Chapter 30: Ji Ning's Goal

The city gates of the Sacred City were towering and dazzling.

Ji Ning and his two companions flew directly toward the city gates. In truth, Tianmu City had no walls, so there was no need to come to the gates. But it was the first time for all three of them to visit the Sacred City, and they all needed to receive the 'Dao Alliance Token'; otherwise, they wouldn't be considered true members of the Dao Alliance and would be barred from many places in the Sacred City.

"Three fellow Daoists." At the gates, there was an inconspicuous hall, and a woman in black robes immediately came out, smiling.

"This is our first time in the Sacred City, and we wish to receive the Dao Alliance Token," Ji Ning said. The black-robed woman's aura was relatively weak; she was probably a One-Step Dao Lord who had broken through using the Stealing Heaven Life-Death Pill. Such One-Step Dao Lords were usually tasked with handling mundane affairs for major powers and sects.

"Dao Alliance Token? Oh, please follow me," the black-robed woman said, leading them inside.

Inside the hall, there were also men and women in white robes, as well as some alien races, but judging by their auras, they were only at the World level.

"Where do the three of you come from, and which sect do you belong to? Have you registered with the Dao Alliance?" the black-robed woman asked.

"Heavenly Cloud Palace, Northmont," Ji Ning said, presenting the token of the Palace Lord of Heavenly Cloud Palace.

The black-robed woman nodded, flipped her hand, and produced a book. As she looked at it, information about Northmont Dao Lord of Heavenly Cloud Palace quickly appeared on the pages.

"Fellow Daoist Northmont of Heavenly Cloud Palace, here is your Dao Alliance Token." The black-robed woman took out a black token and handed it to Ji Ning. The token bore the character 'Dao,' and the divine runes on it were profound and complex; it could only be refined once.

Ji Ning casually refined it.

"Have these two registered with the Dao Alliance?" the black-robed woman asked.

"No, they are my followers," Ji Ning said.

"Followers?" The black-robed woman and the World-level cultivators nearby looked at Ji Ning in surprise. Two Dao Lords as followers? It seemed this seemingly ordinary Northmont Dao Lord was quite extraordinary! None of them knew about Ji Ning's battle with Lord Qingfeng; such matters had not been publicized by Heavenly Cloud Palace or the Qingfeng Hall, so very few knew of it.

"Since they haven't registered with the Dao Alliance, it will require a bit more trouble," the black-robed woman said. "Please follow me. The Dao Alliance cannot allow spies to infiltrate."

"We understand," Su Youji said with a smile.

Su Youji and Danbao obediently followed her inside; they had already been informed before coming.

For someone like Ji Ning, whose background was clear and vouched for by Heavenly Cloud Palace, obtaining the Dao Alliance Token was effortless, and he was recognized as a member of the Dao Alliance. But for strangers with unclear backgrounds, verification and even life-bound oaths were required to prove their innocence before they could receive the token.

...

After a moment.

Led by an old man in white robes, Ji Ning and his two companions left the city gates and flew through the air on a cloud.

"Three seniors," the white-robed old man said with a smile. "Since this is your first time in the Sacred City, I'll take the liberty of explaining the rules. Within the range of the formation restrictions of all palaces and caves in the Sacred City, fighting is absolutely forbidden. The consequence of breaking this rule is death and the end of your Dao."

Ji Ning and the others listened.

This was an ironclad rule.

After all, this was one of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance; the rules could not be violated unless one had the strength to challenge the entire Dao Alliance and survive.

"Once you leave the range of the formation restrictions of palaces and caves, no matter how fiercely you fight, no one will interfere," the white-robed old man said. "For example, right now we are in midair, not under the protection of any palace or cave formation, so we could be attacked."

"It's really chaotic," Danbao sighed.

"It is chaotic. The more cultivators there are, the more chaotic it gets," the white-robed old man said. "There's another rule you must remember: In Tianmu City, disciples of the Tianmu Sect, even if they are only True Gods or Ancestral Gods, must not be killed. If you kill a disciple of the Tianmu Sect, you too will face death and the end of your Dao."

Su Youji asked, "How do we identify Tianmu Sect disciples?"

"It's very easy," the white-robed old man said with a smile. "Disciples of our Tianmu Sect all wear special robes that emit the aura of the 'Heavenly Wood.' If they aren't wearing those robes and get killed, it's not our fault."

Ji Ning and the others nodded.

The Heavenly Wood was the sect's sacred tree, the foundation of the Tianmu Sect. Ji Ning had noticed that the robes of Tianmu Sect disciples indeed bore a unique, ancient, and eternal aura that was instantly recognizable.

"Let me briefly introduce some important places in Tianmu City. Over there, the more than a hundred thousand floating caves are cultivators' dwellings, owned by our Tianmu Sect. You seniors can also temporarily cultivate there by paying some chaos nectar. You can stay for ten or a hundred chaos cycles; just pay the chaos nectar, and no one will dare disturb you." The white-robed old man pointed into the distance, then pointed to another group of ancient palaces with a majestic aura. "That area is where our Tianmu Sect is located. The Emperor lives there; you must not trespass."

...

The white-robed old man continued introducing various places.

"Let's go there first," Ji Ning said, pointing to a pavilion floating on the clouds in the distance.

"The Dharma Repository?" The white-robed old man was startled.

"Yes, let's go to the 'Dharma Repository' first," Ji Ning said.

The Dharma Repository housed countless techniques.

Each of the eight Sacred Cities of the Dao Alliance had a Dharma Repository. Dao Alliance cultivators could learn many precious techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts from the Dharma Repository—even those of Emperors and even Lords were possible! However, the more precious the secret art, the higher the price required; there was never a free lunch.

"The Dharma Repository contains countless techniques; you may choose freely," a guardian puppet at the entrance said calmly. "When you've made your selection, you can find me."

"This guardian puppet was left by the Dao Alliance and is extremely powerful," the white-robed old man quickly added.

Puppets were the most loyal.

With them guarding, there would be no mistakes.

"Danbao, Youji, you two go in and take a look too. See if there's anything you need. I'll go in first," Ji Ning said, then walked in ahead.

"Let's go take a look."

"Let's broaden our horizons." Su Youji and Danbao followed him in.

...

Stepping into the pavilion, the space shifted, revealing a world.

There were gorges with flowing water and high mountains with waterfalls.

Jade slips were scattered everywhere—some thrown on rocks, some floating in deserts, some on tree branches—spread randomly throughout this world. This world was created by an ancient mighty figure of the Dao Alliance and was extremely profound.

"Not this, not this..."

"This isn't it either..."

Standing atop a high mountain, Ji Ning released his divine sense and began to examine the jade slips one by one.

Each jade slip contained simple information: an introduction to the technique and the price required to exchange for it. Ordinary techniques only required some chaos nectar, but the core techniques of the Dao Alliance came with harsh conditions.

"Found it." Ji Ning's face lit up with joy.

Swoosh.

Ji Ning's figure flickered, and he flew down from the mountaintop to a grassland tens of thousands of miles away.

The grass on the grassland was lush, and among it lay nine jade slips casually.

They were the Nine Sources: Divine Water, Divine Fire, Divine Wood, Divine Earth, Divine Metal, Divine Wind, Divine Thunder, Divine Light, and Divine Void.

"These are the ones. In the early days of my Dao Lord path, these secret arts are the most suitable for me," Ji Ning said to himself. Although he had secret arts bestowed by the deceased Lord, they were too difficult to start with, and even if he cultivated them, he couldn't achieve great power for now.

But the nine secret arts created by Wan Shen Dao Lord were the most suitable for Ji Ning at present.

With the power of the Greenflower Mist and the 'Dan Ye Seven Chapters,' Ji Ning found cultivation very easy. He had already effortlessly mastered the Sevenfold Divine Thunder. It was just that he didn't have more Dao Thunder.

"If I can master the Ninefold Divine Thunder, I can directly kill ordinary Dao Lords on the verge of Dao integration. Especially when combining the nine secret arts, even Lord Qingfeng would likely lose his life, or at least be severely wounded." Ji Ning knew that cultivating these nine secret arts was very suitable for him, which was why he had spent over a thousand years to reach Tianmu City.

Because Wan Shen Dao Lord's nine secret arts could only be purchased within the Dao Alliance.

In places like the Mangya Kingdom, only the five weaker ones were available; the stronger ones—Nine Sources Divine Thunder, Nine Sources Divine Wind, Nine Sources Divine Light, and the strongest, Nine Sources Divine Void—were not available at all.

Ji Ning glanced at them and felt delighted. These nine secret arts, painstakingly created by Wan Shen Dao Lord, were even more powerful when combined.

"I'll buy them all." Ji Ning waved his hand and picked up the seven jade slips.