Chapter 1 The Time-Space Disk

"Boom~~~"

Within a cosmic passage, a streak of sword-light was flying at high speed.

Ji Ning was employing the Blood Drop Escape Art, flying extremely fast. This cosmic passage was truly too long; back when Ji Ning, Feng Yi, and the others had traveled from the Mangya Kingdom to the other universe, it had taken over three years. But now, with his greatly increased speed, Ji Ning was flying twice as fast.

"We're here." Seeing the light ahead, Ji Ning couldn't help but show joy and flew swiftly toward it.

The moment he flew out,

Ji Ning immediately sensed... sensed Su Youji! Sensed his own true body and clone! Also sensed his second soul, which had been guarding the Three Realms all along.

"I'm back." Ji Ning smiled. He was home.

...

In the Endless Territories, the Da Mo Territory, a very inconspicuous chaos star.

Whoosh.

A figure suddenly appeared on the star's surface. It was Ji Ning, also dressed in white.

"This trip to the other universe was very fruitful. Now I've perfectly combined five supreme daos. Although I sense that it's not yet the ultimate sword dao, I believe the breakthrough is near." Ji Ning had always felt that he was very, very close to the ultimate.

During the six million-plus years in the Three Leaf Realm, this feeling had grown stronger and stronger. He seemed to have made no progress, but in truth, he had been slowly accumulating on the sword dao, and once he reached a certain level, he would erupt.

"To become a Daolord, I must merge my clones."

"This clone should set out for the Skywood Palace." Ji Ning smiled and moved his foot. With a whoosh, space was instantly torn open into a passage. With his sword intent, he could forcibly tear a spatial passage and enter another dimension, traveling through the void at even higher speeds.

The true body and the clone would meet at the Skywood Palace!

...

Mangya Kingdom, Sword Palace of the Twelve Palaces.

Within the vast Sword Palace, on the peak of one of the continuous mountain ranges, was Ji Ning's cave. Because Ji Ning had not yet returned, the cave gate was tightly shut. Beside the cave stood a wooden house, where Fire Fairy Su Youji was temporarily staying.

After returning from the other universe, Su Youji had lived here, waiting for Ji Ning.

"Master!" Su Youji, who had been sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened her eyes, filled with excitement.

She sensed that Ji Ning had returned!

...

On a floating mountain, which was the other end of the cosmic passage, Ji Ning emerged from the passage and appeared here. At that moment, an old man with six curved horns and a white beard, draped in a snow-white robe, appeared out of thin air.

"Overlord." Ji Ning, in high spirits upon returning to the Endless Territories, was startled to see the Overlord appear and quickly bowed.

"You're back." The white-bearded old man smiled. "Good timing. You're the last one to return from the other universe."

Ji Ning was stunned. So Qing Heng, Feng Yi, and the others had all returned.

"First, give me the Ancient Domain Token." The white-bearded old man said.

"Yes." Ji Ning quickly handed over the Ancient Domain Token. It was of no use to him now, but the Great Overlord could let other World-level cultivators go to the other universe in the future.

"Qing Heng, Feng Yi, and the others have told me about your experiences in the other universe. You saved their lives, which is a great merit. As I said, the more you do, the more I will reward you." The white-bearded old man smiled. "And I heard you even entered the inner region of the Origin Realm..."

"Luck." Ji Ning said.

"Not luck. Feng Yi, you, and Qing Heng all entered the inner region. The three of you may well achieve no less than Dong Xiu or Beta Leo in the future." The white-bearded old man said.

Ji Ning was secretly surprised. Qing Heng had also entered the inner region?

"This is a Time-Space Disk I refined." The white-bearded old man produced a strange black-and-white mottled disk. "With the Time-Space Disk, you can escape by traveling through time and space... This disk contains the power of a secret art I personally cast. But it can only be used once. After use, the internal power is exhausted and cannot be used again."

With that, the strange disk flew before Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was somewhat excited. Before going to the other universe, the Great Overlord had indeed said that helping Tianhuo Mangya would bring a great reward. He hadn't expected the reward to be so generous.

"With my mastery of time and space, as long as you use the Time-Space Disk to flee, there are probably none who can catch up to you." The Great Overlord was absolutely confident. "But you must still be careful. The means of mighty cultivators are countless; some are so terrifying that you won't even have time to use the Time-Space Disk. So, even with this disk, you must remain cautious."

"Yes." Ji Ning said respectfully. That disciple of Daolist Fubo, who had been so favored, must have had protective treasures, yet he still died at the hands of Emperor Sancan.

"Overlord, I wish to leave the Mangya Kingdom..." Ji Ning began. According to the rules of the Mangya Kingdom, one was generally only allowed to leave after becoming a Daolord.

"You may. Go directly to Mu Hua of your Sword Palace." The white-bearded old man nodded. "When you venture outside, be careful. It's easiest to die when you're weak. Alright, you may go."

"Yes."

Ji Ning respectfully took his leave, then went to take the nearby spacetime teleportation array to the Imperial Palace, and from there to the Sword Palace.

Watching Ji Ning leave, the white-bearded old man nodded slightly. "These little fellows have gained a lot. Bei Ming, in particular, has undergone a transformative change. I can only vaguely sense his fate now."

The Mangya Kingdom implemented an elite strategy!

The Daolords of the Mangya Kingdom were generally stronger than those of the Dao Alliance. But they were also far fewer in number. Ji Ning, Qing Heng, Beta Leo, and the others were the cream of the crop, prodigies among prodigies! The Mangya Kingdom naturally took extra care to protect them.

Giving away the 'Time-Space Disk'—the so-called great reward was merely an excuse! Without this excuse, the Great Overlord could find another reason to give life-saving treasures to these extraordinary little ones.

...

Ji Ning stood at the main gate of the Sword Palace, looking at the figure of the stunning woman in a fiery red robe standing at the entrance.

"Youji." Ji Ning smiled.

"Master." Tears welled up in Su Youji's eyes. She had gained a lot in the Origin Realm and had greatly improved her strength, enough to become a Daolord at any time. But because she was worried about Ji Ning, she couldn't settle down after returning to the Sword Palace and hadn't broken through.

Now she had finally seen Ji Ning.

"Look at you. Your master isn't so easy to kill." Ji Ning laughed.

"I knew you were alive all along. Huo Jin and those bastards said you..." Su Youji also showed a brilliant smile.

Ji Ning's gaze suddenly fell behind Su Youji.

"Ah, it seems I'm interrupting you two." A figure walking from behind Su Youji laughed.

"Senior apprentice-brother Mu Hua." Ji Ning quickly called out.

The visitor was none other than Palace Lord Mu Hua.

Mu Hua looked at Ji Ning with a smile. "I just learned from the Overlord that you're back. When Feng Yi and Qing Heng returned earlier, you weren't with them. You really gave me a scare."

When Ji Ning hadn't returned with the others, Mu Hua had indeed been worried for a long time.

"But I'm back now, aren't I?" Ji Ning laughed.

"You must have gained a lot from this trip." Mu Hua said.

"Not bad." Ji Ning smiled.

As for treasures, the two Dao talismans and armor bestowed by the deceased Overlord, as well as the chaos liquid, were valuable. But the most precious treasures to him were the six lifebound divine weapons painstakingly refined by Emperor Qi Huo. However, whether lifebound divine weapons or magic treasures, once they had a master and their power was fully restrained, outsiders couldn't tell their rank.

Even the Great Overlord hadn't noticed how extraordinary the armor Ji Ning wore and the six divine swords on his back were.

"Good that you've gained. When do you plan to become a Daolord?" Mu Hua asked.

"Soon. I'll prepare a bit more." Ji Ning said. "By the way, senior apprentice-brother, I plan to leave the Mangya Kingdom for a while."

"Alright." Mu Hua nodded. "Since you're leaving the Mangya Kingdom, come with me. First, light a Heart Lamp."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

Heart Lamp.

By lighting it with one's true spirit, the Heart Lamp could generally sense the life or death of its owner. If the owner died, the lamp would go out. Of course, entering another universe or some ancient ruins could also block the lamp's感应.

But Heart Lamps and True Spirit Towers were already the best sensing artifacts, almost comparable to the mutual sensing between a true body and a clone. Simple life-slip talismans and the like had a much smaller sensing range.