Chapter 41: Sword Art First Completed

The green-haired man merely snorted, then closed his eyes and sat cross-legged atop the mountain, motionless, too lazy to even bother with Ji Ning.

"In that case, I have no choice but to act," Ji Ning shook his head. With a casual sweep of his hand, a sword light instantly streaked across the sky, leaving a lingering afterimage in midair that did not dissipate for a long time. Though the strike seemed ordinary, Ji Ning had infused it with his fourth-level heartforce.

In an instant, it traversed hundreds of li and stabbed directly into the green-haired man's body.

Clang!

It sounded like striking a magic treasure, producing a clashing noise. The green-haired man did not even move. He glanced at Ji Ning and sneered, "With such paltry skills, you can't even harm me while I sit here. Get lost quickly."

"Is that so?" Ji Ning shook his head and laughed. "Although this strike of mine is not particularly powerful, if you didn't resist at all, you would have been blasted away long ago. Don't tell me you didn't consume any divine power to keep yourself sitting there steady and unmoving."

How formidable was his strike?

Even a minor world would likely be shattered by his blow! Even if the opponent's divine body was as tough as a magic treasure and hard to damage, such force striking a treasure should have sent it flying.

"Hmph, with my True God body sitting here, you can't harm me in the slightest," the green-haired man said calmly. "If I didn't care about face and let you blast me away, I wouldn't even consume divine power."

"No consumption? Ridiculous!"

"No matter how powerful a cultivator is, as long as they live, they must consume divine power or magic power," Ji Ning sneered. "Qi Refiners need to consume magic power, and you also need to consume divine power and magic power. Why are you so thin? Isn't it because you're trying to conserve divine power as much as possible? Even if I don't attack you, after a few more chaos cycles or longer, when your magic power and divine power are exhausted, you will surely die."

The green-haired man's face turned ugly.

All living beings,

as long as they live, must consume energy! Immortals and gods live forever because they can absorb the vital energy of heaven and earth. If they are in the chaos, unable to absorb vital energy and lacking the ability to absorb chaos power, even if they have elixirs and divine pills, once they run out over time, they will die!

"As long as you live, you must consume divine power and magic power. My attacks will accelerate your consumption. Let's see how long you can hold out." Ji Ning extended his hand, and a lotus flower appeared in his palm. The eight-petaled lotus quickly flew to the peak of the mountain, expanding to a thousand zhang in size. Then it turned over, facing downward, its petals fully open. Torrential flames, like divine dragons, surged downward, completely surrounding the green-haired man.

The Eight Great True Flames scorched him.

The green-haired man, within them, easily blocked them.

"Don't waste your efforts," the green-haired man growled. "These flames can't harm me."

"No rush. I have plenty of time," Ji Ning said coldly. "Under the Eight Fire Universe Boundary, your divine power and magic power must be draining quickly, right?"

The green-haired man's face darkened.

His divine body was comparable to a Pure Yang magic treasure. In terms of sheer toughness, it was on par with Ji Ning's perfected Eight Nine Mysteries. Although he had a more powerful body-tempering technique, the cost of cultivating it was too great, and he had never succeeded. Though his body was comparable to a treasure, even a treasure, without external erosion, would decay after a few chaos cycles if left for too long. That was why many Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals appeared tattered—they could spend a little magic power to maintain their treasures, but they were unwilling to.

Nothing is eternally indestructible.

Even chaos worlds have times of decline and destruction.

When Ji Ning fought, his divine body endured attacks without consuming magic power or divine power, as he claimed.

But in reality, everything had a cost—even speaking consumed a tiny amount. At Ji Ning's level, a single breath absorbed a vast amount of vital energy, making most consumption negligible.

"Damn it, damn it..." The green-haired man's face was grim.

Imprisoned here, his divine power consumption was very slow, enough to sustain life. But now, under the scorching of the Eight Fire Universe Boundary, even a Celestial Immortal would be burned to death. Though a True God would not die, his divine power consumption had clearly surged. This so-called 'surge in divine power consumption' would, in the outside world, be replenished ten or a hundred times over with a single breath.

But here, there was no replenishment.

"Submit to me, and you may yet have a chance to leave," Ji Ning said calmly. "If you resist, hmph, death is the only path."

"Damn it, this flame-containing treasure..." The green-haired man was both angry and anxious. "This jailer is attacking me solely with these eight types of flames, consuming very little of his own power. And he can often replenish from the outside. He can stalemate me indefinitely. Who refined this flame treasure? The individual flames are mediocre, but combined, their power is so great."

Seeing the green-haired man silent, Ji Ning didn't bother to say more.

Only when faced with the coffin do tears fall!

...

"Submit quickly."

Another true body clone in the World Prison stood in midair, surrounded by six treasures—bottles, gourds, and bracelets. These six treasures simultaneously released true fire, divine wind, true water, and more. In an instant, water and fire raged, black wind howled, madly besieging the female True Immortal sheltered under her magic treasure.

"The True Immortal Dongqun has already submitted. If you keep wasting time, don't blame me for being ruthless," Ji Ning shouted.

The female True Immortal only stared coldly at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning sighed inwardly.

Of his two clones, one controlled the Eight Fire Universe Boundary, and the other controlled other treasures. Clearly, their power couldn't compare to the Eight Fire Universe Boundary. That boundary was indeed the most suitable for wearing them down, as it used true fire power, consuming very little magic power.

...

The cleansing of the World Prison was destined to be slow.

True Gods and True Immortals, in the Three Realms, were at the level of True Gods and Dao Ancestors. Dealing with each one required great effort.

...

Ji Ning didn't spend much effort on the prisoners. Most of his clones were focused on comprehending and refining his sword techniques.

In the thirty-second year of Ji Ning's sword training across the Three Realms.

"Senior, be careful." A Primordial-level divine demon, wielding two large hammers, charged through the forest straight at Ji Ning. The trees in his path were knocked down or even turned to dust.

The white-robed youth Ji Ning held two swords, using the strength and speed of a Zifu-level divine demon.

The sword light, like a black hole, guided the hammers aside, then flashed as the sword stabbed straight at the demon.

"Clang." The hammer blocked it.

"Close call," the demon gasped. "This senior's strength isn't great—his arm power is clearly weak—but why was that strike so fast and so strange? I almost couldn't block it."

Ji Ning, frowning, continued sparring with the demon.

Occasionally, he would thrust.

Ji Ning's thrust had already far surpassed the mysteries of a normal sword dao master. It incorporated some mysteries from the 'Five Saber Arts,' a sword art that transcended the limits of the Heavenly Dao. Even with Zifu-level power, his thrust made the Primordial demon panic.

"Pfft."

Finally, a chillingly swift sword pierced through the demon's forehead.

The terrifying speed brought astonishing penetration.

"Yes, that's the feeling." Ji Ning revealed a faint smile.

"Senior," the Primordial demon was utterly stunned, quickly saying, "I concede defeat. Your sword art is beyond imagination—I've never even heard of it."

"Continue," Ji Ning ordered.

Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!

The poor demon was pierced by Ji Ning's sword again and again!

"This strike, among the five sword styles, seems simple but is the fastest and most direct. It's the second to take shape," Ji Ning nodded. "This style shall be called 'Blooddrop.'"

Blooddrop Style: The fastest, most ferocious, and most penetrating sword.

...

In the thirty-sixth year of Ji Ning's sword training, within a minor world.

"Go, go, go." A purple-clad girl stood in the distance, controlling a pair of flying swords, one purple and one cyan, which shot toward Ji Ning like streaks of light.

"Boom." "Boom."

Ji Ning held two swords, each seeming to contain astonishing weight. When he swung, it felt like swinging a mace or a hammer. When his swords collided with the incoming flying swords, they emitted deep, resonant booms, smashing the girl's swords flying backward.

"How is this possible? This senior's strength isn't great—he's only at the Zifu level—and I'm a Primordial Daoist. Why can he smash my flying swords back head-on?" The purple-clad girl was completely baffled.

"This style has also taken shape," Ji Ning smiled. "This style shall be called 'Heavencollapse.'"

Heavencollapse Style: The weight of a magic treasure can be altered. Even ordinary Mortal-grade or Earth-grade treasures can be made as heavy as ten thousand jin or as light as a feather through certain restrictions. As for innate spirit treasures, like the Zhutian Star Gold Beads, they can be as heavy as a small star or light enough to float.

But even for Ji Ning, making all 3,600 Zhutian Star Gold Beads as heavy as stars was beyond his control. So, what suited him was best.

The Heavencollapse Style involved making the sword heavier to attack with 'weight.' If the sword was too heavy, it would be too slow; if too light, it couldn't gain speed. For maximum speed, there was an optimal weight based on the cultivator's strength.

The Heavencollapse Style combined speed with ferocious power, like splitting heaven and earth.

...

In the forty-third year of Ji Ning's sword training.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh... Dense divine needles, over ten thousand of them, enveloped Ji Ning.

Ji Ning held his two swords.

Two sword lights flashed, and two opposite-rotating vortex water curtains appeared in the air. The ten thousand needles struck but were all blocked by these two counter-rotating vortex curtains.

"This style shall be called Yin-Yang," Ji Ning nodded.

Yin-Yang Style: A defensive sword technique against overwhelming attacks.

...

In the fifty-first year of Ji Ning's sword training.

"What's with this senior? He's always weak in strength and speed, only at the Zifu level, yet he wants to take on all thirteen of us brothers?"

"How strange."

"But he's really impressive. Whether we fight close or attack from afar with treasures, we can't harm him."

Thirteen Primordial-level demon妖怪 joined forces, some of them practicing divine body cultivation.

Ji Ning held his two swords.

Sometimes a sword turned into a black hole, sometimes a water curtain vortex enveloped him, perfectly blocking everything. He also fought hand-to-hand with the three divine-body-cultivating demons.

The battle had lasted a full day and two nights.

"Still missing something."

"Not right."

Ji Ning had vaguely touched the key point, so he kept going.

Suddenly—

Three eerie sword lights flashed and vanished.

The heads of the three close-combat demons flew into the air. Though the heads quickly flew back and reattached, the thirteen demons were completely stunned. Under their siege, he had actually decapitated three Primordial divine-body-cultivating demons?

"Hmm, finally taking shape," Ji Ning smiled. "This style shall be called 'Shadowless.'"

Shadowless Style: The most eerie and extremely fast sword, second only to the 'Blooddrop Style' in speed, surpassing the other three styles. The Blooddrop Style was relatively straightforward, while the Shadowless Style was more sinister.

...

A wooden boat drifted on a river.

Ji Ning sat in the boat, deep in thought. The bald old servant, Jiutian Celestial Immortal, silently guarded nearby.

"After fifty-one years of sword training, with the 'Five Saber Arts' as the foundation and my understanding of the sword dao, the five styles have finally taken shape," Ji Ning felt joy in his heart. Only today did he truly categorize and classify the boundless world of the sword.

All sword techniques

could be divided into these five styles.

The first two chapters of the Five Saber Arts had also been broken down and integrated by Ji Ning, making all five of his sword styles extremely fast!

"The five styles of the Brightmoon Sword Art: Heartheart, Yin-Yang, Blooddrop, Heavencollapse, and Shadowless." Ji Ning had a feeling that any one of these five styles, developed to its extreme, would far surpass any sword technique in the Three Realms.

Of course, that required him to continuously refine them. For now, they were only a prototype.

"Disciple." A spatial vortex appeared at the bow of the wooden boat, and Patriarch Subhuti emerged from it.

Ji Ning quickly stood up: "Master."

"Patriarch." Jiutian Celestial Immortal also bowed respectfully in fear.

...