Chapter Eighteen: The Divine Demon's Clone

"Unfortunately, I haven't truly gained the recognition of the cave-dwelling spirit yet." Ji Ning understood this. The yellow-haired bear kept many secrets from him, letting him fight for his life. If he truly died in the trials—like Ju Hua the Immortal or Lei Zhan—he would simply be dead. The cave-dwelling spirit would just wait for the next master. Even the Daoist San Shou had said that only when Ji Ning became a 'Celestial Immortal' could he be considered his disciple. Clearly, Ji Ning's strength was still insufficient.

"That's right, the stronger you are, the more attention you get. Compared to when I first met the cave-dwelling spirit, he's much friendlier now." Ji Ning clearly remembered the first time he saw the yellow-haired bear; the bear hadn't paid him much attention at all.

These thoughts flashed through Ji Ning's mind, then he suppressed them.

No more overthinking!

The most important thing now was to defeat the divine demon's clone before him!

"I've heard that some powerful divine demons can pluck a single hair and transform it into a clone," Ji Ning said loudly, looking at the golden-armored divine general in the distance. "But according to legend, a clone formed from a single hair is extremely weak... I suppose this clone of yours is also quite weak."

The golden-armored divine general's expression changed slightly. Ji Ning had struck a nerve. Yes, this clone was formed from just a wisp of divine power, and even his weapon was conjured from divine power.

Comparing their divine bodies, this clone's divine body was even weaker than Ji Ning's!

But...

He was far superior in the realm of the Dao.

"If my true self came, a single breath from me could blow you to dust!" The golden-armored divine general's eyes held pride. "Even though this is just a clone formed from a wisp of divine power, the weakest of clones, dealing with you... hmph!"

"A single breath, blow to dust. It seems his true self is indeed extraordinarily powerful. No wonder I felt such a threatening presence from him; the vague sense of danger probably comes from his true self," Ji Ning thought to himself.

Ji Ning moved with intent.

Boom!

In his sea of consciousness, his soul activated the Soul-Shaking Seal. Instantly, his divine sense surged out with the seal as its core, rolling mightily toward the golden-armored divine general ahead.

"Boom~~~" The rolling divine sense struck against what seemed like an extremely hard reef. Though vast, it could not match the reef's hardness.

"Haha, divine sense?" The golden-armored divine general shook his head disdainfully. "This wisp of divine power contains a trace of my soul. Though minuscule, it is far superior to yours in essence. Even if your divine sense were ten times stronger, you couldn't shake me. Kid, use whatever tricks you have. Don't blame me for not giving you a chance when you lose."

The golden-armored divine general seemed arrogant, but he was actually cautious.

Because regarding this legendary place, he was also curious and wary: "The legendary residence of a divine lord... why send me to deal with such a weak little brat? What is his background, and what is his relationship with the divine lord? His soul is quite strong; he hasn't even reached the Nascent Soul stage, yet his soul is already this powerful."

Though he was powerful, he had to look up to the legendary divine lord with reverence. A single glance from that one-armed divine lord could probably annihilate him.

...

Ji Ning found the golden-armored divine general mysterious.

The golden-armored divine general likewise found Ji Ning mysterious.

...

"Originally, I would have had a puppet fight you," the yellow-haired bear said with interest. "But you indeed have hope of inheriting the master's legacy and roaming the Three Realms in the future... So, let you get a glimpse of certain matters in advance."

Letting Ji Ning vaguely touch upon some secrets would instead stimulate his intense desire to grow stronger.

"Grow strong."

"It's been a very long time since I've encountered those ancient, powerful beings." The yellow-haired bear was also filled with longing; he had been lonely for far too long.

...

Inside the third level of the War God Hall.

Ji Ning was rapidly thinking of a strategy: "He is a weak clone of a powerful being. His advantage lies in his extremely high comprehension of the Dao, while his weakness is that he is formed from just a wisp of divine power. Separated from his true self, like water without a source, his divine power cannot regenerate once consumed."

In the art of combat, one must use one's strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses!

"Consume his divine power!" Ji Ning immediately moved.

Whoosh!

Instead of charging forward, he rapidly retreated to increase the distance. At the same time, over seven hundred flying swords appeared around him. His Wanxiang-level ki infused each sword, and they began to undulate slightly. With his improved comprehension of the Dao, executing the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation was noticeably easier.

"Lesser Thousand Swords Formation, ninth layer." Before Ji Ning, a jade-white flying sword condensed.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

One jade-white flying sword after another formed and swiftly flew toward the golden-armored divine general in the distance.

"This sword formation is somewhat profound, but unfortunately, the user is too weak." The golden-armored divine general held two divine hammers, strolling leisurely, yet each step seemed to teleport him hundreds of zhang, faster than Ji Ning's Windwing Evasion.

"Water-Fire Lotus."

Ji Ning multitasked.

While controlling the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation, he also cast the Water-Fire Lotus.

Blooming lotuses appeared around the golden-armored divine general, their giant leaves binding and hindering him.

"Troublesome." The golden-armored divine general frowned. He thrust his hammer forward, creating ripples like waves. Where they passed, the layers of lotus leaves shattered one after another until the lotus was completely destroyed.

"Only one lotus destroyed?" The golden-armored divine general was secretly startled.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The jade-white sword beams flew one after another, like brushstrokes, plain and restrained, yet they made the golden-armored divine general extremely wary: "Sword Dao? And such sharp, fearsome sword techniques."

"Clang." The golden-armored divine general wielded his pair of divine hammers. Each time he blocked Ji Ning's sword beams, the hammers trembled, for they were merely condensed from divine power, not true magic treasures.

"Clang."

"Clang."

Facing the Water-Fire Lotus infused with cold abyssal fire and the countless sword beams of the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation, the golden-armored divine general was momentarily flustered...

In the Yushan Great Wasteland, the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation was inferior to Ji Ning's close combat. But earlier, at the Black-White College, Ji Ning had advanced from the early Wanxiang stage to the late Wanxiang stage in one go! The increase in ki had elevated the power of his Lesser Thousand Swords Formation by two levels, making it very close to his close combat power.

"Though this clone of his is weak, he can still withstand my multiple attacks." Ji Ning's face turned cold. His Northsong sword vanished, replaced by a large black bow.

This large black bow was an Earth-ranked magic treasure bow, merely ordinary with no special enhancements.

Legendary divine bows were hard for Ji Ning to find.

But...

This Earth-ranked magic treasure bow was enough to fully utilize Ji Ning's strength.

"Star Picking Hand!" Ji Ning instantly activated the Star Picking Hand technique. He gripped the bow with one hand and pulled the string with the other, arrow nocked...

Whoosh.

The bowstring was drawn to its full extent.

Ji Ning's eyes were like lightning as he gazed into the distance. Drawing the bow and shooting arrows required little mental effort; it mainly consumed divine power! So Ji Ning could simultaneously draw the bow and shoot arrows while controlling the Water-Fire Lotus and the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation.

"Swish!"

The arrow flashed, instantly crossing the void to reach the golden-armored divine general.

"Not good." The golden-armored divine general was greatly alarmed. This arrow was even faster than the sword beams of the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation. He hurriedly blocked.

"Bang!"

The hammer in his hand trembled and cracked, then quickly recovered. The golden-armored divine general was forced back several steps.

The power of a bow and arrow lies in concentrating force into a single shot. In terms of instantaneous burst, it was naturally stronger than Ji Ning's close combat. However, the weakness of arrows was their lack of flexibility; if the enemy could dodge, the arrow was wasted.

But Ji Ning and the golden-armored divine general were only a few hundred zhang apart! With Ji Ning's divine ability 'Star Picking Hand,' the arrow crossed that distance in an instant—too fast!

Moreover, the Water-Fire Lotus and the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation were hindering and binding him!

These two reasons made it impossible for the golden-armored divine general to simply dodge; he had to rely on his own means to block.

"Bang!"

"Bang!"

Each arrow carried the force to shatter a great mountain as it struck.

The Water-Fire Lotus infused with cold abyssal fire and the ninth-layer Lesser Thousand Swords Formation powered by late Wanxiang-stage ki were no pushovers... The golden-armored divine general was pushed to his limits, his divine power constantly depleting.

"If this continues, my divine power will be exhausted. Once this clone's divine power is gone, it will automatically dissipate." The golden-armored divine general knew he could not hesitate.

"Ha!"

The golden-armored divine general suddenly roared.

His entire body blazed with golden light. His hammers turned into streaks of light, shattering the surrounding sword beams and Water-Fire Lotus as he charged straight at Ji Ning in the distance.

"Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!" "Bang!"

Ji Ning shot four arrows simultaneously!

Influenced by Ji Ning's divine sense, the arrows traced slight curves in the air, converging on the golden-armored divine general. The four arrows' encirclement left him no room to dodge... He could only block desperately, getting knocked back.

The Water-Fire Lotus and the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation's sword beams entangled him again...

Arrow after arrow, even more powerful, shot straight at him. With divine sense guiding the arrows, they became even more unpredictable. But the arrows were too powerful; divine sense could only make fine adjustments.

"You little thief, dare you fight me close?" the golden-armored divine general roared.

"You've lost."

Ji Ning said softly. As another four arrows shot simultaneously, the golden-armored divine general, after barely blocking, trembled violently, then dissipated into nothingness. Before vanishing, he let out a furious roar, clearly unwilling to accept defeat.

"Phew." Ji Ning breathed a sigh of relief.

"This divine demon's mere clone was so troublesome. I used the Star Picking Hand eighteen times in a row and unleashed thirty-nine sword beams from the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation." Feeling the massive consumption of his divine power and ki, Ji Ning was secretly shocked.

Whoosh.

Ji Ning vanished.

When his surroundings became clear, Ji Ning found himself in the main hall of the Water Mansion.

"You won with a bow?" The yellow-haired bear looked at Ji Ning, his eyes full of disbelief. In his estimation, this battle should have been extremely difficult, with close combat and fierce fighting, and Ji Ning more likely to lose.

But the result was...

He had simply shot the enemy to death from afar using the Star Picking Hand with a bow.

"The divine ability my master taught me can be used not only in close combat but also for long-range archery," Ji Ning said modestly. "I was lucky to win."

"Lucky?" The yellow-haired bear saw through Ji Ning's inner pride. "Alright, you've passed the third level. You may go to the Treasure Hall and choose one Earth-ranked treasure or an equivalent other treasure. Go!"