there in the air, slowly drawing closer to each other before they completely merged into one. After the four paintings completely merged together, they actually transformed into a single painting. This painting looked quite ordinary, and it didn't have any sword-intent within it. It did, however, depict a man.

This man carried a sword on his back and was staring off into the distance. He looked extremely handsome and suave.

"Disciple, this is the painting of myself, your master. Kowtow three times first." A voice rang out from within the painting.

Ning was badly startled by this. In the next moment, he felt completely speechless.

Jeeze, Emperor Mirrorsnow… why are you such a narcissist? After the four paintings merged together, they actually formed a self-portrait of yourself? And you actually drew yourself in such a perfect, flawless manner?

The other paintings were all quite terrible, but his portrait was quite well-done. The strange thing was, there was almost no sword-intent radiating from this image. Ning strongly suspected that this probably wasn't actually drawn by Emperor Mirrorsnow himself.

There was no way the man could paint such a nice portrait.

"I wonder what this master of mine has left behind. I had best kowtow first." Ning immediately knelt down, kowtowing three times to the levitating painting of Emperor Mirrorsnow.

Whoosh.

As soon as he finished kowtowing, the painting emanated a blinding light that completely surrounded Ning. Ning didn't resist, and with a swoosh he was drawn directly inside of it.

Within the Eternal Emperor's painting.

This was an incredibly vast and ancient world. A man carrying a sword on his back was standing there atop the desolate earth, and there were four retainers who were standing by his side in a respectful manner. These four retainers were the emperor, the assassin, the fisherman, and the swordsman.

Whoosh.

Ning appeared out of nowhere next to them.

"Disciple." The man carrying the longsword on his back looked at Ning.

Ning immediately understood that this person was most likely Emperor Mirrorsnow. Still… it most likely wasn't the Eternal Emperor's true form. Actually, the Eternal Emperor really did look quite handsome. The painting apparently had been an accurate one, and the sword-intent which naturally radiated from his eyes caused Ning to feel a sense of alarm in his heart. Although this sword-intent seemed quite calm, it had a hidden sharpness that was far more terrifying than the sensation which Daolord Woodflower had emanated.

"Master," Ning called out respectfully.

"This is a world which will only appear after all four paintings merge together." The Eternal Emperor looked at Ning. "I've left a strand of my will in this place, all for the sake of waiting for you, my dear apprentice."

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 11 – A Memory Fragment

The Eternal Emperor looked at Ji Ning, extremely moved. "I delight in exploring, in visiting one beautiful new world after another. I truly don't have the patience necessary to teach a disciple. However… if I keep adventuring like this, I'll probably die one day. If I die, I die, but I'm afraid that after enough years pass, even my name shall be forgotten by the vast majority of cultivators."

"It will be you, my dear disciples, who shall ensure that my name and reputation shall exist unto perpetuity. Once you become my personal disciple, you must accept ten more disciples on my behalf before you attempt your Daomerge. They can be considered honorary disciples of mine," the Eternal Emperor said. "The skills I impart unto you, you can only impart unto those ten honorary disciples."

"Your disciple understands." Ning nodded.

Accept ten disciples before his Daomerge? This was a fairly easy oath.

"Then swear the oath," the Eternal Emperor said.

Ning immediately swore a lifeblood oath. If he wanted to transmit certain legacies to his future disciples or to Subhuti and the others in the Three Realms, he could simply transmit his own insights. He would have a Dao that was completely his own, after all! The Eternal Emperor's legacy primarily served as a guidepost for him, a way to show him how he should walk his future path and avoid certain wrong choices.

If a person walked forward blindly without any guideposts, it would be easy to get lost and make the wrong decisions. Ever step taken by a Samsara Daolord was a step which straddled the line between life and death. There were no ways to take back a misstep! Once you made that misstep, you would die and your Dao would dissipate.

"Mm." The Eternal Emperor watched Ning swear the oath, nodding in satisfaction. He transformed into a streak of light that flew straight into Ning's body. Ning wasn't able to resist him in the slightest.

Rumble…

Ning just stood there in the middle of the wilderness, surrounded by the four retainers of the Emperor. The swordsman, the fisherman, the assassin, and the emperor all stared at him as ripples of power began to emanate from the area around him. Clearly, the many memories and abilities which the Eternal Emperor's strand of will contained were merging into Ning's own memories. That strand of divine will held simply too much power and memories, making it physically painful for even someone as mighty as Ning to absorb.

Within Ning's sea of consciousness. A large amount of information was flooding into this place.

"Before I succeeded in my Daomerge, I obtained an Eternal sword-art known as the [Heartseal] sword-art. This sword-art has a total of fifteen stances. This is the first stance, the Flysword stance…" A memory fragment entered Ning's mind. The speaker was Emperor Mirrorsnow, and in the memory he wielded a single sword and began to display the first stance of the [Heartseal] sword-art."

Emperor Mirrorsnow's will was in complete control of these many memory fragments. He made it so that Ning was able to personally watch his memories.

"This is second stance, the Mountainsword stance." Emperor Mirrorsnow put this stance on display as well. This was a far more effective method than simply meditating on sword-intent, as the Eternal Emperor was putting on a personal display. Not only was his sword-intent clear and obvious, he executed every movement in perfect detail and clarity. For the sake of being able to teach better, the Emperor Mirrorsnow displayed every single stance three times. The first time, he went through every single movement extremely slowly. The second time, he would display it without using any divine power or Immortal energy. The third time, he would use it with true, full power."

"This is the fifteenth stance, the Heartseal stance. Once the Heartseal forms, eternity shall be gained."

This final memory fragment was of Emperor Mirrorsnow executing sword-arts in a vast region of primordial chaos. When his sword struck out, an utterly titanic seal suddenly manifested which completely extinguished everything in the primordial chaos in the area. One chaos star after another was wiped out by the force of this strike. Ning was able to count over a hundred million chaos stars that were shattered and splintered by the force of this strike.

Ning was truly speechless when he saw this. When Emperor Mirrorsnow had unleashed a full-strength attack with this stance, just how wide an area had it covered? His sword was so fast that it had surpassed the concept of speed itself. In fact, it had surpassed even the very concept of spacetime itself. Otherwise, how could it have wiped out that many chaos stars? Even if his sword moved thousands of times faster than the speed of light, how could it possibly fly out that far, that fast?

And yet, it was an undisputable fact that Emperor Mirrorsnow's sword had wiped out everything in an infinitely vast region, leaving nothing behind.

Fortunately, the region which Emperor Mirrorsnow had chosen to display this stance was a region that was completely devoid of life. Otherwise, the number of casualties that would've been caused would be incalculable.

"I've completely displayed the [Heartseal] sword-art for you. This was the sword-art I trained in as I progressed, step by step, to gain eternity for myself. It is extremely difficult to train in this sword-art, but it can be separated into four different sets of sword-arts."

Emperor Mirrorsnow began to display a new set of sword-arts, and Ning instantly understood.

These four separate sword-arts could be described as the fisherman's sword, the assassin's sword, the emperor's sword, and the killer's sword. The fisherman, the assassin, and the emperor each used one of these three sets of sword-arts, while the final challenger, the swordsman, used a sword-art that could be considered the most basic, elementary version of the [Heartseal] sword-art.

"These four sets of sword-arts each represent a separate path. Although they seem quite ordinary, it won't be hard for you to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step through using one of these sword-arts. However, even if you do reach that level, your accomplishments will be mediocre," Emperor Mirrorsnow said.

"Now, these four sword-arts can actually be separated into ninety-six sword-arts." Emperor Mirrorsnow once again began to carefully display and describe every single sword-art.

The reason why this transmission had been such a painful and arduous one to accept was primarily because each and every memory fragment contained scenes of the Eternel Emperor personally displaying his sword-arts. A large amount of stances were included, as were various types of sword-intent.

"The [Heartseal] sword-art can be separated into four fairly average sword-arts, which can then be separated into ninety-six low-class sword-arts. If you have sufficiently high insights into the sword, it will be easy for you to learn them.

"I have finished transmitting my sword-arts to you. Now, I shall transmit a divine ability to you, an extremely powerful divine ability that will allow your attacks to explode with power. You will be able to instantly unleash a extreme level of power with it. This divine ability is known as the [Five Seals Sword Dao]…" The transmission of a divine ability was much simpler. It mainly included basic information in how to train in that divine ability, and Ning was able to instantly memorize it all.

"Oh, right. I left behind four golem servants. They shall follow you, my personal disciple, and protect you. That way, I can guarantee you won't die too quickly.

"Mm. I've taught you everything I should teach, and I've said everything that needs to be said. Train hard and make sure you don't besmirch my mighty name, dear disciple. If fate wills it, perhaps we shall truly meet in the flesh one day."

The transmission came to an end.

Back within the desolate wilderness.

The four retainers continued to watch Ning. While Ning had been accepting the transmission, he had been rippling with waves of power. This state had persisted for two full days before he came to a halt and took a rest. The main reason it had taken this long was because it truly was difficult for Ning to completely absorb all of the information in the memory fragments.

In truth…

If Ning had personally watched Emperor Mirrorsnow display his sword-arts, he wouldn't have been able to understand or memorize the truly profound parts. However, Emperor Mirrorsnow had completely transmitted his memories directly into Ning's mind. Once the process was complete, Ning would never forget those memories unless he personally wiped them away.

"Eh? Why hasn't Darknorth woken up yet?"

"Right. There are no more ripples; the transmission should've concluded."

"He's probably training."

The four retainers chatted amongst themselves.

Their guesses were correct. Ning was indeed training. In the Forest of Sword Pagodas, he had only been able to visualize and sense the sword-intents radiating from the pagodas. There was obviously no way he could see or visualize those ancient powers actually displaying their various sword-arts, much less have their memories be directly infused into his mind! The [Heartseal] sword-art was also an incredibly profound sword-art, and one which could be broken down into multiple different sword-arts. This made it extremely easy for Ning to train in.

Many of the questions he had regarding the Dao of the Sword were wiped clean. He was continuously gaining a deeper and deeper understanding as his sword-arts dramatically improved.

This explosively effective training session persisted for more than half a month before it finally came to an end.

"Whew." Ning opened his eyes.

"Having a master versus not having one… it really is completely different." Ning glanced at the world around him in a jubilant mood. He knew that he had just completely changed compared to a month ago.

Ning now knew how he should advance from the World level all the way to the Eternal Emperor level. In the past, he knew nothing. Now, he knew.

"I wonder who is stronger? My master Emperor Mirrorsnow, Violetjewel creator Emperor Violetmount, or the creator of the [Nameless] sword-art," Ning mused. "Still… the Violetjewels are merely middle-grade Eternal weapons. Once I become a Daolord of the First Step, I'll probably need to switch them out for something else. As for the [Nameless] sword-art, I only have the first seven stances to them."

Ning understood that in the future, he would spend much of his time meditating on the [Heartseal] sword-art and learning from it, infusing its mysteries into his own Dao of the Sword.

"If I could gain the complete [Nameless] sword-art legacy and the complete legacy of Emperor Violetmount, then I would now have three complete legacies. I could simultaneously absorb the teachings and mysteries of all three legacies, then go learn from the Forest of Sword Pagodas. I'll definitely improve even more quickly then." When this thought flickered through Ning's mind, he couldn't help but grin.

"Darknorth, was that helpful to you?"

"It seems you've gained quite a bit from it."

"Given how strong Darknorth is already, he'll soon be able to break through to become a Daolord whenever he wishes." The four retainers all spoke out when Ning woke up.

Ning smiled and nodded. "I indeed can break through to become a Daolord. However, that path is not my path."

The Unicorn's Domain had indeed been dramatically improved.

The Unicorn's Domain was a path akin to the fisherman's path. Emperor Mirrorsnow's [Heartseal] sword-art could be divided into four sword-arts, one of which was the [Fisherman's Sword]. Ning's highest level of attainment in recent years was in the Unicorn's Domain, which was his Unicorn's Domain had dramatically improved just half a month after Ning had received the legacy. Ning could already sense that his accomplishments in the Unicorn's Domain were enough for him to use it as his core foundation to rebuild his divine body and become a Daolord of the First Step.

Samsara Daolords. Each step they took resulted in their divine bodies being completely reconstituted! If you took a single wrong step, you would cause your body to crumble. You would die and your Dao would vanish.

"Just as Emperor Mirrorsnow said, although all four sword-arts which make up the [Heartseal] sword-art can allow a person to become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, they will result in mediocrity." Ning secretly shook his head. Just becoming a Daolord was not enough.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 12 – The Twelve Scrolls of the Sutra of Eternity

"The four of you." Ji Ning looked at the four surrounding him. "According to what my master told me, you four shall follow me in the future, right?"

"Right." The four all nodded.

"Might I ask how strong the four of you are?" Ning asked.

"The four of us are roughly comparable to peak-level Daolords of the Third Step. But of course, the swordsman's sword-arts are a bit better, making him slightly more powerful," the golden-robed emperor said.

Ning couldn't help but feel stunned. All four golems were comparable to peak Daolords of the Third Step?

This was the legacy which his master had left behind for him? The more masters like this, the better!

"Golems comparable to Verge-level Daolords are too expensive. The Eternal Emperor did have one such golem, but he ended up selling it to procure forty golems comparable to peak Daolords of the Third Step for his personal disciples like you," the golden-robed emperor said.

Ning was speechless.

Alright, fine. Maybe he had gone a bit too far in mentally praising his master. Still, Ning did know that golems with the strength of Verge-level Daolords were indeed quite expensive, and forging them was no easy task. After all, true Verge-level Daolords not only had considerable Immortal energy and divine power, they also had mighty magic treasures and high insights into the Dao. To have a mere golem be a match for one of them was extremely difficult. Daolord Allgod was an incredibly skilled artificer, but even he had been only able to painstakingly forge a single Verge-level golem.

The Sword Palace had collected many golems over the course of countless years, but even it had only acquire a total of nine Verge-level golems. Those golems were the ones titled Swordone through Swordnine.

Although the Daolord Cloudworld had many golems within it, those were all fairly weak. The strongest were probably just on par with the four standing right in front of Ning.

"If you are to follow me, should I bind you all?" Ning asked. He was too weak right now; there was no way for him to forcibly bind them.

"Unacceptable."

"Per the Eternal Emperor's instructions, we can each only help you out a single time prior to you defeating us in battle. Once you are able to defeat us, we'll permit you to bind us and be your eternal servants." The emperor, the swordsman, the fisherman, and the assassin all refused in solemn fashion.

Ning was instantly speechless.

Fine.

Most likely, Emperor Mirrorsnow was afraid that he would rely on the golems too much and so had restricted him to using them a single time. He probably just wanted to ensure that his disciples wouldn't be killed while they were weak if they were unlucky enough to be trapped in a dangerous situation.

"Just one time each. Still, that'll keep me alive in dangerous situations." Ning was in quite a good mood.

"The divine ability my master taught me makes it so that someone with the body of a half-step Daolord is able to match a full Daolord of the First Step. Unfortunately, my azureflower mist energy ensures that I already am comparable to a Daolord of the First Step, and it lasts for a very long period of time." Ning shook his head. This divine ability really was somewhat useless to him.

If he used it, his divine power would probably run dry after a short battle. How could it possibly last as long as the azureflower mist energy in battle?

"The most valuable part of the legacy were those memory fragments which Master transmitted to me." Ning couldn't help but feel excited. Although there had been legacies in the Astral Islands, those legacies consisted of simple information which any cultivator could learn and make use of. Those legacies within the Astral Islands would be transmitted to countless cultivators over the course of aeons, and they weren't truly valuable.

These memory fragments of Emperor Mirrorsnow could only be transmitted a single time, and their creation had involved the Eternal Emperor infusing his own divine will into them.

The Brightshore Kingdom. The imperial palace.

Rumble…

The blazing beast stood there in a region of empty stace, staring at the distant, towering behemoth. Golden light began to radiate from the behemoth's giant eyes, and the light completely swallowed the blazing beast.

Within that barrier of golden light, many mysteries and secrets were being transmitted to the blazing beast in an endless stream.

"GRWAAAR!" The blazing beast's body trembled from the pain. Every so often, flames would flicker and burst out in the area around him.

Finally, the golden light dissipated.

"Hegemon." The blazing beast revealed a look of delight as he stared at the distant, towering behemoth.

"After twelve separate transmissions, you have completely memorized the twelve scrolls of the [Sutra of Eternity]. Our race has very few members, and those who are suitable for my legacies are even fewer. Long, long ago, our race was forcibly enslaved by the Ancient cultivators. The Ancients are on par with us in terms of innate gifts, but they have many legacies. I was once fortunate enough to acquire a legacy left behind by a senior of our race, a set of ten scrolls called the [Ten Scrolls of Eternity]. It was thanks to that legacy that I was able to train to my present level, and I perfected them and supplemented them, transforming them into the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity].

"In this era, our race is on an equal footing with the Ancients, precisely because of the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity]. These twelve scrolls include all things with them. No matter what path you choose, it will be of assistance to you, which is why I will transmit this legacy to every single member of our race.

"Child… as of right now, I am the only member of our race who has broken through to become an Eternal Emperor. I hope you will be the second one of our race," the towering behemoth concluded.

"Yes, Hegemon." The blazing beast was incomparably excited. In recent years, he had come to learn much of the history of his race from the time he had spent in the imperial palace. He naturally now felt a tremendous sense of kinship and belonging! As for these [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity, they included virtually all Daos. This caused him to feel even more awe towards the almighty Hegemon.

"Choose an imperial name for yourself," the towering behemoth instructed.

"When I was born and gained consciousness, I gave myself a name, 'God of Sky and Fire'. Let my name be Skyfire of the Brightshore Imperials," the blazing beast said.

A look of amusement appeared in the towering behemoth's eyes. 'God of Sky and Fire'?

The members of his race were only born from the primordial chaos under certain, very unique situations. They were incredibly few in number, and if it wasn't for the fact that the Hegemon went out of his way to hunt for them, many would probably wander the primordial chaos for countless years by themselves. Generally speaking, they would choose rather odd names for themselves. 'God of Sky and Fire' was a fairly amusing one.

"Spend some time training in the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity]. I will give you a thousand years. A thousand years later, I'll send you into an alternate universe, which will be your first training grounds," the towering behemoth said.

"Yes, Hegemon." The blazing beast was very excited, and he knew he neded time to study the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity]. Actually, after he learnt this precious technique he would continue to rise in power even as he roamed the outside world.

This was how the Brightshore Kingdom worked. After the most powerful World-level cultivators were selected and recruited, they would receive endless legacies and secret arts from the Twelve Palaces. The same was true for the imperial clan. New entrants to the imperial clan would also be forced to undergo certain tempering experiences, after which they would be transmitted the [Twelve Scrolls of Eternity].

The imperial palace. There were thirteen royal thrones here hanging high in the skies.

The white-haired, six-horned old man dressed in snowy robes spoke out. "A thousand years from now, I will select the four most powerful World-level cultivators and have them accompany Skyfire Brightshore to the alternate universe. It will be up to them to make the most out of it."

"A thousand years?"

"So we have another thousand years."

Now that the twelve golden-armored powers knew exactly how long they had, they began to be filled with anticipation.

Time flowed on. More and more of the cultivators who had been acknowledged by the pagodas and who had been out adventuring within the Brightshore Kingdom began to return, responding to the summons of the Twelve Palaces.

"Senior apprentice-brother Wildfire, I heard from Lord Woodflower that a great opportunity awaits us?"

"Yes. Everyone acknowledged by the pagodas will have a chance at it. However, only the four most powerful members of the Twelve Palaces will be granted it."

"Just four?"

The Palace of the Sword.

Two youngsters were striding within it. One was the red-haired Wildfire, whereas the other was an icy-faced child who was wielding a shortspear.

"We don't have much time left, just nine hundred years," Wildfire warned.

"I plan to spend the next nine hundred years in the Forest of Sword Pagodas," the icy child said.

"I'm planning to do the same. I'm going to spend my time in meditation." Wildfire agreed with this idea. The Forest of Sword Pagodas was the most sacred place within the entire Sword Palace. It had many sword-arts which had been personally left behind by the mighty Daolords from a previous era. If you chose to learn from sword-arts that were similar to your own, you would benefit greatly from it.

The icy child swept the area with his gaze. He saw a distant thatched cottage, and within that cottage sat the white-robed Ji NIng.

"Who is that?" The icy child asked curiously.

"His name is Darknorth. He's a newly arrived junior apprentice-brother," Wildfire said.

"Why is he using a temporal acceleration treasure? Has he been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas as well? Is he also trying to seize every moment to train?" The icy child asked.

"No." Wildfire shook his head. "He's new, and as soon as he came here he began to use a temporal acceleration treasure. He's probably trying to finish something as fast as he can."

The icy child nodded.

Normally, cultivators wouldn't go out of their way to use temporal acceleration treasures, as they didn't make much of a difference. The more one trained, the more those moments of epiphany mattered. Only when there was a pressing need would people use temporal acceleration treasures.

"Our opponents shall be all the World-level cultivators who were acknowledged by their respective pagodas. Senior apprentice-brother Wildfire, you'll be one of my opponents as well." The icy child looked at Wildfire.

"I won't take it easy on you." Wildfire chuckled as well.

The two didn't care about Ji Ning at all. Right now, all of the talented geniuses of the Twelve Palaces who had been acknowledged by their pagodas were trying to seize every moment to strengthen themselves as much as they could.

Ning, however, knew of none of this. He was still completely absorbed in his cultivation.

He had the memories of his master, Emperor Mirrorsnow, providing him with careful and detailed guidance. He also had the opportunity to analyze the Eternal Emperor's sword-arts and compare them to the many sword-arts of the Forest of Sword Pagodas. His level of insight was continuously rising at a pace that was unspeakably faster than before he had acquired the Eternal Emperor's legacy. Ning enjoyed this process very much, and was completely intoxicated by it.

And so, in the blink of an eye, more than eight hundred years passed with Ning consumed by his quiet meditations.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 13 – The Seventh Stance of [Nameless]

The Forest of Sword Pagodas was filled with tens of thousands of towering Sword Pagodas which stood silently erect. Numerous cultivators were scattered throughout the Forest of Sword Pagodas, quietly training with no one disturbing them.

There was a thatched cottage in the forest as well, and within the thatched cottage was a white-robed youth. Streams of sword-ki surged in the area around him, occasionally flicking out as sword-stances.

Suddenly, the youth opened his eyes. A look of delight could be seen in his gaze.

"I've finished mastering the seventh stance of the [Heartseal] sword-art, the 'Reincarnation' stance." Ning was in a superb mood. "My master, Emperor Mirrorsnow, used the Reincarnation stance to break through to become a Samsara Daolord, and now I myself have learned this stance as well.

Whooooosh.

Sword-light began to flood the area around Ning. Some of the sword-light was filled with an aura of murder, some of it was fluctuating and unpredictable, while the rest was dominating and savage. The different types of sword-arts cycled through in a perfect manner, and no flaws could be seen at all from any of the attacks. It truly was like the perfect cycle of reincarnation itself, and when any enemies made even the slightest of mistakes the Reincarnation stance would ensure that they would be trapped and buried.

"Emperor Mirrorsnow was a dissolute, adventurous man, but his sword-arts were extremely cautious and tight." Ning sighed in amazement.

"Mm. Given my current level of insight into sword-arts, I should be able to train in the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art." Ning immediately began to ponder the [Nameless] sword-art.

Thanks to the Eternal Emperor's legacy, Ning was able to learn the [Heartseal] sword-art incredibly fast! By comparison, training in the [Nameless] sword-art was considerably more taxing… and Ning had the feeling that the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art was actually more difficult than the seventh stance of the [Heartseal] sword-art.

The spacetime acceleration cottage maintained a rate of a hundred times the normal flow of time. Ning's mastery of his sword-arts had already skyrocketed, making the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art much easier to understand as he continuously meditated upon it.

The seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art was named 'Cosmic Heart'. It was far more complicated than the Unicorn's Domain, and it was even more profound than the Reincarnation stance.

More than thirty years went by.

"Eh?" Ning opened his eyes. A distant look was in his gaze, as though everyone around him including the thatched cottage no longer existed. It was as though he was surrounded by an absolutely pristine, illusory world… and a single tear had appeared within it.

This single tear seemed to be a tear of love… but it also appeared to be the very heart of this world.

Slash!

Ning flicked out with his fingernail as if he was stabbing forward with a sword, piercing that tear with it.

In this moment, Ning's heartforce burst out and completely meshed together with his finger.

Whoosh!

A shocking aura of sword-intent billowed out of the thatched cottage and into the surrounding area.

Ning was completely stunned and absorbed by the perfect beauty of this strike. He couldn't help but close his eyes and savor the marvelousness of that sword-art. He had naturally, unconsciously infused his sword-arts with his heartforce, but he didn't force it as other cultivators did. Rather, it had all happened in a very natural manner. He hadn't even intentionally tried to add heartforce into the mix. He had purely wished to execute this sword-art to its full potential. His subconscious mind merged his heartforce into it, causing him to unleash an utterly mystical and utterly terrifying strike.

Rumble…

Suddenly, a loud sound rang out from outside. The entire Forest of Sword Pagodas began to tremble.

"Eh?" Puzzled, Ning opened his eyes to stare outside. The ground outside was trembling as that enormous sound boomed from far away.

"What's going on? The Forest of Sword Pagodas is the most sacred place of the Sword Palace. Who would dare cause trouble here?" Puzzled, Ning walked out of his thatched cottage and stared off into the distance.

"What was that?"

"Was that…?"

"Look!"

Dozens of cultivators within the Forest of Sword Pagodas rose to their feet. Some were at the World level, some were Daolords. In this moment, all of them stared at the area from where the disturbance was coming. At a distant part of the Forest of Sword Pagodas, the ground was booming loudly as it began to split apart. The tip of a pagoda was slowly emerging from underground and climbing higher and higher.

"A Sword Pagoda."

"A new Sword Pagoda."

"A new pagoda? We just gained yet another pagoda? Who was just acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas?" Everyone was excited.

They all understood what was going on. Only once you were acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas would the Forest of Sword Pagodas give birth to a brand new pagoda of your own. Countless eons had gone by, but only around eighty thousand cultivators had ever been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, and in this day and age only six World-level cultivators had been been acknowledged. They were, of course, the six exalted Swordlords.

Ning stared in astonishment as well. Although he had seen quite a few Sword Pagodas in the past, this was his first time seeing a new one rising.

That distant, newborn sword pagoda continued to rise upwards as the booming sounds rang out unabated. The entire Forest of Sword Pagodas was shuddering! Finally, the new Sword Pagoda came to a halt when it reached the same height as the other Sword Pagodas.

Whoosh.

Suddenly, countless sword-shadows began to fly out from throughout the Forest of Sword Pagodas. There had to be trillions of the things, and they all began to bow down in a certain direction.

"Uh?!" Ning was rather flabbergasted.

The countless sword-shadows from throughout the Forest were all bowing down towards Ning!

All of this had caused a great commotion, attracting the attention of quite a few Daolords and World-level cultivators of the Sword Palace, all of whom came flying over. As a result, many of the cultivators of the Sword Palace were able to personally bear witness as all of this happened.

"It is him?"

"Isn't that junior apprentice-brother Darknorth?"

"His name is Darknorth?"

"Right, he's a newcomer. He joined us less than a thousand years ago."

"He's still just at the World level, but he's already received the acknowledgment of the Sword Pagodas?"

This stunning sight caused many of the cultivators present to begin to quietly chat amongst themselves. For a Daolord to be acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas was one thing, but for a World-level cultivator? This was extremely, extremely rare. The entire Sword Palace only had six Swordlords. Now, Ji Ning had become the seventh.

"Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, congratulations."

"Congratulations, senior apprentice-brother Darknorth."

"Senior apprentice-brother Darknorth, congratulations."

"Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth."

Many cultivators came over to offer their congratulations. In the Sword Palace, there was a huge dividing line between those who were acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas and those who were not! If you weren't acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, you would always be viewed as slightly inferior, even if you were a Daolord. As for those who were acknowledged? All of them were venerated.

Ning finally realized what was happening. His sword-stance just now had been acknowledged by the Forest of Sword Pagodas!

"Darknorth." A deep voice rumbled out in Ning's mind. "That new Sword Pagoda belongs to you. Only you are permitted to leave behind your sword-arts within it."

"You are…?" Ning asked.

"I am the spirit of the Sword Palace," the deep voice said.

Ning understood. Even the Starseizing Manor had given birth to a manor-spirit such as the giant yellow bear. It made sense that the Sword Palace had given birth to a sentient spirit as well.

The Brightshore Kingdom's imperial palace. The thirteen royal thrones.

A trace of emotion suddenly flickered through the face of the snowy-robed Hegemon. He smiled slightly, then looked at the nearby Lord Woodflower. "Woodflower, congratulations are in order for your Sword Palace. You just gained a new Swordlord."

"Haha, it seems as though I was right about him." Lord Woodflower laughed merrily.

"What's this?"

"A new Swordlord? Did yet another World-level cultivator of the Sword Palace receive the acknowledgment of the pagodas? Who is it?"

The other eleven golden-armored powers were all quite surprised.

Lord Woodflower said in a very smug manner, "It is Darknorth!"

"Darknorth? That kid who sparred against Bertulu?"

"When he battled against Bertulu, he specialized in defensive techniques and was quite good in that regard. However, he was quite a ways off from being at the level he would need to be to receive the acknowledgement of the Sword Pagodas."

"This rate of improvement is crazy. Even if he was accelerating time to train a thousand times faster than normal… it has been less than a million years!" There had been many major powers who had witnessed Ning's battle against Bertulu. Even the Hegemon had gone to watch! Although they had all been focusing on Bertulu, they naturally had also paid some attention to Bertulu's opponent, Ji Ning.

The stronger one was, the more difficult it would be to accelerate the rate of time for one's self. A thousand times the normal rate of time was already a ridiculously fast pace… but Ning had entered the Sword Palace less than a thousand years ago. That meant that even at a thousand times the normal rate of time, he would've been training for less than a million years.

In reality, Ning had only maintained a pace of a hundred times the normal rate of time.

"I said long ago that I had a good feeling about him. He truly is quite talented in sword-arts." Lord Woodflower said in a very smug manner, "My Sword Palace has gained yet another Swordlord, which means we've gained yet another chance to be the ones to go to the alternate universe."

"Yes, another candidate has appeared." The almighty Hegemon nodded as well.

Everyone acknowledged by the ancient pagodas were qualified to take part in the trials.

"Let's see what sort of sword-arts he came up with to be acknowledged by those ancient pagodas." The almighty Hegemon waved his finger. There had been sixty-six images in the air, and now a sixty-seventh image joined them. This image displayed the scene of a white-robed Ji Ning standing in front of a Sword Pagoda, staring at it curiosity.

"Rewind." The almighty Hegemon smiled as he watched, and the other twelve golden-armored figures watched closely as well. All of them were curious as to what type of sword-art this World-level cultivator had used to receive the acknowledgement of the Sword Pagodas.

Time began to reverse at high speed until the image returned to the time when Ning had just executed his sword-stance.

The image showed Ning seated in the lotus position within his thatched cottage. Ning gently flicked out a single finger in a seemingly simple manner, but the strike was indescribably profound. Slash! The strike shot out into the distant skies above him.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 14 – The Eternal Emperor Closest to the Hegemons

"Hrm?" The almighty Hegemon sat amongst the thirteen thrones, and both his face and the faces of the twelve golden-armored powers around him tightened. The almighty Hegemon actually once more took control over the flows of time to cause the earlier scene to replay once more. Ji Ning once more flicked out his finger…

"No mistaking it. That's the [Heartsword] sword-art." The almighty Hegemon nodded slowly.

"Darknorth actually trains in the [Heartsword]?" Daolord Thousand Waves was somewhat speechless.

"Impressive."

"I thought he must've created a new sword-stance that received the acknowledgement of the pagodas. I didn't expect that it was actually due to him executing the [Heartsword]." The golden-armored major powers present were all rather surprised. It must be understood that there was a difference between using your own sword-arts and using someone else's. A self-created sword-art would generally be a bit more powerful.

When Ji Ning had mastered the Reincarnation stance of the [Heartseal, he could've chosen to develop a sword-stance of his own that would also be acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas. However, he was in no rush to do so. Instead, he had decided to meditate on the even more difficult and profound [Nameless] sword-art. The seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art had an extremely powerful sword-intent, and so when Ning executed it his burst of sword-intent was acknowledged by the pagodas.

"He has merely learned the sword-arts of another." The almighty Hegemon shook his head slightly. "Only if he reaches this level through his own power and own skills would he be considered a truly dazzling figure."

"Agreed."

"Right."

The golden-armored powers all nodded. Long ago, a person had been able to use the [Heartsword] to reach the apex of power and become an Eternal Emperor, but that didn't mean that Ji Ning would be able to walk the same path. In addition, Ji Ning had only gained an elementary understanding of this sword-art.

"Woodflower." The almighty Hegemon looked at the nearby Lord Woodflower.

"Hegemon." Lord Woodflower nodded respectfully.

"Go give that young fellow a gentle reminder," the almighty Hegemon instructed. "In the future, when he finds his own Dao and his own path, he should merge his heartforce and his sword-arts together and pour them both into his Dao! But of course, that's just a suggestion. His own path will of course be up to him to choose."

"Understood." Lord Woodflower nodded.

A distant look appeared in the Hegemon's eyes, and he murmured softly, "When Emperor Heartsword suddenly descended upon the world, he challenged all three of us Hegemons, then wandered off into parts unknown…"

The twelve golden-armored figures all listened attentively.

Emperor Heartsword was indeed a legendary figure. He was a legend who was roughly comparable in power to the three mighty Hegemons! However, his rise to prominence was just as sudden as his disappearance. Prior to him becoming a Verge-level Daolord, he didn't really have much of a reputation. He was a very low-key figure, and it was said that he lived the life of an ordinary commoner in a distant chaosworld.

However, once he became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, a feud resulted in him slaying more than twenty Daolords in a row, and he even completely crushed and wiped out a large enemy sect. This action had shocked the Endless Territories, resulting in his rise to fame. Shortly afterwards, he succeeded in his Daomerge and gained eternity.

After gaining eternity, he immediately went and challenged each of the other Eternal Emperors. He won every single battle! However, he didn't kill a single one one of them.

After that, he challenged the three ancient Hegemons.

Ever since the most ancient of days, the three ancient Hegemons had stood at the very apex of the Endless Territories. No one had ever been able to shake their positions. No one knew what the results of those duels had been. When asked, Emperor Heartsword simply said one thing: "I lost."

However, one of the three ancient Hegemons, the one belonging to the Ancient cultivators, had said something else: "His power is comparable to ours."

This phrase guaranteed that Emperor Heartsword would become a legend! However, despite his quick rise to prominence and the many waves he had caused, he disappeared just as quickly. Despite that, most later cultivators acclaimed him as being the Eternal Emperor who was closest to the level of the three Hegemons, and his [Heartsword] style was venerated by many. Alas, he had never transmitted his [Heartsword] sword-art to any disciples. The only thing he did was leave behind a complete copy of the [Heartsword] sword-art to the Dao Alliance before he disappeared on his journey.

The [Heartsword] tome became a precious treasure of the Dao Alliance. All the copies of this tome circulating in the outside world were all fragmentary, with only the tome in the possession of the Dao Alliance being genuine. Other organizations such as the Brightshore Kingdom would never be given access to a complete [Heartsword] manual, no matter what price they offered to pay.

"His sword-arts… although he reached an extremely high level of proficiency in the Dao of the Sword, some of the most freakishly talented Daolords, the ones capable of slaying Eternal Emperors, were superior to him in that regard." The almighty Hegemon sighed. "His strength lay in the fact that he was actually able to almost perfectly merge his power as a Heartforce Cultivator and as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. That is why he had such tremendous power."

"Right." The twelve golden-armored figures all nodded.

Logically speaking, Heartforce Cultivation, Fiendgod Body Refining, and Ki Refining were three completely separate paths that couldn't merge together.

Take Bertulu as an example. In battle, he could use some illusions or use his heartworld to pressure his foes. In short, he would use heartforce as a supportive skill as he engaged in close combat!

However…

Emperor Heartsword was different. When he used his divine abilities and struck out with his sword, he was able to unleash tremendous power. As for his heartforce, he was able to use its illusions to affect reality itself. Most importantly, he was somehow able to cause his heartforce to naturally join together with his sword. This made it so that he was able to perfectly meld his power as a Heartforce Cultivator and as a Fiendgod Refiner, causing his power to skyrocket to a terrifying level. This was why he was acclaimed by so many as the Eternal Emperor who was closest to the three Hegemons in power.

The Sword Palace.

"Congratulations, senior apprentice-brother Darknorth."

"Senior apprentice-brother Darknorth, now that you've been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, you are the seventh Swordlord of our palace."

Ning was in a superb mood as he entertained his fellow disciples. Suddenly, he saw a figure appear at the margins of the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

"Senior apprentice-brother Woodflower?" Ning immediately recognized him.

"Follow me, Darknorth." Lord Woodflower sent him a mental message.

"Everyone, the Palace Lord has summoned me. Pardon me." Ning said a few words of farewell to the cultivators nearby. They, too, had seen Lord Woodflower appear.

A short while later, Ning and Lord Woodflower were walking side by side through a mountainous forest.

"Darknorth, you have received the acknowledgement of the Sword Pagodas and become a Swordlord. Per our rules, you are permitted to go to Armaments Gorge and choose a single treasure that doesn't cost more than a million cubes of chaos nectar," Lord Woodflower said. "This is a special rule the Sword Palace created for the benefit of our Swordlords. Only Swordlords are given this benefit."

Ning's eyes lit up. No more than a million cubes? What an enormously generous offer!

It made sense. Swordlords were capable of becoming Daolords at any time, and they would be extraordinary Daolords once they made their breakthrough. They were worth the cost.

"Oh, right. Now that you are a Swordlord, there is something I must tell you." Lord Woodflower smiled. "All of the World-level cultivators in the Twelve Palaces who have been acknowledged by their respective pagodas are preparing for a very special opportunity which has come before you."

"A special opportunity?" Ning was puzzled.

"Right. In the end, only four World-level cultivators in the Twelve Palaces will be given this special opportunity." Lord Woodflower looked at Ning. "This truly is a stroke of tremendous fortune for you. None of the Twelve Palaces have access to this. In all the Endless Territories, most likely only the exalted Hegemon is capable of bringing this opportunity before you. If it wasn't for the sake of a newcomer who recently joined his clan, the almighty Hegemon definitely wouldn't give us this chance."

Lord Woodflower knew very well that in the Hegemon's heart, what mattered the most was his imperial clan.

Only for the sake of his Brightshore Imperials was the almighty Hegemon was willing to make use of this opportunity! The reason why he was giving the Twelve Palaces four of the medallions was partially because they were subordinates, but also for the sake of giving that young Imperial four assistants! Although the chance to enter the Archaeus region of the alternate universe was an incredible opportunity, it was also extremely dangerous. Tremendous opportunity always came with tremendous danger.

"There should be many in the Twelve Palaces who have been acknowledged by their pagodas. Only four will have a chance?" NIng was puzzled.

"Just four." Lord Woodflower sighed. "I'm worried that our Sword Palace won't be able to get so much as a single slot."

"You've just recently been acknowledged and haven't spent much time in our Sword Palace, so it wouldn't really matter if you fail. However, you should still do your best. According to what the Hegemon said, the strongest four shall be given this tremendous opportunity," Lord Woodflower said. Frankly speaking, he really didn't have much faith in Ning. Although Ning had been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas, so had the other six Swordlords.

"In roughly one century, the almighty Hegemon will select the four strongest candidates," Lord Woodflower finished.

"A century?" Ning nodded secretly. It seemed as though it was indeed time for him to make some preparations.

"Oh, right. Do you know the name of the sword-art you used to gain acknowledgement from the Sword Pagodas?" Lord Woodflower looked at Ning.

Ning shook his head. "I do not. I obtained this sword-art by accident. Because I don't know what its true name was, I've been calling it the [Nameless] sword-art this entire time. Do you know its true name, senior apprentice-brother Woodflower?" Ning's eyes became filled with an eager blaze. When Ning had executed the seventh stance, the Cosmic Heart stance, he had noticed that although it was harder to use than Emperor Mirrorsnow's Reincarnation stance, the two were actually on the same level when it came to the profundity of their insights into the Dao of the Sword. The tough part of the Cosmic Heart stance lay in how ephemeral and unpredictable it was. One had to follow one's own heart, allowing one's heartforce to perfectly merge into one's sword-stances.

Ning was quite talented in heartforce. Although his heartforce wasn't at a very strong level, he was still able to execute the stance.

If he had been more skilled in heartforce, the power of this stance would've been much greater. This would have been especially true if he had reached the sixth stage of heartforce and established his own Heartworld.

"This is a sword-art which perfectly combines Heartforce Cultivation with the Dao of the Sword." After executing this stance, Ning immediately understood what made this sword-art so valuable. He instantly grew eager to learn more.

"I do indeed know its name." Lord Woodflower nodded. "This sword-art was created and passed down by a powerful Eternal Emperor who was nearly as strong as the Hegemon."

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 15 – Preparations

Ji Ning was delighted to hear this. Finally, he was going to learn about the history of the [Nameless] sword-art.

Lord Woodflower continued, "This Eternal Emperor was known as Emperor Heartsword. His rise to power was sudden, and for a brief period of time he was the most dazzling, celebrated figure of the Endless Territories. However, shortly after he revealed his brilliance he elected to disappear as he adventured through parts unknown. He was so strong that he was most likely the Eternal Emperor who was closest to the three Hegemons in power."

"Ah." Ning nodded.

After mastering the seventh stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, he realized that although the sword-art itself was on the same level of profundity as Emperor Mirrorsnow's, Emperor Heartsword's strength lay in the fact that he was able to perfectly fuse his heartforce into his sword-arts. It made the power of his sword-arts increase dramatically to a point where he was unquestionably much more powerful than Emperor Mirrorsnow had been. It made sense for him to be comparable to the three almighty Hegemons.

It wasn't that Emperor Mirrorsnow was weak. He had developed the Reincarnation stance at the World level and used it to break through to become a Daolord. If he had been at the Forest of Sword Pagodas, his self-created Reincarnation stance would've been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas! Someone who relied on this sword-art as the base of his breakthrough to Daolord would be able to immediately battle ordinary Daolords of the Second Step.

But of course, Bertulu and Eastcult were even more freakishly talented. Once they broke through, they would be able to match Daolords of the Third Step! However, the harder one's path was, the more difficult it would be for one to become an Eternal Emperor! The more freakishly talented you were, the harder it would be for you to become an Eternal Emperor. This was why, despite the passage of countless years, there were only three Hegemons.

"What were his sword-arts named?" Ning asked.

"Prior to disappearing, he left behind a complete copy of his sword-arts with the Dao Alliance. He named it the [Heartsword]." Lord Woodflower continued, "Only the Dao Alliance has a complete copy of this sword-art."

"Only the Dao Alliance?" Ning was rather disappointed.

"Yes, because this is the one and only sword-art which allows Heartforce Cultivators to completely merge their power with Fiendgod Body Refiners and Ki Refiners and then gain eternity," Lord Woodflower said.

Fiendgod Refiners would be able to perfectly merge the heartforce into their sword-arts and then enter close combat.

Ki Refiners would be able to perfectly merge the heartforce into their flying swords as well.

"A sword-art which can rival Hegemons, with only one complete copy… its only natural that the Dao Alliance would never transmit it to outsiders. No matter what price our Brightshore Kingdom offered to pay, they refused to let us have a copy. Something like this sword-art isn't something which mere treasures can be used to trade for. A sword-art like that is one of the fundamental pillars on which entire organizations rest." Lord Woodflower continued, "The outside world only has incomplete, fragmentary records. How many stances do you have?"

"Just seven," Ning said.

Lord Woodflower looked rather disappointed. "The first seven stances were created by Eternal Emperor Heartsword before he was a Daolord, and they are the seven most commonly known stances. I was hoping that you might've encountered something special. Oh, right. Have you gone to the Ancient Library? The library holds a fragmentary record that includes the first ten stances of the [Heartsword] manual."

"The Ancient Library has it?" Ning was instantly delighted. The Ancient Library simply had far too many sword-arts within it, including tens of millions of fragmentary sword-arts. Each one could only be read through the usage of godsense. Even if you could fully review a thousand scrolls a day, it would still take over a hundred years for you to go through everything.

"Our Brightshore Kingdom had to pay a hefty price in order to purchase these ten stances, and we're allowed to teach them to others," Lord Woodflower said. "You are a cultivator, after all. I'm sure you'll have some connections to the Dao Alliance and eventually be able to gain entry into it. At that point in time, if you spent a bit of chaos nectar you'll be able to purchase the complete [Heartsword] sutra."

Ning nodded. He was a member of Vastheaven Palace, which meant that he actually had quite a deep connection to the Dao Alliance.

"Make your preparations. You have a hundred years, at which point the Twelve Palaces will choose select just the four strongest World-level experts for this opportunity." Lord Woodflower smiled as he delivered this message.

After parting with Lord Woodflower, Ning immediately headed towards the Ancient Library. The Ancient Library was filled with tens of millions of sword-arts. Ning scanned the place with his godsense and was quickly able to discover a jade slip that had the words 'Heartsword Sutra' atop it. In the past, Ning didn't realize what it was, but now he realized that this [Heartsword] tome contained the 'nameless' sword-art he trained in.

"It really is the same." As Ning picked up the jade slip and sent his godsense into it, a large amount of information flooded into his memories. This really did contain the first ten stances, as well as some explanations regarding this sword-art.

The complete version of this sword-art contained fifteen stances. The first seven stances had been created by Emperor Heartsword prior to becoming a Daolord, and he used the seventh stance to reach the Samsara Daolord level. Afterwards, he used his fifteenth stance to become an Eternal Emperor.

"It is even more profound than I believed it to be." After Ning viewed the 'final' three stances, he couldn't help but sigh. Actually, anyone could tell that they were the same technique. The very first stance of this sword-art was named the Heartsword stance, after all!

The Heartsword stance had exceedingly high requirements with regard's to one's mind and heart. The user had to make his mind one with both the sword and the world around it, gaining absolute mastery over the sword.

The various later stances also had very high requirements with regards to both the sword and the heart.

The sixth stance, 'Unicorn's Heart', was even more profound and abstruse than the Heartsword stance. One had to find that ephemeral feeling which was so difficult to grasp.

The seventh stance was even better. The Cosmic Heart allowed for one to perfectly activate and infuse one's heartforce into the sword-art. When the sword struck out, it was like a tear shed for a person you loved.

"His sword-arts actually aren't that profound, compared to the most supreme major powers of the Dao of the Sword." Ning had seen many things in the Forest of Sword Pagodas, and his horizons had been correspondingly expanded. "However, the mysteries of how he merged his heartforce with his sword-arts are worthy of further exploration."

The Twelve Palaces. The Palace of Fire.

"Have you heard? Just today, a World God in the Sword Palace named Ji Ning was acknowledged by the pagodas."

"Ah? A World-level cultivator was acknowledged? What a freak."

"He would be the seventh Swordlord of the Sword Palace, right?"

Some of the black-armored Daolords who were on patrol were chatting with each other. News spread throughout the Twelve Palaces quite quickly. It must be understood that there were only around sixty World-level cultivators who had been acknowledged by the ancient pagodas. Generally speaking, only one such cultivator would appear every trillion years. Anyone acknowledged by the pagodas was destined to be a truly extraordinary Daolord.

"What a freak. I can't even get into the Fire Palace, but those freaks are actually able to receive the acknowledgment of the ancient pagodas." Some of the World-level cultivators in front of the Fire Palace began to discuss this matter as well, and many of them sighed with frustration and envy.

"Fellow Daoist, what do you mean by 'acknowledgment of the pagodas'?" A tall, skinny, jade-haired youth spoke out.

"Let me explain. Joining the Twelve Palaces isn't that impressive, as some of their members aren't even able to become Daolords! Even if your insights into the Dao are so profound that you can become a Daolord whenever you wish, you still aren't that impressive! Only those who reach truly incredible heights are acknowledged by the resonance of the pagodas. From what I've heard, those World-level cultivators who are acknowledged by the pagodas can not only break through whenever they wish, once they do so they will immediately be comparable to Daolords of the Second Step in power."

"What? They are able to break through whenever they wish, and will immediately be comparable to Daolords of the Second Step?" Quite a few World-level cultivators were stunned by this, and they all began to chat amongst themselves.

"Eh?"

"Darknorth?"

Outside the Fire Palace was a large group of cultivators who wished to take the trials to join the Fire Palace, and two of them were individuals who Ning was quite familiar with. One was Su Youji the Flamefairy while the other was World God Pillsaint. They had tried many times in recent years but were still unable to enter the Palace of Fire.

"Master was acknowledged by the ancient pagodas?" Su Youji was instantly overjoyed to hear this. "Incredible. Master is simply incredible." All other thoughts flew out of Su Youji's mind as she immediately turned and ran towards the Fire Palace's spacetime transfer array. She was going to go back to the Sword Palace. Her master had achieved such a great thing. How could she, his retainer, not be there to congratulate him?

"Is that brother Darknorth?" The chubby World God Pillsaint was stunned. "The Sword Palace? It has to be the Darknorth that I know. He once told me that he is going to join the Sword Palace. The Sword Palace doesn't have that many World-level cultivators in it. There's no way someone else will have the same Daoist title as him. Ugh, I've been training for years but still am not able to enter the Fire Palace. I might as well join brother Darknorth instead."

World God Pillsaint quickly made up his mind, then turned and began to hasten towards the spacetime transfer array. Even assuming he didn't wish to become Ji Ning's retainer, he still would've gone to congratulate Ning on his success. Ning had shown him kindness, after all.

Whoosh. A few hours later Su Youji and World God Pillsaint, along with a few other cultivators, rode the spacetime transfer array from the Fire Palace to the Sword Palace.

Su Youji rushed straight into the Sword Palace. As Ji Ning's retainer, she was permitted to go straight into the Sword Palace.

As for World God Pillsaint, he informed the black-armored Daolord who sought to bar his path, "Senior, I wish to meet with Swordlord Darknorth. I am his good friend."

"He wishes to meet Swordlord Darknorth?" Su Youji, who had rushed on ahead, couldn't help but turn back and glance at the chubby World God Pillsaint.

A short while later.

Within an Immortal estate located at the peak of a mountain. Ji Ning, Su Youji, and Pillsaint were all seated facing each other.

"Youji, this gentleman is the World God Pillsaint who I mentioned to you before." Ning laughed. "In the Astral Islands, he was my very first competitor."

World God Pillsaint looked rather embarrassed. He hurriedly said, "I really didn't know my own limits. Thankfully, you showed mercy to me, Daoist brother Darknorth. Otherwise, I'd be dead."

Ning chuckled. "It was a sign that destiny binds the two of us."

"Right, right. Bound by destiny!" World God Pillsaint grinned at Ning. "Daoist brother Darknorth, I have nowhere to go in the Brightshore Kingdom. I've tried a few times to enter the Palace of Fire, but I've failed each time. And so, I'm planning to give up and join you instead. Am I lucky enough to be accepted?"

"Follow me?" Ning was startled, but he then said with a laugh, "If you don't mind joining me, I'd naturally be willing to welcome you. Others would beg for the chance to take such a master alchemist as a retainer."

"Then it is settled!" World God Pillsaint immediately and straightforwardly swore a lifeblood oath. His oath was one of the fairly common retainer oaths that were sworn in the Endless Territories. Generally speaking, retainer oaths were fairly relaxed. Ning was able to break through to become a Daolord whenever he wished, and would be an extraordinary Daolord at that. Someone like him was definitely qualified to take on World God Pillsaint as a retainer.

"Pillsaint greets you, Master." World God Pillsaint bowed respectfully.

"Enough, enough. There's no need for the two of you to go through these pointless courtesies." Ning smiled. The very first time he saw World God Pillsaint, he had a good feeling about the man. Now, the chubby-cheeked, rosy-faced youth who wore all his feelings on his sleeve had become his retainer. Quite frankly, World-level cultivators who were so genuine and guieleless were quite rare.

"Whew. I finally have a backer now. Life in the Brightshore Kingdom really has pissed me off lately." World God Pillsaint let out a sigh.

"Flamefairy, we didn't know each other when we first met, but now we follow and serve the same master." World God Pillsaint glanced towards the nearby Su Youji as he spoke.

"Uh huh." The Flamefairy nodded.

"Can't you be a bit more talkative?" World God Pillsaint felt speechless. The Flamefairy glanced at him and chuckled, but she didn't say anything else.

As for Ning, he said, "Right. There's something I need you two to do for me."

"Please instruct us, Master." World God Pillsaint and Su Youji both spoke out at the same time. Su Youji felt rather excited. It was quite rare for Ning to assign her any tasks.

"A great opportunity is coming, and I have a small shot at getting it. I have to do everything I can to prepare for it," Ning said. "I'm planning to sell a treasure known as the Bloodfire Cloudfruit. It'll be up to you to help me sell it."

The Bloodfire Cloudfruit was the most valuable treasure he had on him.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 16 – Treasure Selling

"Bloodfire Cloudfruit?" Su Youji was puzzled.

"Bloodfire Cloudfruit!" World God Pillsaint's eyes bulged out as he called out in shock.

"You know of it?" Su Youji turned to look at World God Pillsaint.

World God Pillsaint hurriedly nodded, too excited to act smug. "That's one hell of a treasure. It is a unique fruit which can only be formed under very special conditions. It has marvelous properties, and cultivators who walk the Dao of Fire all dream of possessing something like it. But of course, it wouldn't work for you. You Ki Refiners are too physically weak; there's no way your bodies could possibly withstand the enormous amounts of energy the Bloodfire Cloudfruit contains. Only Fiendgod Body Refiners are able to endure its energy, which they can then use to forcibly convert their bodies into fire-attribute bodies. By then, they would be able to easily take control over Chaos fire and ride it to escape. Most likely, even Daolords would not be able to catch up to them."

"It's that amazing?" Su Youji was rather shocked. Not even Daolords would be able to catch up?

"If I sold it to Armaments Gorge, I'd be able to sell it for a million cubes of chaos nectar," Ning said. "However, I'm hoping for a higher price. That's why I'd like for you to help me spread the news of this treasure to the black-armored Daolords. They'll definitely discuss it amongst themselves and with many others. Soon, everyone in the Twelve Palcaes will know, and I'm sure there will be some who would be willing to pay a high price for the Bloodfire Cloudfruit."

"Selling for a high price? Easy! Leave it ot me." Pillsaint was quite confident.

"Just spread the news as widely as you can. Even if a Daolord wishes to speak to me personally, just have them give you the bid," Ning said. "A hundred years from now, I will leave the Forest of Sword Pagodas and choose the highest bidder, giving the Bloodfire Cloudfruit to him or her."

"Alright."

"Understood."

Pillsaint and Su Youji were both a bit excited. Although this was a simple task, it was still a task that involved a million cubes of chaos nectar. They couldn't help but be filled with enthusiasm.

"Alright. I'm heading to the Forest of Sword Pagodas." Ning rose to his feet.

"Am I now allowed to enter and exit the Sword Palace freely?" Pillsaint was a bit worried about this. Just now, Ning had personally guided him through the palace, which was why the Sword Palace's defenses had not automatically attacked him.

"Don't worry. The spirit of the Sword Palace was able to see you becoming my retainer," Ning said. The rules of the Sword Palace were that each formal disciple was permitted to grant two retainers free entry to and from the Sword Palace. Su Youji and Pillsaint were now both able to enter and leave freely, but Ning wouldn't be able to grant this permission to a third retainer.

Swish.

Ning transformed into a streak of light and flew out the gates of Immortal estate and towards the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

Pillsaint and Su Youji watched as Ning left. Both of them felt a sense of pressure. Although this was a simple task, it still involved a great deal of wealth!

"As his new retainer, I need to make sure I handle this well," Pillsaint mused silently.

"I've never been able to help out Master much. I can't let him down." Su Youji felt the same sense of pressure.

The Forest of Sword Pagodas.

Ning set out his temporal acceleration cottage, then sat down in the lotus position and began to cultivate.

"I hope I'll be able to garner a high price for it. I don't really have many valuable treasures on me right now," Ning mused. Although he did have a few Eternal weapons, there was nothing special about them. The only other item he owned which was worth over a hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar was the spare Mirrorsnow Painting. When Ning left the Astral Islands and headed towards the Sword Palace, he had acquired a spare from the underwater creatures. However, Ning was in no rush to sell if. If he really did need money, he could sell it then. If he waited for a good opportunity, he might be able to sell it for a better price.

Still, the truth was that Ning really didn't have many items he could sell for a high price.

As for the Bloodfire Cloudfruit…

The Twelve Palaces actually weren't the best place to sell it, because almost all of its major powers were wandering the outside world. The Sword Palace theoretically had over a hundred Daolords, not including the black-armored ones, but almost all of them were out adventuring. Only ten or so were here at the Sword Palace. This was simply how the Twelve Palaces worked. As a result, there would be less competition resulting in lower prices for Ning.

If this was one of the places where many major powers of the Dao Alliance congregated, the price would probably be much better.

Alas, by the time Ning reached such a place he would probably have already become a Daolord. By then, even if he did sell the Bloodfire Cloudfruit for a high price it wouldn't be of much use to him.

Time flowed on.

Pillsaint and Su Youji spread the word, causing the news that Swordlord Darknorth of the Sword Palace wished to sell a Bloodfire Cloudfruit to spread throughout the Twelve Palaces.

"Bloodfire Cloudfruit?"

The people most excited to hear this naturally all belonged to the World-level cultivators and Daolords of the Palace of Fire, although virtually all of the World-level cultivators could do nothing more dream about it. These individuals all walked the Dao of Fire. If they had fire-attribute bodies, they would be able to cultivate much more quickly. They were thus the most suitable candidates for purchasing this item.

"Bloodfire Cloudfruit?"

The Saber Palace, Heartforce Palace, Sword Palace, Spacetime Palace, and other palaces also held Daolords and World-level cultivators who were interested.

Ning, for example, was a member of the Sword Palace who had a body that was lightning-attribute in nature.

But of course, those who walked the Dao of Water or the Dao of Metal would never procure fire-attribute bodies. That would make it twice as hard to cultivate, with half the effect. The fire-attribute body would disrupt their affinity to those Daos.

"That kid, Swordlord Darknorth, plans to sell it off within a hundred years? He's probably doing this to prepare for the upcoming opportunity. Heh heh… fellow Daoists, there's no need for us to bid up the price too much. He's definitely going to sell it no matter what. Let's keep the price low." Instantly, some Daolords came up with this idea. There were some Daolords in the Twelve Palaces who walked the path of evil. In fact, some had committed tremendous sins and atrocities. Although the lifeblood oath prevented them from acting against Ning, they were still able to do something like lowball him for his treasures.

"The highest bid stands at 1.3 million cubes!" Pillsaint made this claim within an Immortal estate within the Sword Palace.

"What?" The old man frowned, his entire body emanating an aura of explosive, ruinous energy. "Who made such a high bid?"

"I can't reveal that," Pillsaint said placidly. "If your bid isn't any higher than this, there's no point in even bidding."

"You punk." The old man was irritated. He turned away and departed.

"Pillsaint." Su Youji watched the old man walk away, then sent Pillsaint a stealthy mental message. "You lied to him. What if no one ends up bidding a higher price? We'll be in trouble."

"Don't worry." Pillsaint was quite confident.

Pillsaint and Su Youji had both noticed that the Daolords were in no rush to place any bids. Ning had given a limit of a hundred years, after all; they didn't want to get the price too high, too early. In fact, some of the Daolords were colluding in secret to keep the price low.

Half a year later, the old man returned.

"I'm willing to bid 1.31 million cubes," the old man said.

"The highest price is now 1.33 million cubes," Pillsaint said, his eyes wide and innocent.

"Ah?!" The old man was stunned.

Pillsaint continued to raise the price. 1.33 million cubes, 1.35 million cubes, 1.36 million cubes, 1.37 million cubes… every half a year or year, the price would rise slightly.

Faced with the continuously rising price, some of the Daolords that were colluding began to grow a bit impatient.

"Who the hell keeps upping their bids?"

"Why are the bids continuing to rise?"

They were able to keep calm when the price was steady, but this constant rise made some of them a bit impatient.

Pillsaint secretly felt quite smug about this. "You have no idea who you are dealing with. I'm a grandmaster alchemist! I'm not just skilled in making pills, I'm also an expert in selling them." There was a certain art to selling pills and treasures as well, and there was always a bit of artifice built into the prices. Many of the 'bids' for the fruit were false, but Pillsaint did manage to lure in a few real bids as well.

A hundred years passed in the blink of an eye.

"The highest price is now 1.46 million cubes! This is the final year," Pillsaint declared. "My master will return from the Forest of Sword Pagodas anytime now. When he does return, the auction will come to an end. The highest bidder will win the Bloodfire Cloudfruit."

"What? The auction will end as soon as his master leaves the Forest?"

"This is the final year. Swordlord Darknorth might return at any moment."

Even the most patient of Daolords were no longer able to hold on. Once Ji Ning returned, they would have missed this opportunity for good. They didn't believe that Pillsaint was lying, because no one would dare lie to so many Daolords at the closing time of an auction.

"I'm willing to offer 1.47 million cubes."

"I'll offer 1.48 million."

"1.5 million."

In the final year, the bids increased very rapidly. Some of the Daolords had truly grown impatient. Once they gained this treasure, more than 99% of the other Daolords would be unable to catch up to them in speed. Generally speaking, not even Verge-level Daolords would be able to fly as quickly as Chaos fire or Chaos lightning! Only those who had techniques allowing them to control Chaos fire or Chaos lightning would the exceptions. Once this opportunity went past, who knew how long it would be before the next opportunity? Even if another opportunity did arise, it was entirely possible that they wouldn't even have a chance to bid on it. The Endless Territories were simply too vast; by the time they heard the news, the thing probably would've been sold already.

Pillsaint went so far as to run over to the Forest of Sword Pagodas to send Ning a secret message. "Master, don't be in a rush to return. Give me another half year. Come back then."

"Alright." Ning trusted them.

Some of the Daolords truly did need this treasure, and time was running out. Once this sort of naturally-occurring treasure was gone, it would be eons before anothing one appeared. The bidding process became noticeably fiercer.

Ning finally emerged from the Forest of Sword Pagodas.

"How did it go?" Ning descended from the skies into the Immortal estate where Su Youji and Pillsaint were located.

"1.8 million cubes," Pillsaint said proudly.

"What?!" Ning was quite surprised. If he sold it to a major organization, the price would've been roughly a million cubes. If he was lucky and many Daolords desperately bid against each other, the price could be several times higher. However, there weren't many Daolords in the Twelve Palaces right now. To be able to sell it for 1.8 million cubes already vastly exceeded Ning's expectations. He had thought that a price of 1.5 million cubes would already be quite high.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 17 – A Thousand Years

The imperial palace of the Brightshore Kingdom.

The almighty Hegemon stared at the sixty-seven images hovering in the air next to the thirteen thrones. He said softly, "A thousand years has concluded."

The twelve golden-armored powers who had been chatting idly, meditating with eyes closed, or silently drinking wine all came alert.

"Hegemon, how shall you choose the most powerful ones?" The twelve golden-armored powers all looked at the almighty Hegemon.

These World-level cultivators who had been acknowledged by the ancient pagodas were all incredible figures who possessed varied skills. What was the fairest way to choose the 'best' four?

The almighty Hegemon gently stroked his snow-white beard, then smiled. "Let them challenge the Daolord Cloudworld. They will have three days! The four who make it the farthest in the Daolord Cloudworld shall gain this opportunity."

"Challenge the Daolord Cloudworld?" The twelve instantly understood.

Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position within his spacetime acceleration cottage, still located in the ancient Forest of Sword Pagodas within the Sword Palace.

"Darknorth, come to me right away." A voice rang out in Ning's mind.

"Eh?" Ning opened his eyes. Dim flickers of sharp light could be seen within them. "A thousand years has concluded. It seems it is time for the actual challenge."

Ning's sword-arts were now far more formidable than when he had first developed the Reincarnation stance or the Cosmic Heart stance. His sword-arts were actually still continuing to improve, and he hadn't encountered any bottlenecks yet. Alas, he simply didn't have enough time! The almighty Hegemon had only given him a thousand years.

Whoosh. Ning put away his spacetime acceleration treasure, then flew out of the Forest of Sword Pagodas and towards Lord Woodflower's palace.

Lord Woodflower was seated in the lotus position atop a golden-red prayer mat. In front of him were seven similarly seated cultivators. There was one who looked like a child, one who looked like a youngster, one who looked like a youth, and even an old man. They all had completely different auras of the Sword Dao. A cultivator's age or mentality couldn't be judged by their appearances. At this level, there were some cultivators who reached an elderly age before suddenly shining with brilliance and embarking upon the path of cultivation.

"A thousand years has concluded." Lord Woodflower swept Ning and the others with his gaze. "The seven of you are the only ones within our Sword Palace have been acknowledged by our ancient pagodas. Right now, in the Twelve Palaces there are a total of sixty-seven individuals on your level, yourselves included. All of you will be fighting for this opportunity.

"Sixty-seven challengers, only four spots.

"The almighty Hegemon has already sent word for you to go and challenge the Daolord Cloudworld. You must complete your attempt within three days, and the final four who make it farthest into the Cloudworld shall be the ones to win this opportunity," Lord Woodflower said.

Ji Ning, Swordlord Wildfire, Swordlord Graceless, and the others all became more alert. They were all going to do their absolute best, and indeed training in the Dao of the Sword itself was training in a path of no return.

"In the Twelve Palaces, the World-level cultivators of the Saber Palace are the strongest, while the Heartforce Palace and the Spacetime Palace also have immeasurably deep roots." Lord Woodflower's gaze fell upon the seven Swordlords once more. "I hope that our Sword Palace can gain at least one of the slots. It would be a damn shame if we gained nothing at all from this."

"Understood." Ning and the others were all very solemn. They weren't angered or offended by Lord Woodflower's words. Given their achievements, all of them were extraordinary figures who knew the importance of respecting their opponents. The other competitors had all been acknowledged by the ancient pagodas as well. Some were special lifeforms, and some had experienced tremendous strokes of karmic luck. None could be belittled or underestimated.

"I can only do my best." Ning's heart was firm with the resolve to do battle and test himself against these other acknowledged World-level opponents. Although the battle hadn't started yet, Ning was already beginning to feel excitement and energy coursing through his veins.

"Palace Lord Dawnstar is the undisputed most powerful Daolord of the Twelve Palaces. Even if we factor in all the other organizations of the Endless Territories, he would be ranked the second most powerful Daolord. He personally tutored all of you for many years. If only one of you gains a slot, even I will feel ashamed on your behalf." Daolord Yinwind's voice was filled with icy arrogance. This was his natural, innate disposition.

When he was a young mortal, he had been kidnapped and dragged into an incredibly powerful but evil sect, filled with all sorts of viledoers and evil men. But of course, this was something that happened long ago, and by now a simple breath from him would be enough to wipe out that evil sect. He was now a Deputy Palace Lord of the Saber Palace, and his name and reputation held tremendous influence within the Endless Territories."

"Don't worry, Lord Yinwind."

"Forget two, let's try for all four!"

The Saberlords of the Saber Palace were brimming with confidence.

The sixty-seven waiting World-level challengers all received word from their respective elders. Some headed for the Daolord Cloudworld immediately, while some calmed themselves and planned on making the challenge on the final day.

The trials of the Daolord Cloudworld could actually be completed quite quickly. Generally speaking, half a day was enough.

The Heartforce Palace.

The Palace of the Heart was extremely quiet. There were pitifully few cultivators at either the World level or the Daolord level, and only one of them had been acknowledged by the Heart Pagodas: Heartlord Solewind.

"I'm the only one taking part in the Heart Palace. How lonely." A bald, red-vested youth whose face was covered with strange, crimson divine tattoos smiled as he murmured to himself, "Little sister, just watch and see how your big brother takes on the Daolord Cloudworld."

He strolled forward in a relaxed manner, and with each step he took a fiery divine crow would manifest beneath his feet. The line between reality and illusions was blurred around him. Clearly, he was training even when he was just walking. He was an incredibly famous figure in the Twelve Palaces, not because he had accomplished any special feats, simply because he was a member of the Palace of the Heart! Although the Heart Palace had pitifully few members, every single member was frighteningly strong.

Bertulu focused on the Dao of Light, using heartforce as a support skill. Heartlord Solewind, however, had truly focused all of his efforts on his skills as a Heartforce Cultivator. His accomplishments in this area vastly outstripped Bertulu's, who had only reached the utter apex of power at the World level in the Dao of Light.

"The almighty Hegemon personally gave me pointers in the past. As for this opportunity he is offering… I, Greatjoy, shall definitely grasp it." This was a youth who was dressed in strange black imperial robes and who wore a crown on his head. He was the most powerful World-level expert in the Palace of Spacetime, and he referred to himself as Prince Greatjoy. Although on the surface he was rather calm and stately when interacting with others, he was actually an extremely wild, berserk man.

"The Daolord Cloudworld, eh? Hmph." Prince Greatjoy flew out of the Spacetime Palace and headed straight towards the Daolord Cloudworld.

More than half of the World-level experts immediately flew towards their Daolord Cloudworld as soon as they received the news. Every single one of the Twelve Palaces had their own Daolord Cloudworld, and the difficulty level in each was identical.

Swoosh!

Ning descended into the Armaments Gorge of the Sword Palace.

"Darknorth." The two guardians of the gorge, Swordfive and Swordsix, both looked at Ning.

"Swordfive. Swordsix." Ning said in a rather humble manner, "I've been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas. I believe I now have the chance to choose a single treasure from the Armaments Gorge, so long as it doesn't cost more than a million cubes of chaos nectar. Right?"

"Right." Swordfive nodded. "The Sword Palace has always been very generous towards World-level cultivators who are acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas."

"Swordfive, can you follow me inside?" Ning asked.

"I can." Swordfive nodded. He surmised that Ning probably wanted to carry out a major business transaction. There was no other reason for Ning to ask him to go in.

The Armaments Gorge was filled with countless treasures, but Ning went straight towards one of the corners in the far back.

There was a seemingly ordinary black bottle placed atop one of the tables in the back. This black bottle, however, was priced at 1.5 million cubes of chaos nectar! This bottle was a magic treasure known as the 'Godwater Flagon of the Seven Flags', and it contained seven different types of Dao water. These seven types of Dao water could be used to form an enormous formation known as the Seven Flags Formation which could easily annihilate almost any opponent.

"Can I take this flagon?" Ning asked.

Swordfive slowly shook his head. "You aren't permitted to choose anything worth more than a million cubes. If you insist on choosing this item, you have to pay an extra five hundred thousand cubes."

"Done." Ning nodded.

There were quite a few treasures in the Armaments Gorge which involved Dao water, and most of them were treasures which were forged out of Dao water. The Godwater Flagon of the Seven Flags was the most suitable choice for Ning.

"Need anything else?" Swordfive had heard that Ning had sold off a Bloodfire Cloudfruit for 1.8 million cubes.

"I need some Dao lightning as well." Ning grinned.

Ning departed from the Armaments Gorge, then transformed into a streak of light that flew back towards his own Immortal estate.

"Master." Su Youji and World God Pillsaint both came out to greet him.

"No one is allowed to disturb me. No matter who comes, they are not permitted to see me." Ning gave them some instructions, then went into his private room.

Ning sat down in the lotus position within this private room, then placed a black bottle, an azure cauldron, and a grey gourd next to him.

This time, he had purchased seven types of Dao water and five types of Dao lightning. He had paid 2.1 million cubes of chaos nectar for them! Factoring in the million cubes of credit which the Sword Palace had bestowed upon him, he actually had used up more than three million cubes!

"With these items, I should now be able to make myself much more powerful." Ning was quite calm as he summoned the technique for creating the [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] into his mind.

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Book 27, Twelve Palaces, Chapter 18 – Training

Ji Ning willed the ethereal lightning to fly out of the gray gourd. It seemed unremarkable, but in reality it was terrifyingly powerful. Under Ning's control, it swirled around Ning's body and then seeped into it. For someone with a weaker divine body, such an act was akin to suicide. It must be understood that this was Dao lightning! Someone with a weak body would have it instantly reduced to ashes.

Long ago, when Ning was still an Empyrean God, his body was incapable of enduring the power of the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents. In order to tame and control one of them, Ning had to first use Elder-level lightning serpents to repeatedly enter his body and completely transform it into a lightning-attribute body. Ning died multiple times before being able to successfully complete the transformation process. Only then was he able to survive alongside the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent and draw it into his body, storing it in the divine rune of a lightning serpent egg.

And now?

Ning had completely mastered the [Golden Idol, making his divine body comparable to top-grade Dao treasures! This Dao lightning was completely incapable of harming Ning.

Whoosh.

After the ethereal lightning entered Ning's body, it seemed to be affected by a powerful gravitational force. With a swoosh, it was drawn towards Ning's Jindan chaosworld, towards the location where one of nine lightning essences was located. This lightning essence was similarly ethereal, and the two seemed to have come from the same source. The Dao lightning voluntarily merged into the lightning essence, rapidly surging into it and drawing upon the Chaos lightning energy which had previously been present.

"I've finished absorbing the first Dao lightning." Ning nodded slowly.

The reason why Daolord Allgod had separated the [Novessence Thunder] into the upper part and the lower part, despite the fact that he created the technique as a Daolord who didn't need Chaos lightning, was because he needed to establish the nine lightning essence foundations. The lightning foundations were similar to the 'lightning serpent egg' which Ning once used to store and transform the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. The lightning foundations were the places where the lightning would stay and 'live'. This was their home!

The lightning foundations which Daolord Allgod had created were countless times more profound than the 'lightning serpent egg'. They were tremendously attractive towards Dao lightning, and Dao lightning naturally 'liked' to live within them.

"Next." Ning willed the next one to enter.

Four streams of Dao lightning instantly began to surge out from the four handles on the azure cauldron in front of Ning. Under Ning's control, the four streams of lightning surged into his body. These four streams of Dao lightning were similarly drawn into four different lightning essence foundations and were quickly swallowed up. They now had their own foundations where they belonged.

"And the Elementum Waterflame Gourd." Finally, Ning produced the gourd which he had been using for quite some time. He used the exact same technique to draw those two streams of Dao lightning into the foundations inside his body.

There were a total of nine lightning essence foundations! These nine foundations were meant to hold nine streaks of Dao lightning or nine streaks of Chaos lightning which belonged to the same 'type'. Right now, Ning had seven of those streaks of Dao lightning! These seven Dao lightnings were the seven cheapest ones he could find, but they had still cost Ning a total of 2.1 million cubes of chaos nectar! As for the seven types of Dao water, they had cost Ning a total of 1.5 million cubes of chaos nectar.

The Dao lightning was more powerful and thus preferred by cultivators, resulting in a slightly higher price than the Dao water.

Ning had purchased nine types of Chaos water shortly after arriving at the Sword Palace. As a result, his body already had nine types of water essence foundations within it, and he used them to absorb those streams of Dao water, completely drawing them inside.

"The transfer is complete." Ning was a bit excited. "I wonder if I'll be able to start training in the lower part now."

To actually absorb the Dao lightning didn't really signify anything, as Ning could control them regardless of whether they were inside his body or inside a magic treasure! In this sense, the location didn't matter.

"According to the notes regarding the lower part of the [Novessence Thunder, only a Samsara Daolord can train in the technique because Dao lightning is thousands of times more explosive and unruly than Chaos lightning. The Immortal energy of World-level cultivators simply cannot cope with it, preventing them from training in this technique." Ning's eyes were shining. When he had first started on the [Novessence Thunder] using Chaos lightning, he had failed numerous types in his attempts to master it. In the end, he had to rely on his azureflower mist energy to succeed.

Using the azureflower mist energy to control the Chaos lightning had been hundreds of times easier than using his own Immortal energy.

"The reason why only Daolords can train in the lower part is because the Immortal energy of World-level cultivators is too weak. However, I can use the azureflower mist energy instead. That energy should be comparable to the energy of a Daolord of the First Step's. According to the manual, a Daolord of the First Step has a chance to complete the second stage of the technique. In fact, he even has a shot at the third stage!" Ning felt quite eager.

The second stage referred to the secret art needed to completely merge two of the streaks of Dao lightning together. This would instantly cause the power of the Dao lightning to skyrocket!

Upon reaching the second stage, those two streaks of Dao lightning would probably be even more powerful than seven streaks of Dao lightning and seven streams of Dao water combined! Right now, Ning was relying on superior numbers in order to achieve victory. And yet, all his Dao lightning and Dao water combined was merely on par with the second stage.

"If I can master at least the second stage for the Dao lightning, then do the same for the Dao water, then use them along with the rest of my lightning and water… the power should be quite extraordinary." Ning was filled with eagerness.

"Time to begin." Using the azureflower mist energy to reinforce his physical strength in battle was the most basic way of using it. Using it to train in secret arts? That was far more impressive! This was a form of energy comparable to a Daolord's energy, after all!

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The azureflower mist energy spread out in accordance with the [Novessence Thunder, streatching out like an invisible hand that quickly latched onto the Watersmoke Lightning and the Firecloud Lightning. These were the two types of Dao lightning that were the easiest to control.

"Hahaha… I'm completely able to control them! My suspicions were correct! My azureflower mist energy can be used to control Dao lightning as if it was Daolord energy." Ning began to grow excited. This meant that he would be able to realize his ambitions! The two streaks of Dao lightning were innately explosive, but the power of the azureflower mist energy was still able to control them.

They followed Ning's will and began to transform nonstop as the secret art began to take shape.

However, the later parts of this process grew increasingly complicated. The [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] techniques were techniques that were akin to applying alchemy and pill-forging principles to lightning and water. The lightning would be constantly adjusted and harmonized, causing its power to eventually be completely transformed in nature! Pill-makers needed to have complete control over their pills, and Ning needed to have similarly exquisite control over his lightning.

The process grew more and more difficult.

BOOM!

It had been just the slightest slip-up, but the entire secret art broke apart and the two streaks of Dao lightning instantly split apart, each returning to its own lightning essence foundation.

"My azureflower mist energy is clearly far more powerful than the Immortal energy of a World-level cultivator. I trust that it is no weaker than a Daolord's, and my soul is also comparable to a Daolord's soul. I refuse to believe I can't do this!" Ning tried again.

Once.

Twice.

Thrice…

Ning tried twenty times in a row, only to fail each time.

Ning was stunned.

"Let me try the Dao water. Maybe I'll be able to succeed with the Dao water." Ning once more gave it a try, this time using the Dao water. It was clearly much easier to control Dao water than Dao lightning, as water was less explosive and wild, but as the process went on it failed once more at the very end. Multiple, repeated failures resulted in Ning giving up.

"Why do I keep failing?" Ning carefully went through his memories regarding these two techniques.

These two techniques…

The [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] were created based on Daolord Allgod's insights into the process of alchemy and artificing. The process allowed him to take exquisite control over lightning and water, using them to form tremendously powerful secret arts. After one became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, it would be possible for one to master the ninth stage and complete the process. Daolords of the First Step generally could master the second stage, and they even had a chance at mastering the third stage.

"Why can't I even master the second stage? Controlling them feels incredibly taxing."

Ning suddenly stared blankly.

"I understand! Daolord Allgod was a Verge-level Daolord when he mastered the ninth stage for the lightning and water… but who was he? He was a master of alchemy and artificing, a true grandmaster of countless Daos. He was incredibly skilled in this respect! I, however, know nothing about alchemy or artificing whatsoever. I'm completely relying on the strength of the azureflower mist energy to brute-force the lightning and water into cooperating. It only makes sense that this sort of brute-force method will result in repeated failures." Ning finally understood.

Alchemy and artificing were not simple tasks. They were arts that required tremendous levels of skill and expertise. World God Pillsaint was an incredibly skilled grandmaster in alchemy, but how many other World-level cultivators were similarly talented in this regard? Alchemy truly was an art filled with countless mysteries, but Ning knew nothing of it at all. All he could do was rely on his azureflower mist energy to brute-force things…

"Ugh…" Ning shook his head.

If he could master the second stage for the lightning and the water, then when he used them as well as his other types of Dao lightning and Dao water in a formation to attack an opponent, he would probably be able to slay an ordinary Daolord of the First Step in one blow! Even if that person didn't die, he would be heavily injured. A few successive blows would ensure that the Daolord would definitely perish.

This was why the azureflower mist energy was so incredible and special. It gave World-level cultivators a chance to master techniques they simply shouldn't be able to… but alas, Ning didn't understand enough about alchemy or artificing.

"Too late to start training in these areas now. There's no time. I have to try out the Daolord Cloudworld soon," Ning mused. "But I just so happen to have an expert alchemist by my side. After the challenge is completed, I'll ask Pillsaint for some advice! If I learn some basic alchemy skills, I'll probably be able to rely on the experience I gained to make some progress in mastering the second stage of these two techniques."

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