Chapter 6: Broken Sword?

From high in the sky, Ji Ning saw the Divine Weapon Valley below and immediately dove down, landing before the cold building in the valley, which was the true Divine Weapon Valley.

Before the main gate stood two puppets.

"Beiming pays respects to you two," Ji Ning said with a bow.

"Sword Five."

"Sword Six." The two puppets also spoke. Their auras were stern, exuding a powerful pressure.

Ji Ning then walked through the gate, and the two puppets did not stop him. Although a large number of divine weapons and treasures were stored inside, even an Eternal Emperor could not forcibly take them away. The formation restrictions in some important places of the twelve palaces were originally arranged by the great主宰 himself in the earliest times, and had been further reinforced by generations of brilliant and talented experts of the twelve palaces. To break the laws by force—probably no more than a few in the entire endless territory could do so.

"What a treasure land." As soon as he entered, before him were divine swords stuck into the earth, a dense forest of divine swords emitting an endless, terrifying sword intent.

The weakest divine sword was at the Eternal Divine Weapon level.

Attached to each divine sword was a stone tablet with a simple line of text—"Thirty thousand cubes," "Ninety thousand cubes," "Fifty thousand cubes," "One hundred eighty thousand cubes." These divine swords had price tags, all relatively cheap. The历代 experts of the Sword Palace had not found it easy to collect these treasures, and Ji Ning and the others could not simply take them away.

"That is—"

Ji Ning's gaze suddenly fell into the distance, because there was an incredibly vast and terrifying sword intent. Even from such a distance, although there were thousands of other divine swords around, none could shake that vast and ancient sword intent... The sword that emitted such terrifying sword intent was a broken sword, placed on a long table.

It was the only divine sword in the entire Divine Weapon Valley placed on a long table.

"A broken sword?" Ji Ning walked over in confusion, examining it closely.

"Hmm? It's broken so naturally? It seems that when it was forged, it was already a broken sword?" Ji Ning discerned that this sword had not been cut off but was naturally a broken sword.

"Rumble~~~"

The sword intent surged. Before it, Ji Ning felt like a small boat on an endless, raging sea, on the verge of being capsized at any moment. This ancient and distant sword intent... was the most terrifying Ji Ning had ever felt. Whether it was the Nameless Sword Art, the divine sword Purple Light Qiong, or the Sword Pagoda Forest, he had never experienced such vast sword intent.

Vast, broad, and distant.

Facing it felt like looking up at the starry sky in the Earth era.

"Hmm?" When Ji Ning walked within ten zhang of the broken sword, an invisible force blocked him, and no matter how he tried, he could not take another step closer.

"It won't even let me approach?" Ji Ning also noticed that within ten zhang of the broken sword, it was the only sword. "And it has no price tag?"

All other divine swords had precise prices.

Only this broken sword could not be approached within ten zhang, and it had no price tag.

Ji Ning took a deep look, firmly memorizing this broken sword.

...

In the Divine Weapon Valley, about one-third of the area was filled with a large number of divine swords, while the other areas displayed a large number of treasures, curios, and so on.

The treasures and curios also had price tags.

"Fifty thousand cubes." "Two million cubes." "Ten million cubes." "One hundred ten thousand cubes."...

The prices of treasures and curios varied.

For example, the 'Dao-level Divine Thunder' that Ji Ning wanted, such as Water Smoke Divine Thunder, Fire Cloud Divine Thunder, Green Wood Divine Thunder, and others representing the five elements, were relatively cheap, all around two hundred thousand cubes. But other Dao-level Divine Thunders were different; for instance, 'Annihilation Realm Divine Thunder' cost one million nine hundred thousand cubes... It was the most expensive among the nine Dao-level Divine Thunders Ji Ning needed.

In the Divine Weapon Valley, one could gather all nine Dao-level Divine Thunders, but the cost was not small.

Moreover, the Divine Weapon Valley also contained a naturally bred tenth type of 'Dao-level Divine Thunder,' called 'Heavy Sky Divine Thunder,' priced at ten million cubes, and one had to swear an oath to use it only for oneself. This 'Heavy Sky Divine Thunder' could only be collected by the great主宰, unique to the Mangya Kingdom. If other top major powers wanted to obtain it, they would have to pay a shocking price to the Mangya Kingdom. Only those within the Mangya Kingdom who truly intended to use it could buy it for ten million cubes.

"In the past, Wan Shen Daojun only gathered nine types of Dao-level Divine Thunders and then created the Nine Source Divine Thunder Secret Art," Ji Ning sighed inwardly. "But the Mangya Kingdom has ten types..."

...

After touring the Divine Weapon Valley, Ji Ning's eyes were truly opened, and he understood how many treasures there were.

"Beiming, you're out." Sword Five, one of the two guarding puppets outside, asked, "What treasures do you want?"

"Inside, I didn't find 'Lead Nether Water, Plague Wind Water, and the other nine types of divine waters,'" Ji Ning quickly said. To cultivate the Nine Source Divine Water Secret Art, he needed some divine waters.

For fire, there were Ancestral Fire-level ones like Sun Golden Flame, Chaos-level ones, and Dao-level ones.

The same for water.

For example, 'Plague Wind Water'—if an Ancestral God or Ancestral Immortal were touched by such water, their body would immediately become riddled with holes, and even their true spirit would dissipate.

"Are they Chaos-level divine waters?" Sword Six beside him said in a low voice, "Such low-level divine waters, our Sword Palace does not have... The 'Good Water Palace' among the twelve palaces definitely has them. If you really need them, just have the Good Water Palace send them over."

"I need nine types of Chaos-level divine waters." Ji Ning reported the names of these nine divine waters in detail.

The Nine Source Divine Water was also divided into an upper chapter and a lower chapter.

The upper chapter required nine types of Chaos-level divine waters.

The lower chapter required nine types of Dao-level divine waters.

The Nine Source Divine Water and the Nine Source Divine Thunder were secret arts of the same level. However, due to the nature of lightning itself, the Nine Source Divine Thunder was slightly more powerful. But once the two secret arts were combined, lightning and water naturally complemented each other, and the power could increase dramatically. In the past, when Wan Shen Daojun combined his nine secret arts, he could even suppress Eternal Emperors.

"By the way, in the Divine Weapon Valley, I only found one 'third scroll' of the Snow Mirror Diagram?" Ji Ning looked at Sword Five and Sword Six.

"Just that one," Sword Five said. "Although Snow Mirror Emperor was quite unrestrained, his sword art was indeed extremely high. His Snow Mirror Diagrams... drive countless World-level cultivators crazy. If it weren't for the fact that his inheritance could only be learned by World-level cultivators, the price of the Snow Mirror Diagrams would be much higher."

Ji Ning agreed.

Snow Mirror Emperor's inheritance also had reference value for other Dao Lords. If other Dao Lords could learn it, the price would be astonishing.

Because Snow Mirror Emperor had restricted it to World-level cultivators only, and World-level cultivators had relatively less wealth, the price was suppressed. Still, a diagram generally cost around one hundred thousand cubes of Chaos Nectar.

"I want the fourth Snow Mirror Diagram," Ji Ning said.

"The fourth?" Sword Five and Sword Six exchanged glances.

"It's not available in the Mangya Kingdom. We'll need to use the power of the twelve palaces to search the entire endless territory," Sword Five said. "If we do that, first, the Dao Lord who helps find the Snow Mirror Diagram will need to be paid some Chaos Nectar. Also, actively searching and buying will make the price relatively higher."

"I can bear up to five hundred thousand cubes," Ji Ning said.

"That works," Sword Five nodded. "Snow Mirror Diagrams generally cost around two hundred thousand cubes when collected outside. With more time, it should be fine within three hundred thousand cubes. Just wait for our news. Once the twelve palaces find the fourth Snow Mirror Diagram, we will notify you immediately."

"How long will it take?" Ji Ning asked.

"At best, ten or twenty years; at worst, a thousand years or so," Sword Five said somewhat proudly. "Our twelve palaces still have considerable influence in the endless territory."

Ji Ning was speechless.

Many of the Dao Lords of the twelve palaces had been abducted when they were at the World level. For example, he himself had originally been a member of the Heavenly Cang Palace, part of the Dao Alliance. Now abducted... but his relationship with the Dao Alliance was inevitably inseparable. This was why the twelve palaces had penetrated the endless territory so deeply.

"In the valley, I found a broken sword that I couldn't approach at all," Ji Ning suddenly said.

"Couldn't approach?" Sword Five was startled, then nodded. "It means you have no affinity with it."

"No affinity?" Ji Ning was puzzled.

"What, you think you couldn't approach because of the formation restrictions?" Sword Five asked rhetorically.

"Isn't it?" Ji Ning was confused.

Sword Six beside him said, "Of course not! The restrictions in the Divine Weapon Valley only prevent you from taking treasures away. Generally, you can approach them. You could approach other divine weapons and treasures, couldn't you? But this broken sword itself has immense power. You couldn't approach because it prevented you from doing so."

"Only those with affinity can truly approach it. If it doesn't acknowledge you, what can you do?" Sword Five glanced at Ji Ning. "Even the two Palace Masters of our Sword Palace couldn't gain its acknowledgment. Since its master died, it has lain dormant in our Divine Weapon Valley for far too long."

Ji Ning blinked.

Well, if even the Sword Palace Master and Vice Palace Master, along with so many Dao Lords over the years, couldn't gain its acknowledgment, his own lack of acknowledgment was nothing.

...