Chapter 25: The Domain of the Great Dao

Mu Zishuo and Jiulian, who were close to Ji Ning, both knew that Ji Ning's mother was called Yuchi Xue. But they had been thinking to delay as much as possible, at least to escape alive from this major world. Then, with the resources of Dongyan clan and the Black-White College, they could send Ji Ning to other minor worlds or even major worlds to flee.

Unfortunately...

Xue Hongyi had long investigated Ji Ning, even purchasing intelligence about him from Tianbao Mountain, so he naturally knew the identity of Ji Ning's mother.

"Shaoyan Nong!" Jiulian was furious.

"Stop." Yu Wei's brow suddenly lit up with white light, her aura rapidly becoming terrifying as she shouted angrily.

Cangjiang Zhenren and Mu Zishuo each shouted angrily.

"Whoosh."

Xiangliu Fang merely extended one hand, and his palm instantly grew enormous, while his five fingers transformed into five great serpents, each a hundred zhang long, stretching respectively toward Jiulian, Yu Wei, Mu Zishuo, and Cangjiang Zhenren. The terrifying aura emanating from each serpent made Jiulian and the others' faces turn ugly.

"Jiulian, I won't kill you," Shaoyan Nong pointed at Jiulian. "But as for your three fellow disciples, if Uncle Fang dares to make a move, kill them directly."

Although he had designs on Yu Wei,

to Shaoyan Nong, women were merely playthings. Playthings, after all, were just playthings. If he said kill, he would kill.

"You..."

"Shaoyan Nong..."

Jiulian, Mu Zishuo, Yu Wei, and Cangjiang Zhenren were all gnashing their teeth in fury, but they knew well Xiangliu Fang's strength—he absolutely possessed overwhelming power. Although they had some protective treasures, at most they could save their lives for a short time. Turning the tables was utterly impossible.

"Senior brother, senior sister, junior brother, Jiulian." Ji Ning looked at Shaoyan Nong on the great hall and said calmly, "Don't interfere. This is between Shaoyan Nong and me."

"Ji Ning." Jiulian called out anxiously.

Ji Ning looked at Jiulian: "Don't worry."

"Shaoyan Nong!!!" Jiulian raged, "You are provoking my Dongyan clan!"

"If it were the Dongyan Patriarch saying that, I would have to think twice. But you?" Shaoyan Nong shook his head with a smile.

Jiulian's hand suddenly produced a startling black lotus, which rapidly grew larger. This made Xiangliu Fang coldly shout: "You're asking for death!" Instantly, the great serpent formed from his finger crashed recklessly against the black lotus. The black lotus trembled, then cracks appeared. The cracked black lotus still flew toward the great serpent.

Boom!

The great serpent quickly turned into an ice sculpture, then shattered completely. Even Xiangliu Fang's entire palm was frozen solid, all the way to the elbow, and then shattered. But then Xiangliu Fang's arm grew back. Slap! The great serpent formed from his finger struck Jiulian, sending her flying back, spitting blood.

"Not bad, but it can only wound Uncle Fang," Shaoyan Nong shook his head. "Even I can't produce a treasure that can kill Uncle Fang, let alone you."

Xiangliu Fang was of the ancient god-demon Xiangliu clan, with immense vitality and combat power comparable to a top-tier loose immortal.

To kill Xiangliu Fang?

How difficult that was.

"Xue Hongyi, I'll give you a chance to earn merit," Shaoyan Nong looked at Xue Hongyi. "Go, kill Ji Ning."

"Me kill Ji Ning?" Xue Hongyi was startled.

"Will you kill him or not?" A cold glint flashed in Shaoyan Nong's eyes.

Xue Hongyi cursed inwardly. He had been currying favor with Shaoyan Nong, even revealing that Ji Ning's mother was named 'Yuchi Xue,' hoping to please him. But he never expected Shaoyan Nong to be so ruthless. He actually wanted him to kill Ji Ning, and he had no confidence at all.

"Kill, kill." Xue Hongyi nodded repeatedly, thinking to himself, "I may not be able to kill Ji Ning, but I'm confident I can save my life."

"Ji Ning, die!" Xue Hongyi shouted angrily, and instantly a stream of flying needles shot toward Ji Ning.

Shaoyan Nong and Xiangliu Fang stood on the great hall, watching this scene. Shaoyan Nong's eyes even held anticipation: "This Xue Hongyi should be slightly weaker than Ji Ning. If Ji Ning really fights desperately, he should be able to kill Xue Hongyi... Once Xue Hongyi dies, his immortal-grade magic treasure will be mine."

"Uncle Fang, after Xue Hongyi dies, you can make your move and kill Ji Ning," Shaoyan Nong transmitted. "Then the immortal-grade magic treasure will be mine."

"Yes, young master." Xiangliu Fang said.

...

When Ji Ning heard Shaoyan Nong say, 'Kill Ji Ning, anyone who obstructs my Shaoyan clan will be killed without mercy,' a resolve instantly formed in his heart—kill Shaoyan Nong!

Xiangliu Fang was too powerful; Ji Ning had no confidence at all, but at this moment he could no longer care.

"Kill." Xue Hongyi charged.

"First kill you, then kill Shaoyan Nong." Ji Ning held a pair of Northmoon swords, and now he couldn't be bothered to use his wings to conceal them.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!

A stream of flying needles came down like a blanket covering the sky.

"Kill!" Ji Ning let out a furious roar. At this moment, Ji Ning's sword-heart was more resolute than ever.

He understood.

At this moment, he had stepped onto another path. If he did not kill Shaoyan Nong, because he was trapped in the immortal mansion and couldn't escape, then he would die! If he killed Shaoyan Nong, as the most likely candidate for the next Feather God Duke, the Shaoyan clan would definitely hunt him down madly—a force far more terrifying than the Anchan Northshan clan.

Two paths.

One was a dead end.

The other was being hunted by the Shaoyan clan.

Pushed to this point, Ji Ning instead became incomparably resolute.

"Boom!"

His mind was clearer than ever before. Ji Ning suddenly felt time slow down. The great Dao that he had been striving to touch but had never truly entered finally allowed him to step into it. This was... the Dao of the Sword! It was a vast and mighty Dao. At this moment, Ji Ning felt as if he himself had become a sword, roaming freely within the Dao.

In that instant, Ji Ning fully entered the 'Realm of the Grand Dao'.

Ordinary cultivators seeking enlightenment might experience the 'Realm of the Dao', but that referred to lesser Daos. The Sword Dao was one of the Grand Daos. Attaining the 'Realm of the Grand Dao' was actually far more difficult than comprehending a complete ordinary Dao. Although Ji Ning had long reached the fifth stance of the Three-Foot Sword, if he had not been pushed to his limits this time, suddenly achieving clarity and penetrating the final barrier, he would not have been able to comprehend this level.

Within the sea of consciousness.

Ji Ning's soul had transformed into a sword—an extraordinarily dazzling sword. This was the 'Sword Soul' that only a sword immortal who had truly stepped into the 'Realm of the Grand Dao' could possess. It was a fundamental transformation of the soul's essence.

Whoosh. The sword instantly transformed back into Ji Ning's form, but the soul Ji Ning now radiated a faint sword light.

"What is the meaning of a single life?"

"It is to seek a life of exhilaration."

"Kill, kill, kill."

"Kill all injustices!"

"Kill all who deserve death!"

"Only then can I live with joy."

"As a loose immortal, there is no path to eternal life."

"Yet..."

"One day of joyful living is better than a hundred years of stifled existence."

"My sword is a sword of joy, a sword of exhilaration, a sword that slays all injustices. This sword art is called the 'Three-Foot Sword'."

As Ji Ning faced Xue Hongyi in battle, he laughed heartily: "Kill, kill, kill, slay all injustices, slay all who deserve death. One day of joyful living is better than a hundred years of stifled existence." Accompanied by Ji Ning's laughter, the Northsea sword in his hand suddenly became extraordinarily dazzling and overwhelmingly mighty.

Whoosh!

Incredibly terrifying sword qi instantly filled the entire great hall. A dazzling sword light, with irresistible force, shattered all the flying needle treasures and then swept across Xue Hongyi's body.

"I, I, I..." Xue Hongyi's eyes bulged wide. He had never expected such an end. Under the terrifying sword qi that reached an extreme and even directly attacked the soul, his soul began to disintegrate and scatter.

Then his body split in two and fell to the ground.

The sixth stance of the Three-Foot Sword—Realm of the Grand Dao!

As the supreme sword art of the Black-White College, the Three-Foot Sword had only six stances passed down in the mortal world, though the final three stances were taught through the sword immortal legacy.

First stance: 'Sword Heart Illumined'

Second stance: 'Thorns Everywhere'

Third stance: 'Sudden Sword Light'

Fourth stance: 'Blazing Sun at High Noon'

Fifth stance: 'Sword Hidden in Moonlight'

Sixth stance: 'Realm of the Grand Dao'

These stances had no fixed form. For example, the first stance, Sword Heart Illumined, manifested differently for each cultivator. The Three-Foot Sword primarily served as a guide, leading sword immortals to develop their own unique style. Every practitioner of the Three-Foot Sword could unleash their own version of it.

And Ji Ning, pushed to the brink, with his heart united with the Grand Dao, had attained the 'Realm of the Grand Dao'. The power of the sword he comprehended was terrifying beyond measure.

"This is the Realm of the Grand Dao?" Shaoyan Nong, who had remained composed throughout, suddenly changed expression as he sensed the sword qi permeating the entire hall, causing even his heart to tremble. He stared at the wild-looking native youth in animal skins named Ji Ning, who had killed Xue Hongyi with a single strike. "How old is he? And he has already reached the Realm of the Grand Dao, and in the Sword Dao, the most offensive of Daos!"

For a moment, Shaoyan Nong felt jealousy. Why didn't he possess such talent? Why did it have to be in this native youth?

"Realm of the Grand Dao?"

"This Sword Dao..."

Yu Wei, Cangjiang Zhenren, and Jiu Lian were all stunned. The spreading sword qi carried a sense of resolve, sharpness, and invincibility.

The sword is a sharp weapon.

Only when a sword immortal's heart is truly as sharp, resolute, and unstoppable as a sword can they truly grasp the essence of the 'Sword Dao'.

Once the sword is drawn, there is no regret.

Once the sword is drawn, nothing can stop it.

Such is the sword immortal!

"Kill." Ji Ning gripped his sword with both hands, his body rapidly expanding to become a ten-zhang giant. He simultaneously activated the divine ability 'Star Picking Hand'. The sword light in his hand grew to a terrifying degree. But Xiangliu Fang roared and slapped down with a palm like a dark cloud, while the massive serpents frenziedly lunged to devour.

Bang!

With a thunderous crash, Xiangliu Fang's palm and serpents were torn open, blood splattering and divine power soaring.

Ji Ning was sent flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth. He realized that despite his greatly increased strength, compared to Xiangliu Fang, who possessed combat power at the level of a top-tier loose immortal, a single palm strike from his opponent could defeat him. The gap was too vast.

"Ji Ning."

"Senior apprentice-brother."

Mu Zishuo, Yu Wei, and Jiu Lian cried out in alarm.

As Ji Ning flew backward, madness filled his eyes. A black ring that had been wrapped around his arm suddenly appeared in his palm. This was a treasure personally crafted by San Dao the Daoist in ancient times, and it was the only offensive treasure among Ji Ning's two protective artifacts. He had no other options left.

"Go!" Ji Ning hurled the black ring from his hand.