The Immortal's Test

Ji Ning felt space and time twist around him, much like the sensation he had experienced when jumping into the Six Paths of Reincarnation.

In an instant, everything went still.

"Where am I…?" Ji Ning quickly examined his surroundings. He found himself inside a towering corridor. The corridor was a hundred zhang wide and a hundred zhang tall. When Ji Ning turned his head to look behind him, he was shocked. Behind him was the exit of this corridor, and beyond the exit stretched an endless, surging expanse of water. Yet, that water could not invade the corridor at all, as if an invisible barrier held it back.

"What is going on?" Ji Ning cautiously walked to the edge. A war arrow appeared in his hand, and he thrust it outward.

Ssshhh.

The arrowhead struck the invisible barrier and could not penetrate it at all.

"I don't believe it." Ji Ning retreated ten paces, then drew his 'Armored Valor' greatbow. A faint reddish-gold light flowed across his entire body. His full Fiendgod strength exploded, and he pulled the bow nearly to its full crescent. With a sharp twang, the arrow shot out like a streak of light, slamming into the invisible barrier.

The arrow trembled, then shattered into fragments that clattered to the ground.

"This—" Ji Ning frowned, then carefully studied the corridor once more.

"A mere corridor is a hundred zhang wide and tall," Ji Ning mused, peering through the invisible barrier at the endless waters beyond. "This structure must be enormous. At least several li in length and width. And it's built at the bottom of a lake."

"At the bottom of Winged Serpent Lake?" Ji Ning shook his head.

Winged Serpent Lake was only a hundred li in radius. It would be very difficult for it to accommodate a building of this size. The Ji Clan would surely have discovered this structure long ago.

"That twist of space and time earlier felt like a spatial passage," Ji Ning thought to himself. "I think I've entered another space."

Having read many books, he knew quite a bit.

Books recorded that across the endless ages, certain mighty Immortals or Fiendgods were capable of opening up small pocket spaces. Some could even create an entire world within a single grain of sand! Many Immortal estates and Fiendgod ruins were hidden within such pocket spaces or small worlds, impossible to find under normal circumstances. You could only enter by chance when opportunity came knocking.

But these estates left behind by mighty figures were also filled with danger. After all, how could an Immortal or Fiendgod leave behind no defensive measures? Most who entered these ruins died. Even escaping with one's life was a stroke of luck. As for obtaining treasures and rising to power like in the legends… Ji Ning did not dare to think about that.

"Do not be greedy. Focus on escaping with my life." Ji Ning observed carefully.

The unknown represented opportunity.

But it also represented immense danger.

"For now, I'll call it the Winged Serpent Water Mansion." Ji Ning casually gave it a name. Since he couldn't leave this corridor for the moment, he would have to move forward.

…

The corridor was wide and towering, its floor appearing to be cast from a single piece of material. Ji Ning tried every method he could, but he could not leave a single scratch on the floor or walls.

After walking for a while.

He turned a corner and his pupils contracted. In the distance, the floor of the corridor was littered with white bones and skeletons. Some of the skeletons had nearly rotted away into ash. Strangely, there were very few weapons or magical treasures on the ground. Only beside one relatively intact skeleton in the distance, off to the left, were a set of armor and weapons.

"Where are the magical treasures of the other skeletons?" Ji Ning wondered. "Even if they didn't have treasures, they should have at least some divine weapons. Why are there none?"

"Whoosh!"

With a thought, Ji Ning willed his divine sense to sweep out and roll up the skeleton with the armor and weapons, pulling it to his side.

Thump.

As it landed on the ground, the skeleton shuddered and instantly crumbled into dust.

"Looks like it's been dead for a very long time." Ji Ning glanced at the armor and weapons, then picked them up. His Xiantian true ki surged into them, attempting to refine them. He discovered that because the previous owner had died so long ago, the two treasures had no trace of magic power left within them. Ji Ning easily refined them.

"If I can refine them, they must be mere ungraded treasures," Ji Ning mused. "It seems the deceased was only at the Xiantian level."

He then carefully examined the skeleton, soon noticing a ring on one of its fingers. He picked it up and quickly refined it as well. As expected, this ring was a storage treasure belonging to the deceased. When he probed inside, he was greatly surprised. The storage space wasn't large—smaller than Tie Muzhan's.

But…

"So many treasures!" Ji Ning was astonished. Floating within the storage treasure were countless other treasures, each radiating a distinct aura. There were weapons, formations, armor, and even more storage treasures.

"Why would one person carry so many treasures?" Ji Ning glanced at the numerous skeletons in the distance, none of which had treasures beside them. "It seems the previous owner collected all the treasures left by those who came before him."

Ji Ning quickly began to refine them all.

As he refined them, he discovered the following: inside there were 112 storage-type treasures, 136 weapon-type treasures, 31 armor-type treasures, and 16 other oddities such as formation tools. There were also quite a few Dao talismans, but unfortunately, due to the passage of time, the magic power within them had all dissipated. Only about ten talismans were still barely usable.

"If I can refine them all, they're all just ungraded treasures," Ji Ning muttered. "The previous owners of these treasures were all Xiantian lifeforms. It seems that every generation who made it to this corridor over the ages were only at the Xiantian level."

Ji Ning selected a storage belt with an internal space of nearly a hundred zhang and wrapped it around his waist. From the outside, the belt looked sturdy and plain. He also chose a good suit of armor and refined it to fuse with his skin.

This armor treasure was far superior to the Golden Dust Garment. The Golden Dust Garment was thus retired and put away by Ji Ning.

In truth, Ji Ning was not particularly surprised by his haul. After all, he was the heir to the Western Prefecture of the Ji Clan. Obtaining armor treasures and the like was not difficult for him.

"The quantity is considerable, though. If I added it all up, it might be worth a single graded treasure." Ji Ning put the thought aside. The previous owner of these treasures had also obtained all of them, yet he still died here. Escaping alive was the most important thing.

With a Northsea Sword in each hand, Ji Ning advanced cautiously. There was no other path to take. Only forward!

In terms of power, the Northsea Swords were not inferior to these ungraded treasures, and they didn't consume Xiantian true ki. Naturally, Ji Ning preferred to use them.

…

Ji Ning advanced step by step, remaining vigilant.

When he reached the area where the skeletons lay, he grew even more cautious. Suddenly…

Crack! Crack! Crack!

A large number of golden beans suddenly materialized out of thin air, appearing all around him. They fell to the ground, making crisp sounds. Then, these golden beans rapidly melted, transforming into golden liquid. Each droplet of golden liquid swiftly condensed into a golden-armored heavenly soldier wielding a weapon.

Blindingly radiant and imposing, these soldiers stood all around him.

"Sprinkle beans to form soldiers?" Ji Ning was startled. He could sense that each of these golden-armored soldiers had a formidable aura, about on par with a Xiantian lifeform. "And there are eighty-one of them?"

"How dare you trespass in this estate! Accept your death!" the eighty-one golden-armored soldiers roared in unison, then charged straight at him.

With a Northsea Sword in each hand, Ji Ning now understood clearly. The skeletons that had come before him had likely been slain by these eighty-one golden-armored soldiers. Without hesitation, Ji Ning activated the Windwing Evasion. With a whoosh, he shot diagonally up the corridor wall, his movements like a roc spreading its wings, and soared over the eighty-one soldiers, intending to keep charging forward.

"Formation, rise!" the eighty-one soldiers bellowed in unison.

Instantly, hazy mist rose from both ends of the corridor. When Ji Ning reached the mist and thrust out with his sword, he couldn't even pierce through it.

"Don't even think of escaping!" The eighty-one golden-armored soldiers charged at him again.

"A trapping formation?"

Ji Ning glanced at the hazy mist at both ends of the corridor. "It seems I have no choice but to kill these eighty-one soldiers if I want to get out. Those who died here before must have been weak. I'm not one of them."

Whoosh!

Ji Ning used the Windwing Evasion to once again dart along the wall, landing behind the soldiers. He immediately attacked one of them.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!" Three strikes in an instant.

Pfft!

Ji Ning's sword pierced through the golden-armored soldier's head. But the soldier continued to thrust its spear at him.

"What?!" Ji Ning was startled and quickly retreated.

"Even a Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner would be as good as dead after having his head pierced through. Why is this soldier still alive?" Ji Ning grew anxious. From his brief clash, he had already noticed that the soldier's spear technique was only at the Subtlety level, but its strength was not inferior to his own.

The most fatal thing was… even a pierced skull did nothing!

"Kill!" The fact that Ji Ning had just pierced one soldier's head through seemed to enrage the rest. They all roared in fury and launched a frenzied encirclement.

Ji Ning executed his footwork, weaving through the encirclement. At any given moment, he could only face three opponents. Using his two Northsea Swords, he pierced through the chests and heads of the golden-armored soldiers multiple times, but each time they were completely unharmed.

"Water-Fire Lotus!" Ji Ning was getting anxious.

Whoooosh~~~

Three enormous water lotus leaves and three enormous fire lotus leaves appeared around Ji Ning, enveloping the area. The two layers of lotus leaves rotated slowly in opposite directions. Six golden-armored soldiers caught within the Water-Fire Lotus were crushed into pieces by the grinding force, their bodies dissolving back into liquid.

The golden liquid quickly flowed out of the range of the Water-Fire Lotus and once again condensed into six golden-armored soldiers.

"How can this be?" Ji Ning stared in disbelief. Even after being crushed into liquid, they could still reform?

"It's not that the Xiantian lifeforms who died here before were too weak. It's that these eighty-one golden-armored soldiers have an undying body." Ji Ning was at a loss on how to deal with them. Even grinding them into pieces did nothing; they could always condense back into human form from the liquid.

"Kill!"

Having six of their number crushed seemed to enrage the soldiers even further.

"Formation!" The eighty-one golden-armored soldiers roared in unison. They flew into formation, completely surrounding Ji Ning.

The soldiers split into two circles. The inner circle had twenty-seven soldiers, while the outer circle had fifty-four. All of them stared at Ji Ning with murderous intent, their spears at the ready.