Chapter 27: The Final Obstacle—The Path of Ten Thousand Blades

"How powerful are the guardians on the Path of Ten Thousand Blades? What special traits do they have?" Ji Ning inquired.

This was the final obstacle, and Ji Ning understood that the guardians must be terrifying.

The Sinful God and the Sealing Throat God exchanged glances and smiled, then the Sinful God looked at Ji Ning: "The opponent on the Path of Ten Thousand Blades... is yourself!"

"Myself?" Ji Ning was startled.

"Yes."

The Sinful God explained, "When you challenge the Path of Ten Thousand Blades, the opponent that appears will have a divine body, divine abilities, magical power, and everything else exactly the same as yours. Even if you use sword techniques, he will use the same sword techniques. The only difference is... the sword techniques he uses are those of the Moon Under the Abyss."

Ji Ning was shocked.

His greatest advantage was that his 'Pure Yang Golden Core' had reached the second tier, but on the Path of Ten Thousand Blades, he would have no such advantage.

"On the Path of Ten Thousand Blades, what matters is pure combat skill," the Sealing Throat God also sighed. "For me, it's about spear techniques; for you, Beiming, it's about sword techniques! Only if your sword techniques surpass his can you defeat him. And on the Path of Ten Thousand Blades... there are ten such opponents, all with the same divine body, divine abilities, and magical power as you, but the sword techniques they use differ—the later guardians have higher sword skills."

"On the Path of Ten Thousand Blades... the ten guardians are like ten versions of yourself. Defeat these ten selves, and you can reach the fifth island and leave the Moon Under the Abyss," the Sealing Throat God said.

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

Defeat himself?

And ten increasingly powerful versions?

...

Having learned the difficulty of the Path of Ten Thousand Blades, Ji Ning's confidence waned. Compared to other gods, his advantages lay in his 'Golden Core' and 'Divine Body Protection Divine Ability,' but now these were stripped away. If it was purely a contest of sword techniques... fortunately, he had spent a hundred years fighting through the Demon Ice Valley, greatly improving his sword skills!

After arriving at Thousand Star Island, he had spent over ten days in meditation, and the 'Five Treasures Sword Art' had touched upon the realm of great completion, with his sword speed reaching light speed.

"With such sword skills, can I pass the Path of Ten Thousand Blades?" Ji Ning was uncertain.

"Brother Beiming, you are the one the Demon King said has the best chance of leaving the Moon Under the Abyss alive. We're all counting on you," the Violent Dragon God laughed heartily.

"If you get out, we can follow."

"For Brother Beiming to get out, it shouldn't be difficult."

Around a campfire, roasting skinned beasts, over two hundred gods gathered. Their gazes at Ji Ning were fervent, for in their hearts, this Beiming God was their greatest hope. They had been trapped here too long, and deep inside, they yearned to escape.

"Alright, alright, don't put too much pressure on Beiming," the Feiyou God shouted. "The Moon Under the Abyss isn't so easy to leave. Let Beiming take his time."

"Yes, we're not in a hurry. We've waited this long; waiting another ten thousand or a million years is fine."

"We're not in a hurry."

"But there's a calamity outside now; we need to get out early. Otherwise, if it's too late, the calamity will be over, and at least we can contribute some effort when we get out."

A clamor arose.

Meanwhile, the Sealing Throat God and the Sinful God came to Ji Ning's side. The Sealing Throat God said softly, "Beiming, to be honest, the Path of Ten Thousand Blades... Sinful and I have challenged it for many, many years. I can't defeat the seventh opponent, and Sinful is stuck at the sixth. The ten guardians get progressively stronger. I still have four guardians to defeat! Sinful has one more than me. Our chances of progress are slim..."

"Yes," the Sinful God sighed. "I've only defeated half of the ten guardians. There are still five left! I've lost confidence. Actually, Xu Jiu had great hope back then; he had already defeated eight guardians, leaving only the last two. Unfortunately, he died at the hands of Da Meng. Da Meng is stronger than us; he has also defeated eight guardians, with only two left."

Ji Ning nodded.

He sensed the lack of confidence in the Sinful God and the Sealing Throat God.

"The two of us don't know when we'll get out on our own," the Sealing Throat God looked at Ji Ning. "The over two hundred gods now look to us three. We two are hopeless; it's up to you."

"Beiming, we really rely on you," the Sinful God also looked at Ji Ning.

"I'll do my best, but I'm not sure myself," Ji Ning said.

"By the way..." the Sealing Throat God instructed, "Remember, if you defeat the ninth guardian, immediately retreat and return to Thousand Star Island."

"Why?" Ji Ning was puzzled.

"If you defeat all ten guardians in one go, you'll go straight to the fifth island," the Sealing Throat God quickly said. "What about the over two hundred gods here? They're waiting for you to take them out. If you can defeat nine guardians, it's best to bring them along to challenge the tenth."

"Right, right, right. Back then, Jue Ming supposedly had a sudden enlightenment while challenging the Path of Ten Thousand Blades, and without a word, he defeated the last three guardians alone and left directly, without taking any gods out," the Sinful God said angrily. "That Jue Ming was too selfish."

"Maybe we can't blame him," the Sealing Throat God said. "Perhaps Jue Ming was caught up in the excitement of enlightenment, charging through and forgetting the exact number of guardians, and he fought his way out in one breath. Once out, there was no turning back."

"Hmph," the Sinful God sneered, clearly holding a grudge against Jue Ming.

"Why say so much?" the Sealing Throat God smiled at Ji Ning. "Beiming, we two are hopeless; it really depends on you."

"Tomorrow, give it a good try. But don't rush out in one go; save some strength," the Sinful God laughed.

"If I can defeat the ninth guardian, that would be cause for celebration," Ji Ning shook his head. He wasn't confident.

...

The next day.

At the edge of Thousand Star Island, over two hundred gods came to see Ji Ning off.

"Beiming, be careful."

"Defeat nine and come back."

"Beiming, staying alive is most important; don't risk your life."

The gods all gave their advice. In past history, some gods had died on the Path of Ten Thousand Blades, but Ji Ning wasn't worried. When other gods encountered guardians, they fought with identical divine bodies and magical power, and if hit, their divine bodies could shatter. But for him, it was different.

When he encountered a guardian, both sides had the Eight-Nine Arcane Art protecting their bodies, so neither could kill the other. For Ji Ning, challenging the Path of Ten Thousand Blades was actually the safest. But safe as it was, defeating ten guardians... was extremely difficult.

"I'm off." Ji Ning waved his hand and stepped onto the floating wooden bridge alone.

The over two hundred gods watched as Ji Ning walked along the floating wooden bridge and disappeared into the distant Path of Ten Thousand Blades.

"The calamity of the Three Realms... I really want to get out soon."

"It all depends on Beiming."

The gods now felt tense. Earlier, they had been laughing and joking to lighten the mood. Now that Ji Ning was actually challenging the Path of Ten Thousand Blades... all the gods felt the pressure.

If...

If Ji Ning only defeated five or six guardians, then it might be millions or tens of millions of years before they could escape.

"Beiming..."

The over two hundred gods had longing, hope, and anxiety in their eyes.

They were not afraid of death.

But knowing that their masters, brothers, and even loved ones faced a calamity while they lived safely on Thousand Star Island—they couldn't bear it. They wanted to get out, desperately wanted to get out!

...

The long floating wooden bridge led to the Path of Ten Thousand Blades.

Countless huge blades, swords, and other weapons pierced the sky. The white-robed youth suddenly stopped, for ahead in the distance appeared a golden-robed youth, identical in appearance to Ji Ning.

"Myself?" Ji Ning was momentarily stunned.

"I am the first guardian. Look at that blade," the golden-robed youth pointed to a nearby blade that was tens of thousands of feet tall. On the giant blade, a phantom appeared, showing a figure performing sword techniques, from shallow to deep, from simple to complex, demonstrating a powerful sword art.

"The sword technique shown on this blade is the one I will use," the golden-robed youth looked at Ji Ning. "You can watch this sword technique three times. After three viewings, the technique disappears, and we will fight."

"Oh?" Ji Ning was delighted.

This was an unexpected surprise—being allowed to preview the opponent's sword technique. The Sinful God and the Sealing Throat God hadn't mentioned it. Perhaps they intended to give Ji Ning a pleasant surprise, as not mentioning it wouldn't matter, and encountering it would bring joy.

Ji Ning carefully watched the sword technique displayed on the giant blade embedded in the endless ice. The technique was demonstrated repeatedly; three viewings took nearly six hours, and the demonstration almost fully解析 the technique.

"Quite a peculiar sword technique," Ji Ning praised, but he was not flustered, as the first guardian's technique posed no threat to him.

"Ready?" the golden-robed youth said.

"Yes," Ji Ning nodded.

"Take this." The golden-robed youth suddenly shook his body, manifesting three heads and six arms, and six divine swords appeared in his hands as he charged at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning felt a strange sensation, as the opponent's fighting style was very similar to his own, and they looked alike.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh." Light-speed sword techniques had an overwhelming advantage. Although the opponent's strength also surged as if using the Star Picking Hand, he was still sent flying back by Ji Ning's sword light, but the Eight-Nine Arcane Art protected him from harm.

"Your sword technique is far superior to mine," the golden-robed youth landed on the floating wooden bridge and nodded. "I concede defeat."

Whoosh.

Then the golden-robed youth vanished into thin air.

...

Ji Ning advanced continuously, deeper into the Path of Ten Thousand Blades. Each time he encountered a new guardian, a sword technique would appear on a nearby blade, allowing him to study it. Watching these techniques also inspired Ji Ning, helping him refine his 'Moonbright Sword Art.' However, the Moonbright Sword Art, created by absorbing the essence of the 'Five Treasures Sword Art,' was too powerful, and the light-speed sword light was especially formidable—speed alone surpassed countless techniques.

Ji Ning advanced in one go, all the way to the eighth guardian.