Chapter 23: Returning Home

Between the white clouds, a spatial vortex appeared out of thin air, from which an old man in a Daoist robe and a young boy emerged.

Ji Ning looked down below.

With a single glance, he saw Mount Fangcun, and could even clearly see the many disciples of the Mount Fangcun lineage living a peaceful life there.

"Let's go." Bodhi led Ji Ning directly downward, quickly arriving at the core of the entire Mount Fangcun's Xieyue Sanxing Cave—that seemingly ordinary Daoist temple. The temple was where Patriarch Bodhi usually cultivated in solitude; disciples like Ji Ning did not dare to disturb him casually.

Inside the temple.

After descending, Bodhi sat cross-legged on a high seat.

Ji Ning also bowed respectfully: "If not for Master's rescue this time, I fear I would never have returned to the Three Realms. I am ashamed to have caused Master to go to such trouble for me."

Bodhi smiled: "Sit down."

Ji Ning chose a cushion below and sat cross-legged.

"How was the taste of karmic fire?" Bodhi asked.

"I would not wish to experience it a second time," Ji Ning said. "Now the karmic fire clings to me constantly, though the burning pain is still bearable. This descent of karmic fire, though a calamity, has also brought me no small gain."

"Misfortune is where fortune depends," Bodhi smiled. "What level has your heartforce reached?"

"The third level," Ji Ning said.

Bodhi nodded with a smile: "I noticed that when you fought that alien race, your use of heartforce on your sword-finger had reached a point where not a trace leaked out. It seems you have comprehended the method of applying heartforce to the sword-finger."

"After eighteen years of continuous battle, I gained some insights," Ji Ning said.

"Do you know why that alien race did not kill you, but instead fought with you for eighteen years?" Bodhi asked in return.

Ji Ning was stunned, then shook his head: "Those aliens said they were using me as a target to temper their warriors. But I feel... that might not be the real reason."

Bodhi nodded gently: "Your feeling is correct. Because you have mastered heartforce and know the method of its application. Heartforce... is a very mysterious power, one that even the True Gods and Dao Ancestors are studying. The five levels of heartforce are weak at the beginning, but the further you go, each level brings earth-shattering changes. The third level of heartforce is already quite astonishing. With this third-level heartforce, you have even reached the threshold of a Celestial Immortal."

Ji Ning understood.

The first level was relatively weak, with almost negligible improvement in strength. The second level was a clear surge. The third level was a huge leap on top of the original foundation. The fourth level was the level of the strongest archers in the Three Realms today, and the fifth level was that of Hou Yi, who had long since vanished.

"Heartforce is very powerful. If you can reach the fifth level, even if you are only a Celestial Immortal, you will have the strength of a Dao Ancestor or True God," Bodhi looked at Ji Ning. "The peak of heartforce is even stronger than your Star Picking Hand. You have talent in heartforce; you must not slack off."

"Disciple understands," Ji Ning nodded.

But reaching the fifth level was no easy feat.

In the Three Realms, it was publicly known that only Hou Yi had reached the fifth level. Perhaps some top True Gods and Dao Ancestors had also reached the fifth level in secret without revealing or using it. But clearly, the fifth level was extremely difficult.

"The reason the aliens of the Broken Horn World did not kill you is that the master of the Broken Horn World had long since descended his will onto those warriors, wanting to use the repeated battles with you to carefully sense your heartforce fluctuations and deduce the heartforce techniques," Bodhi said. "I suspect that over the eighteen years, the master of the Broken Horn World must have gained something. Heartforce is a unique technique controlled by our Three Realms and must never be passed on."

"They gained something? Must not be passed on?" Ji Ning was alarmed. "Disciple..."

"The entire Broken Horn World has been destroyed by me, and the master of the Broken Horn World is already dead. The heartforce techniques they deduced are now useless," Bodhi said.

Ji Ning breathed a sigh of relief, then was horrified.

The Broken Horn World destroyed?

Master had saved him and brought him back to Mount Fangcun, never leaving his side. Yet, without Ji Ning knowing, Master had already destroyed an entire Broken Horn World and even killed its master. From the earlier battle between the three Mother Queen clones and the seven Celestial Immortals, Ji Ning could guess that the master of the Broken Horn World must have been very strong.

"Master is truly unfathomable," Ji Ning thought to himself.

"By the way, your Dao companion, the one named Yu Wei," Bodhi said. "She has already overcome the tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal. Do you know?"

"Senior apprentice-sister has become a Celestial Immortal?" Ji Ning was both delighted and surprised.

Surprised because senior apprentice-sister had become a Celestial Immortal before him. Before she left with Patriarch Lü, her strength was not particularly outstanding at the Immortal Fortune Meeting. Who would have thought that decades later, she would become a Celestial Immortal? Even faster than him!

"When will your second true body undergo the tribulation?" Bodhi asked. What the master cared about most was naturally the matter of the tribulation, the greatest trial for a cultivator.

"In the near future," Ji Ning said.

"You need to comprehend the method of applying heartforce to immortal swords," Bodhi said. "Your experiences and opportunities are extraordinary. Even if your second true body practices the Qi Refining path, the tribulation will likely be formidable. If you can apply heartforce to immortal swords, greatly increasing the power of the swords you control, I believe your chances of overcoming the tribulation will be much greater. Over these eighteen years, you have comprehended the method for the sword-finger. The sword-finger and immortal swords are not too different; both are used to execute sword techniques. I believe you can comprehend it."

"Yes," Ji Ning also understood his master's concern.

Indeed.

If the second true body could also apply heartforce when executing the 'Grand Thousand Sword Formation,' the increase in strength would be astonishing, and the chances of overcoming the tribulation would indeed be much greater.

"Disciple will definitely comprehend the method of applying heartforce to immortal swords before undergoing the tribulation," Ji Ning said.

"As for your true body, it is best to achieve great mastery in the Dao of the Sword before undergoing the tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal," Bodhi added.

"Great mastery in the Dao of the Sword?" Ji Ning was taken aback.

Although his sword Dao was already high, there was still some distance from great mastery. And generally, the closer one got to great mastery, the harder it was to break through the bottleneck.

"You have grasped the power of the sword, which counts as understanding the essence of the sword. You can fully comprehend the Dao of the Sword at the Return to Void stage. Only then will you have some chance," Bodhi looked solemnly at Ji Ning. "I am not too worried about your second true body's tribulation. But for your true body's tribulation... you must be extremely cautious."

Ji Ning also felt the invisible pressure.

He nodded lightly.

Yes.

Back in the Three Realms, the intangible sense of fate was stronger. Whenever the tribulation of his true body was mentioned, Ji Ning felt a sense of dread rising in his heart. He knew this was a warning from the unseen fate. In the Three Realms, there were some true prodigies born from the essence of heaven and earth. But the more prodigious they were, the more terrifying the heavenly tribulation. If they could survive it, they would truly soar to become prominent figures in the Three Realms. But the vast majority died under the tribulation!

"Little Bear," Bodhi suddenly called out.

Whoosh.

Beside Ji Ning appeared a yellow-furred bear, who knelt respectfully and said, "Little Bear pays respects to the Dao Ancestor."

"Call the seven of them out," Bodhi said.

"Yes," the yellow-furred bear did not dare to be negligent.

Ji Ning's heart tightened. He was very curious about those seven Celestial Immortals. After all, back in the Water Mansion's War God Hall, it was a clone formed from a drop of Red Snow Celestial Immortal's blood that had tested him. And earlier, when he was in danger, it was these seven Celestial Immortals who had come to his rescue.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Seven figures appeared out of thin air. They all looked like humans, but in fact, this was their transformed appearance. As divine demons, they were usually enormous in size. Their appearances varied, but the most supreme beings like Pangu and Nuwa were very similar to humans. Divine demons also liked to take human form. Many divine demons secretly speculated that the reason humans had such astonishing potential was that Nuwa had created humans using 'Pangu' as a template.

"Greetings, Patriarch," the seven Celestial Immortals all bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Patriarch, for saving our lives earlier," Red Snow Celestial Immortal said respectfully, leading the group.

"Even if I hadn't gone, you would have survived," Bodhi smiled. "You could have returned to the Star Picking Mansion, to your world, and hidden Ji Ning in your world. In a frontal fight, you couldn't match the Broken Horn World. But with the formations and restrictions of your world, you could still hold them off."

"But there were three Dao Ancestors..." Red Snow Celestial Immortal was stunned, and the other six Celestial Immortals were also stunned.

Returning to Sanshou's world and using the world-covering formations to resist external enemies was their last resort. But a Dao Ancestor's strength was immense, and this time there were three Dao Ancestors. They didn't think they could hold them off.

But Patriarch Bodhi, given his status, must have had a reason for saying so.

"Three Dao Ancestors? You overestimate those three little crawlers," Bodhi shook his head. "Those non-Three Realms races, you know nothing about them. They cannot be simply judged by the strength divisions of our Three Realms."

The seven Celestial Immortals were curious.

Ji Ning was also curious.

"In the Broken Horn World, there were eighteen wearing golden cloaks. By your division, that would be eighteen Celestial Immortals," Bodhi said. "But in reality, the horned warriors of their race all have vital points. Once their heart cores are destroyed, they are sure to die."

"Like the immortals of our Three Realms, although their physical bodies are relatively weak, they can control magic treasures from a distance and never fight up close. As for Celestial Immortals and True Gods who fight in close quarters, they have no vital points," Bodhi said. "But these creatures can only fight in close quarters and have vital points."

"As for those three little crawlers, their actual combat strength is not strong, only at the peak of Celestial Immortal level. They excel at reproduction; their reproductive ability is astonishing," Bodhi sighed. "In that great calamity back then, there were over ten thousand of these little crawlers. They bred countless warriors, and these countless warriors could merge into one. Kill one batch, and another would appear. Under the control of their master, these ten thousand little crawlers caused heavy losses to our Three Realms side."

Ji Ning was shocked: "Over ten thousand? Master, you said they have a master?"

That great calamity back then...

What exactly had happened?

"These little crawlers share a common master," Bodhi sighed. "He was an existence far more powerful than me, only Nuwa could suppress him. Fortunately, that demon is already dead."

"Red Snow, you are only one step away from being a True God or Dao Ancestor. Cultivate well and become a True God or Dao Ancestor as soon as possible," Bodhi looked at Red Snow Celestial Immortal.

"Red Snow understands," Red Snow Celestial Immortal said respectfully.

"Ji Ning probably has things to say to you," Bodhi smiled. "Alright, you may return to the Grand Xia world. If you have anything to say, talk it over slowly among yourselves."

Bodhi waved his hand.

A spatial vortex appeared before them.

Ji Ning bowed respectfully, and the seven Celestial Immortals also bowed. Then they stepped into the spatial vortex together, leaving Mount Fangcun and heading for the Grand Xia world.