Chapter 30: The Foundation for Roaming the World

Silver Moon shook his head with a smile: “It’s not that I’m formidable, but on Mount Fangcun, only a few practice the ‘Eight Nine Mysteries.’ With a little deduction, I could guess it was you, Junior Brother.”

Ji Ning nodded. The Eight Nine Mysteries was kept in the Three Realms Palace; only direct disciples or those permitted by the Patriarch could learn it.

“If you had transformed into someone else, I probably wouldn’t have seen through it,” Silver Moon said with a smile. “These Seventy-Two Transformations, which change the body, soul, and aura completely, even altering external merit and sin, are indeed remarkable transformation divine abilities.”

Ji Ning nodded.

Yes.

For instance, if he turned into a rock, his three-foot golden light of merit would be fully concealed. If he turned into a villain, he could manifest a bloody light of sin.

“Back in the ancient Primordial World, there was a great ancient demon who used these Seventy-Two Transformations to impersonate a Buddha. He swaggered around for several thousand years before being discovered,” Silver Moon said with a smile. “Now that you’ve entered the gate of the Eight Nine Mysteries and established the foundation, the Seventy-Two Transformations alone are a top-tier means of escape and concealment.”

“But they are merely arts of hiding and deception. When truly trapped, one relies on combat strength,” Silver Moon said. “Junior Brother, although you, at the early Void Refining stage, can match an ordinary Celestial Immortal, even slightly stronger Celestial Immortals could probably deal with you, even slay you.”

“I understand,” Ji Ning said. He knew it too.

Unless he was lucky enough to encounter very weak Celestial Immortals, his current strength could only show off among those below the Celestial Immortal level.

“So I came to you, Senior Brother, to ask for your help,” Ji Ning said with a smile.

“Help?” Silver Moon waved his feather fan leisurely. “Speak. What is it?”

“Junior Brother is weak now. Not just in the Three Realms, but even in a major world, any random Celestial Immortal might be able to slay me. So I want to first cultivate the Eight Nine Mysteries to the third turn,” Ji Ning said.

Silver Moon’s eyes widened. “Cultivating the Eight Nine Mysteries consumes immense treasures. Even I, after endless years, have only reached the sixth turn! You’re not asking me to gift you treasures for cultivation, are you? That won’t do!”

Cultivating the Eight Nine Mysteries consumed too many treasures.

Wanting to reach the ninth turn?

Even a Dao Ancestor would find it painful!

Even a great demon like Silver Moon, a Heavenly God, had only reached the sixth turn. In theory, a Heavenly God could reach the ninth turn, but there simply weren’t enough treasures.

“Of course I’m not asking you to give them to me directly,” Ji Ning said quickly. “During my recent descent to the mortal world, I obtained some Immortal-grade treasures. I want to trade them with you for some Immortal Pills!”

“Immortal-grade treasures for Immortal Pills?” Silver Moon nodded lightly.

Immortal Pills referred to Immortal-grade Spirit Pills, Pure Yang Spirit Pills, and Grand Luo Spirit Pills.

“That’s acceptable,” Silver Moon finally nodded. “Show me the Immortal-grade treasures you have. Senior Brother won’t let you suffer a loss… In trading Immortal-grade treasures for Immortal Pills, I certainly won’t take advantage of you.”

Ji Ning smiled and waved his hand.

Whoosh.

Instantly, a number of Immortal-grade treasures appeared around him, all floating in the air. These were the spoils from killing the various demon kings and the evil patriarch during his descent. He even took out the Immortal-grade low-grade flying sword that the Grand Xia Emperor had bestowed upon him.

“Let me inspect them.” Silver Moon quickly released his divine power and refined these treasures.

In theory, divine power could not be used to wield treasures.

But once one transcended the tribulation and became a Heavenly God, the divine power was miraculous—it could refine and use any treasure. The Chaos Heavenly Gods and Chaos True Gods born from Chaos could easily use treasures. Only weaker innate gods and demons, or ordinary gods and demons, had to use divine weapons.

“Hmm.” After inspecting, Silver Moon said, “Three top-grade Immortal treasures, nineteen high-grade Immortal treasures, twenty-one mid-grade Immortal treasures, and sixteen low-grade Immortal treasures.”

Silver Moon counted each piece individually. For example, the Fire Wing Demon King’s six curved blades counted as six pieces. That was why there were so many.

“Junior Brother, this is far too little.” Silver Moon looked at Ji Ning helplessly. “With these Immortal-grade treasures, the Immortal Pills you can exchange for won’t be enough to cultivate to the third turn.”

Ji Ning quickly asked, “How much short?”

“Even if I’m generous and take a loss, I can at most give you sixty top-grade Immortal Spirit Pills. To reach the third turn, even if all were top-grade Immortal Spirit Pills, you’d need at least a hundred,” Silver Moon said helplessly.

Ji Ning was also helpless.

He had kept only one low-grade Immortal flying sword for Xiaoqing and the Immortal-grade treasures from the Water Mansion for Uncle Bai. He used the Thousandbull Sword and the Plow Heaven Sword Formation himself. He had taken out all other Immortal-grade treasures. Now, if he used Three Heads Six Arms without the Plow Heaven Sword Formation, he couldn’t even produce three Immortal flying swords!

“How about this.” Silver Moon flipped his hand and produced a piece of paper. “Write on this that today you borrow forty top-grade Immortal Spirit Pills. Within ten thousand years, you must return one hundred top-grade Immortal Spirit Pills to me. If you don’t return them within ten thousand years, I’ll take your most important treasure as payment!”

Silver Moon fanned himself, smiling as he looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning was resigned.

He had long heard of this Senior Brother Silver Moon’s infamy. Disciples of Mount Fangcun secretly called him ‘Silver Moon the Great Demon’ because, as a Heavenly God, he even exploited ordinary disciples. Today, as his junior brother, he had finally experienced it.

“Alright.” Ji Ning lowered his head.

“Write quickly.” Silver Moon smiled. “That Immortal sword you used to practice sword techniques last time was quite good, with the power of a Pure Yang treasure. That single sword is worth nearly a hundred top-grade Immortal Spirit Pills. I believe that within ten thousand years, you should be able to get an even better treasure.”

Ji Ning immediately wrote an IOU.

Between senior and junior brothers, an IOU was enough. Everyone valued face.

“Here, take it!” Silver Moon flipped his hand and handed Ji Ning a white jade bottle. “These are all top-grade Immortal Spirit Pills, from the Tushita Palace, containing extremely pure energy. They are very suitable for cultivating the Eight Nine Mysteries.”

…

In an instant, he became poor, even owing Senior Brother Silver Moon one hundred top-grade Immortal Spirit Pills. But Ji Ning was willing. With his current strength, he couldn’t even graduate, as even slightly stronger Celestial Immortals could destroy him.

“Eight Nine Mysteries.”

Ji Ning sat cross-legged on the Netherwater Jade Bed, picked up the jade bottle, and poured out a spirit pill. The pill was white like jade, with a faint fragrance that made him salivate.

If an ordinary Zifu Disciple or Wanxiang Adept ate this top-grade Immortal Spirit Pill, they probably couldn’t refine it, and their Zifu would burst! The energy within was so pure it rivaled a Celestial Immortal’s mana. Such pills were used by reincarnated immortals to quickly reach high realms.

Or by Celestial Immortals to instantly replenish mana during life-or-death battles, or to supplement mana when refining ‘Innate Spirit Treasures’…

“Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~~”

One top-grade Immortal Spirit Pill was worth a high-grade Immortal treasure.

Ji Ning swallowed it in one gulp.

Then he began to circulate the Eight Nine Mysteries technique. This technique forged the body into an indestructible treasure. Forging a treasure required vast energy, and the top-grade Immortal Spirit Pill was used to replenish that energy. As for ordinary liquid essence? It was too slow to absorb and couldn’t fuel the Eight Nine Mysteries.

“Buzz, buzz, buzz~~~” Ji Ning’s entire body underwent a fundamental transformation. Sinews, bones, muscles, skin, hair… every part of his body rapidly transformed.

If before, his sinews and bones were like a piece of tofu, then after the first top-grade Immortal Spirit Pill was fully consumed, they had reached the level of rock.

Of course, his divine body had already been strong before, so one could imagine the great progress of the Eight Nine Mysteries.

“The first turn is complete!”

Ji Ning felt the power of his divine body. One top-grade Immortal Spirit Pill had allowed his body to reach the first turn, becoming immensely strong.

“Clang.” Ji Ning formed a sword finger with his hand and slashed across his arm. The sword light passed, leaving only a faint white mark.

“My body can now rival a Heaven-grade treasure. Even if I stood there and let a Loose Immortal strike me, I wouldn’t be harmed. And this is only the first turn.”

“This Eight Nine Mysteries is far more powerful than the technique of the Nine Deaths True Immortal from the Immortal Fortune Convention. His body was like a treasure, but compared to the Eight Nine Mysteries, it’s far inferior.” Ji Ning didn’t think too much. The Eight Nine Mysteries required at least the Primordial Soul God stage to even begin cultivation.

Back then, the Nine Deaths True Immortal was only at the Wanxiang stage; even if the Eight Nine Mysteries were placed before him, he couldn’t cultivate it.

“Second pill.” Ji Ning didn’t hesitate and swallowed another.

One by one, the top-grade Immortal Spirit Pills, containing extremely pure energy, turned into streams of energy that were absorbed by every part of Ji Ning’s body. His body was like a sponge, frantically absorbing the power of the Immortal Pills, then undergoing fundamental transformations, like a sword being tempered repeatedly.

“Eleventh pill.” As Ji Ning refined the eleventh top-grade Immortal Spirit Pill, the second turn of the Eight Nine Mysteries was also completed.

…

One by one, the Immortal Pills were consumed.

Ji Ning’s body continued to soar in toughness. “Clang, clang, clang~~~” During cultivation, his body emitted rumbling sounds. Muscles collided like two great mountains. His heart expanded like a vast ocean shaking.

Ji Ning knew this was a form of tempering!

Ordinary treasures were tempered by external forces like fire. But the Eight Nine Mysteries tempered the body from within—every organ, even the skin and hair, was constantly tempered. Even a single strand of Ji Ning’s hair could not be cut by a Loose Immortal’s frantic slashing.

“Boom~~~” When Ji Ning’s body emitted a rumbling sound—muscles rumbling, sinews rumbling, organs rumbling—the sound even had a beautiful musical quality.

Ji Ning’s skin faintly glowed with black light. He was like a fearsome treasure. Then the black light faded, and he became ordinary again, with fair, delicate skin that showed no sign of his power.

“Haha, the third turn is finally complete.” Ji Ning was overjoyed. He flipped his hand and produced the Thousandbull Sword. “Let me test its power.”

“Whoosh!”

The Thousandbull Sword turned into a black dragon sword light with overwhelming momentum, directly slashing at his left arm, but it didn’t even leave a white mark.

“Star Picking Hand.” Ji Ning fully erupted, and the sword’s power was even more astonishing.

“Bang!”

A rumble echoed in the quiet room, but Ji Ning’s left arm still had not a single white mark.

“With the third turn complete, my divine body rivals an Immortal-grade treasure. Even with my full strength, I can’t leave a mark. Even a Celestial Immortal would be dumbfounded looking at me. No wonder it’s the number one divine ability below the True God level in the Three Realms. Second Incarnation, Plow Heaven Sword Formation, attack!” Ji Ning was exhilarated. A black-robed Ji Ning appeared before him, directly controlling the Plow Heaven Sword Formation. Nine sword scars streaked through the air, whistling as they stabbed at Ji Ning’s bare chest!

…