Chapter 3: The Rock Giant

"I never expected the first World-level cultivator I'd encounter would be outside the immortal mansion." Ji Ning leaped over the courtyard wall and then walked up the mountain path. In the distant pavilion, a golden-robed figure sat cross-legged, lifelike, with a long beard and a calm expression. Faint ripples of chaos immortal power emanated from him, but there was no longer any sign of life.

"The soaring sword energy on this island doesn't come from him." Ji Ning glanced back at the immortal mansion palace. The sword energy came from deep within the palace. Earlier, Ji Ning had only circled around the outermost area inside and hadn't ventured deeper.

After all, Lord Tianyi had warned Ji Ning that this island was quite dangerous. How could Ji Ning be careless?

"Senior."

Ji Ning walked to the pavilion's entrance, cupped his hands, and said, "I'll take the treasures you left behind. I'll bury you properly so you won't be disturbed."

As soon as he finished speaking—

"Boom~~~"

A surge of energy suddenly erupted.

Ji Ning's expression changed. He quickly retreated backward, then stared at the source of the eruption. It was a massive rock beside the pavilion. Rocks on the mountain were very common, and Ji Ning hadn't paid it any mind before. But now, the energy emanating from this rock was far stronger than Ji Ning's own, even surpassing that of most World-level cultivators.

"Whoosh~~~" The massive rock shifted like flowing water, transforming from an ordinary stone into a towering rock giant. It had deep yellow eyes and a body entirely made of rock, staring at Ji Ning in the distance.

"A golem?" Ji Ning carefully sensed it. Although the rock giant's energy was extremely powerful, it had no life force—only energy fluctuations, more like a golem or a treasure.

"Ancestral Immortal?" The rock giant's voice was deep. "You, a mere Ancestral Immortal, at least know to respect a senior. If you had dared to defile my master's corpse, I would have crushed you to pieces long ago."

Ji Ning understood immediately.

This rock giant was likely a golem forged by the deceased Chaos Immortal. Before dying, the Chaos Immortal hadn't destroyed the golem, which had instead guarded its master for endless ages.

"This senior was your master?" Ji Ning asked curiously. "You've been trapped on this island for a very long time. Don't you want to get out?"

"What difference does it make whether I leave or not?" The rock giant looked at Ji Ning. "Are you trying to lure me into acknowledging you as my master?"

Ji Ning smiled.

But inwardly, he felt a bit embarrassed. This golem hadn't been implanted with a soul; it had given birth to its own golem spirit. He hadn't expected it to be so clever.

Generally, sentient beings, after long solitude, would want to leave. Last time, the spirit of the Eternal treasure 'Nine-Layered Pagoda' in the lakeside courtyard had clearly wanted to leave. Ji Ning could tell that this golem, whose energy surpassed that of ordinary World-level cultivators, was not to be trifled with. If he could coax it into willingly acknowledging him as master, how wonderful would that be?

But Ji Ning was wrong.

This golem was forged from a strange stone, and the golem spirit it gave birth to had a personality like ordinary rock—fond of stillness, able to stay in one place for eons without restlessness. It had transformed into a massive rock, guarding its master through endless ages, and would continue to do so if not for Ji Ning's arrival.

"Yes, I do want you to acknowledge me as master." Ji Ning nodded with a smile. "You're a World-level golem treasure. Staying here is such a waste."

"You showed respect to my master, so I'll give you a chance." The rock giant nodded. "Since you're just a mere Ancestral Immortal, I won't bully you. If you can withstand three of my palms, I'll acknowledge you as master."

The rock giant still remembered his master's instructions from long ago.

Knowing he was doomed to die, his master had said before his death: "After I die, if a future visitor treats me with courtesy, test his strength. If he's capable, follow him. If he shows disrespect, kill him directly! If you can't kill him, enter the lake water. If he dares to follow, he'll surely die."

Some cultivators didn't care about the corpses of past seniors—and that would be their doom.

"Alright." Ji Ning nodded.

"These three palms of mine won't be too strong, but few Ancestral Immortals can withstand them. Those weak Ancestral Immortals aren't qualified to be my master. Be careful." The rock giant looked at Ji Ning. It had only mentioned three palms because Ji Ning was an Ancestral Immortal; if Ji Ning were a World-level cultivator, the golem would have gone all out.

"Come on." Ji Ning nodded.

"Whoosh."

The rock giant suddenly swung its massive rock arm, which stretched dozens of feet. The enormous palm compressed the very space, arriving before Ji Ning in an instant.

"So fast." Ji Ning was secretly startled. He held his soft sword, which transformed into a black hole that immediately entangled the incoming rock palm.

"Boom~~~"

Ji Ning took a step back.

In truth, Ji Ning had done so deliberately. With the power of the Blueflower Mist enhancing his body, his divine body was no weaker than a World God's. He could have stood his ground without retreating. But that might have stirred the golem's battle lust, making the next two palms far more powerful. The most important thing was to subdue this golem. There would be plenty of time to spar with it later. After all, a World-level golem was far more valuable than an ordinary Dao weapon. In dangerous situations, he could use it as a shield.

"You have some skill." The rock giant growled, "Now take my second palm."

"Whoosh~~~"

The rock palm easily broke through the limits of the Heavenly Daos, arriving before Ji Ning in an instant, even faster than before. As the massive palm approached, the sky before Ji Ning darkened.

"Boom~~~" The two clashed, and another thunderous sound rang out.

Ji Ning retreated three steps this time.

"Hmm?" The rock golem frowned—a curious expression on its rocky face. It had estimated that this palm would send the Ancestral Immortal crashing into the nearby immortal mansion palace, but the Ancestral Immortal had only retreated three steps. It seemed he had been holding back.

"Last palm." The rock golem let out a low roar. Its palm struck at Ji Ning with even greater ferocity, the layers of spatial ripples it created pressing down on him.

"Well struck." This time, Ji Ning wielded the Eternal divine sword Ziguang Qiong and unleashed his most powerful strike!

"Boom!"

Using the Heaven-Collapse style, Ji Ning raised the divine sword Ziguang Qiong high. The sword instantly expanded to a hundred feet and came crashing down from above, directly at the entire rock giant. Since it was the third palm, Ji Ning wanted to show the rock giant his true strength—he was no mere Ancestral Immortal.

"Hmm?" The rock giant was startled. The power of Ji Ning's sword strike shocked it. Its originally striking palm lifted upward to block.

"Boom~~~"

A head-on collision.

The sword light slammed into the rock palm, forcing the rock giant to sink downward. The small mountain trembled. The island had been built by Lord Suchuan, and World-level cultivators often sparred here without damaging it at all.

Ji Ning, jolted by the rebound force, stumbled back a few steps.

"Such immense strength. Even caught off guard, blocking with one hand sent me stumbling back. In terms of raw power, it far surpasses me." Ji Ning thought to himself.

"I've taken your three palms." Ji Ning spoke.

The rock giant looked at Ji Ning, puzzled. "You... are you really an Ancestral Immortal?"

"Can you mistake my aura?" Ji Ning smiled.

"But your strength... it feels comparable to some World Gods I've encountered." The rock giant looked at Ji Ning, full of curiosity. "Legend has it that some Ancestral Immortals can defeat World Gods. I think you could defeat the weakest World Gods. But don't get cocky. I held back because I thought you were an Ancestral Immortal. Otherwise, one palm would have sent you flying. I didn't dare use too much force, or you might have flown off the island and been killed by the formation."

Ji Ning laughed.

He had also noticed that each of the rock giant's palm strikes came from the same direction. Even if he couldn't withstand them and was sent flying, he would only crash into the nearby immortal mansion palace.

Of course, if the force were too great, he might bounce off the palace and roll off the island.

"Do you remember what you said earlier?" Ji Ning asked.

"My previous master was a formation expert." The rock giant glanced at the golden-robed figure in the pavilion. "I didn't expect my new master to be an Ancestral Immortal with the strength of a World God." It opened its mouth, and a fist-sized sphere covered in flowing divine runes flew toward Ji Ning, stopping before him.

Ji Ning recognized it at once—the life core of the golem treasure, containing the core formation diagram. It was the heart of the entire golem. Refining it would grant him control.