Chapter 36: Two Methods

Under the infusion of the Dao Ancestor's divine power, each divine sword radiated boundless might, causing the distant Prisoner Lord of Shi to change expression, growing more solemn: "It seems this warden's qi-refining methods are even more formidable than his close combat."

"Go."

Ji Ning, high in the distant sky, pointed from afar.

Whoosh whoosh whoosh, one after another, the Zhutian Divine Swords streaked across the sky like flowing light, attacking the Prisoner Lord of Shi from all directions. Their speed was not too fast, not exceeding the limits of the Heavenly Dao, still within the Prisoner Lord's tolerance. But as the thirty-six divine swords neared the Prisoner Lord of Shi, their speed suddenly surged, each breaking through the limits of the Heavenly Dao, and they became utterly ghostly, all executing the Shadowless Form of the Brightmoon Sword Art.

The Brightmoon Sword Art Ji Ning had created consisted of only five moves, each capturing a certain artistic conception. In Ji Ning's vision, this art held infinite potential; as long as his own strength was sufficient, he could continuously perfect it.

"Hua hua hua~~~" The Prisoner Lord of Shi, with three heads and six arms, wielded short staffs that traced streaks of light. At first glance, the Prisoner Lord of Shi seemed to form a vast Taiji diagram, blocking all attacks.

"Eh?" Ji Ning frowned.

His long-range attacks were indeed slightly more formidable than his close combat, yet he still couldn't wound the opponent.

"I don't believe you can block forever." Under Ji Ning's control of his heartforce and divine soul, the thirty-six Zhutian Divine Swords grew even more frenzied, unleashing various profound sword techniques in coordination, encompassing all styles. Yet the Prisoner Lord of Shi remained steadfast, his six short staffs perfectly complementing each other.

"Hahaha..."

While defending, the Prisoner Lord of Shi laughed wildly, "Warden, do you know that I once crossed blows with Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals several times, and they couldn't do anything to me. Compared to them, your strength is still a notch below."

"At the start of our fight, your sword art startled me. Haha, but though it's fast, it's still within my control. Not to mention six arms, even with two arms I could block it." As he spoke, the Prisoner Lord of Shi actually withdrew four arms, returning to a normal form, holding only two short staffs.

The two short staffs complemented each other perfectly.

Yin and Yang combined, his defense was utterly watertight, with a faint, enormous Taiji diagram enveloping the Prisoner Lord of Shi.

"How can this be..." Ji Ning's expression turned grim.

"Earlier, I was cautious at the start of our fight. Now it seems your strength hasn't reached the level of Ancestral Gods or Ancestral Immortals. In pure defense, I don't need to go all out." The Prisoner Lord of Shi said calmly, "Without using any divine abilities, if we just keep fighting like this... I can draw power from the chaos and sustain the battle for a long time."

Ji Ning understood this.

If the opponent used divine abilities, he wouldn't last long. Ji Ning, relying on long-range attacks and some Grand Dao Immortal Pills, could eventually wear him down. But now, the Prisoner Lord's defensive methods were incredibly powerful; purely defending without attacking, he didn't even need to use divine abilities.

"The techniques of Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals are more profound and powerful than yours." The Prisoner Lord of Shi said calmly, "But I have reached the fifth level in both Taiji Force and Wuji Force, and their combination is nearly perfect, allowing me to escape from Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals. You? You're still far off."

An Ancestral God, just in terms of divine body, is far stronger than a True God, already at the leader level.

An Ancestral Immortal, one with a first-rank golden core, is much stronger than a Dao Ancestor of the Three Realms, also at the level of an Ancestral God, at least at the leader level.

Leader level...

This is a classification of the Three Realms.

The leader level represents strength equivalent to an Ancestral God. A newly born Ancestral God generally has this level of power. As for Nuwa, she was born wielding the Heavenly Dao of Life. Later, she comprehended the two Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, and then the five Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Such strength placed her among the top-tier Ancestral Gods.

Thus, Nuwa was the foremost of the ancient era, more powerful than other Ancestral Gods and the leaders of Buddhism and Daoism.

Among the Unbound Gate, only the Heartforce Lord could match her. Though Demonheart Dao Ancestor had fought one-on-one with Nuwa, it was only a brief exchange; his strength was still far inferior.

Take the Myriad Demon Lord, for example—he was born an Ancestral God. In terms of escape, he was even more skilled than a World God. This shows his prowess.

That the Prisoner Lord of Shi could escape from some Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals demonstrates how terrifying the perfect combination of fifth-level Taiji Force and Wuji Force is. Of course, the Prisoner Lord also had divine abilities to instantly burst forth with immense power, allowing him to briefly withstand some fearsome Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

"Hmph." Ji Ning attacked furiously for a while but finally stopped reluctantly.

"It seems that although my strength can suppress him and force him to focus solely on defense, my power is still only close to the leader level. The Prisoner Lord of Shi excels at defense; defeating him is too difficult." Ji Ning pondered. "But I need to obtain the Kui Tower as soon as possible. If I delay too long, the final battle might begin, and obtaining the Kui Tower then would be meaningless."

He urgently needed the Kui Tower to deal with that great calamity.

"To improve my strength in a short time..." Ji Ning thought, "There are two methods."

"First, reach the True God level. Once I step into True God, with the Two Divine Abilities of Tao Wu and the Eighteen Fiendgods, and the One Prime Essence, I would actually be at the half-step Ancestral God level... Though a step below a true Ancestral God, with my sword art, I should be no weaker than an ordinary Ancestral God. At that time, I would have leader-level strength. Although the Prisoner Lord of Shi can withstand Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals, it's only temporary. Now, trapped in the World Prison with nowhere to flee, if we fight to the death, once I reach the leader level, he will surely lose."

"But..."

"Reaching the True God level." Ji Ning frowned.

Logically, he had long met the requirements to break through to True God.

First, a perfect divine body—his divine body had long been flawless. Second, comprehending a Grand Dao—he had already comprehended three: the Grand Dao of Thunder, the Grand Dao of Waterdrop, and the Grand Dao of the Sword.

"According to the techniques in the 'World God of Desolation,' one must seek a spark of inspiration from endless desolation; once found, one can break through."

"It's said to be profound and mysterious... Alas, the 'World God of Desolation' technique requires time. And time is what I lack." Ji Ning shook his head.

Cultivating this technique focuses on 'desolation'; once you start, you sit motionless like a withered old tree, seeking that spark of inspiration. This technique generally requires a lot of time.

"The second method is the divine sword Violetjade." Ji Ning thought to himself. "Violetjade was the most important divine weapon of World God Northrest, with power enough to drive Chaos Immortals and World Gods mad. According to World God Northrest, even if only the surface is repaired, its power far exceeds Chaos Treasures. With such a weapon, my strength would greatly increase."

"Comparatively..."

"Repairing the divine sword Violetjade seems more certain." Ji Ning nodded to himself.

Earlier, he had already repaired about one-fifth of Violetjade's surface. Now that he had reached the fifth level of swordforce, although he couldn't defeat the Prisoner Lord of Shi, the Prisoner Lord was the most troublesome and fearsome among all the True Gods and True Immortals imprisoned here. The others were relatively easier to handle.

He could sweep through on a large scale, acquiring enough treasures to restore Violetjade's surface.

"Let's begin."

After pondering for a moment, whoosh, Ji Ning transformed into a black electric serpent above the canyon and vanished into the distant horizon.

The Prisoner Lord of Shi watched Ji Ning leave from afar, a cold glint in his eyes: "Trying to take treasures from me? I have three Chaos Treasures on me. Without some skill, they'd have been taken long ago. But damn it... I'm imprisoned here with no way to escape." Besides being skilled in defense, he was also extremely adept at escape, but now he was bound by chains and couldn't flee.

...

Thus, Ji Ning began a large-scale campaign against the True Gods and True Immortals in the World Prison. The number of True Gods and True Immortals in the World Prison was far fewer than that of Celestial Gods and Celestial Immortals. So Ji Ning had to cherish every True God and True Immortal. After each battle, if he felt he had gained something, he would immediately meditate and absorb the combat experience.