The Lesser Thousand Sword Formation

Ji Ning did not dare disturb the Black Ox as he watched. Lines of words rapidly appeared on the fur, occasionally interspersed with formation diagrams.

Before long, each piece of fur was filled.

“Done.”

The Black Ox tossed aside the fur, looking pleased with himself. “Little brat Ji Ning, you are quite the anomaly. For a mere Xiantian lifeform to possess such an astonishing soul! It is precisely because your spirit is exceptionally powerful that you are suitable for executing this ‘Lesser Thousand Sword Formation.’ However, the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation also requires flying swords—a great many of them.”

“I have plenty of these unranked treasures,” Ji Ning said with a smile.

The Black Ox shook his head. “Those unranked treasures will be beneath your notice once you become a Zifu Disciple. When that time comes, you will need graded treasures, and you will still need a large number of flying swords to unleash the power of this formation.”

“A large number of graded flying swords?” Ji Ning was shocked. “How many?”

“The highest realm of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation requires the manipulation of seven hundred and twenty-nine flying swords,” the Black Ox said. “Even if you use the poorest graded treasures, it is best to prepare all seven hundred and twenty-nine. This formation places extremely high demands on its swords. The better the flying swords and the greater their number, the more powerful the formation becomes.”

Ji Ning was dumbfounded.

More than seven hundred graded treasures, and all of them had to be flying swords? Even if the entire Ji Clan—all five Prefectures combined—sold everything they owned, it was questionable whether they could afford that many graded flying swords.

“As your power grows, the flying swords you use will naturally need to be stronger as well,” the Black Ox continued. “From Mortal-grade to Earth-grade to Heaven-grade to Immortal-grade…”

“I… I…” Ji Ning felt an immense pressure bearing down on him. He quickly asked, “Celestial Immortal Juhua left some treasures behind in this aquatic palace. Surely acquiring a few hundred flying swords wouldn’t be difficult, right? And didn’t Celestial Immortal Juhua kill a great enemy? That enemy was the one who used the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation in the first place.”

The Black Ox shook his head. “That great enemy was known as the Thousand Sword Immortal! Celestial Immortal Juhua expended boundless effort to slay him. After obtaining those flying swords, he felt it would be a waste to leave so many treasures lying idle. So he immediately exchanged them for a vast quantity of precious materials, using those materials to refine and create me! If you think you can get a few hundred flying swords from Celestial Immortal Juhua, you are mistaken. A truly powerful Immortal only carries a few treasures that he specializes in. Gains from killing enemies are quickly used to upgrade one’s own treasures! They would never leave a large number of treasures lying idle as waste.”

“Understood.” Ji Ning felt somewhat helpless.

“Don’t overthink this. Don’t think that obtaining an immortal estate means you will soar to the heavens,” the Black Ox barked. “How many ruins from the Fiendgod Era are scattered across the land? Yet how many have become the top existences of the Grand Xia Dynasty? Lei Zhan, the fourth master, was merely at the Wanxiang Adept level when he died. Do not follow his example.”

The Black Ox continued, “The reason I was born is largely thanks to the Thousand Sword Immortal. That is why I paid special attention to the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. Not only did I read through it once, I also studied it in detail. Now I will explain it to you.”

Ji Ning immediately listened attentively.

“The Lesser Thousand Sword Formation uses nine flying swords to form a single matrix. Nine such matrices are needed to form a sword formation. In other words, the most basic sword formation requires a full eighty-one flying swords to assemble. This is the first layer of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation.”

“If you can then control another nine-by-nine set of eighty-one flying swords, allowing two matrices to link together… the power will increase several times over! This is the second layer of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation! You will need one hundred and sixty-two flying swords.”

“If you can control two hundred and forty-three flying swords and link three matrices together, the power will increase several times again. This is the third layer.”

“Four matrices linked together will increase the power several times further. This is the fourth layer.”

“And so on.”

“Ultimately, nine matrices linked together require a full seven hundred and twenty-nine flying swords. This is the ninth layer of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. Its power… is simply inconceivable! Of course, given your current soul strength, even controlling these unranked flying swords, you are far from reaching this point.”

Ji Ning nodded thoughtfully.

“For example, if you become a Wanxiang Adept, you might be able to form the nine-matrix formation with unranked flying swords. But if you used graded flying swords, you probably couldn’t even form a two-matrix or three-matrix formation,” the Black Ox said. “The stronger the flying swords, the more mental energy they consume when controlled, making them naturally harder to manage. But this also means that even if you become a Celestial Immortal, you can still use the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation—though by then, you might acquire an even better sword formation. Still, this Lesser Thousand Sword Formation should serve you well for a thousand years.”

“The most important secret of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation lies in the ‘Lesser Thousand Runes’…”

The Black Ox went on to explain the key points.

…

A short while later, Ji Ning finished reading through the contents of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation, unable to suppress his amazement. Compared to this formation, that Yin-Yang Dual Qi Formation used by Tie Muzhan earlier was complete garbage.

Ji Ning immediately produced nine sword-type treasures from his storage treasure. Since they were all unranked, they were typically held in the hand for close-quarters combat, different in appearance from ordinary flying swords.

“The Lesser Thousand Rune.” Ji Ning began tracing the pattern on the ground with his finger.

Given his perfect control over his body, he was able to replicate the rune entirely.

The Black Ox watched from the side and shook his head. “No. It’s not about having the same appearance. What matters is the essence. When the Lesser Thousand Rune you draw can faintly stir the forces of Heaven and Earth, then it will be complete.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning continued drawing.

Because his imitation was very precise, and because he had already reached the level of comprehending a True Meaning of the Dao, he had a subtle resonance with the underlying Dao. On his three hundred and twelfth attempt, he finally drew a rune that could faintly stir the forces of Heaven and Earth.

“Mm.” The Black Ox nodded. “You already have a high level of insight, a powerful soul, and an acute sensitivity to Heaven and Earth. It is only natural that you learn quickly. Remember, the Lesser Thousand Rune is the foundation of the entire Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. Under no circumstances must it be leaked. If the Lesser Thousand Rune is exposed, some major tribes could completely reconstruct the formation based on it.”

Ji Ning nodded. “I understand.”

“Then begin,” the Black Ox said, watching from the side.

Ji Ning calmed himself completely. Then, from his storage treasure, he took out a small basin. He placed his hand over the basin, and drops of blood began to seep rapidly from his fingertip. In a short time, the basin was half-full. Seeing this, the Black Ox shook his head and sighed, “Fiendgod Body Refiners truly possess formidable vitality. They can be chopped to pieces and still not die. If a Ki Refiner’s heart is pierced, he dies. If a Ki Refiner bled this much blood, his face would turn pale as paper. But you probably recovered the moment you released the blood.”

Without a word, Ji Ning picked up a flying sword. The sword began to visibly grow larger. Dipping his finger in the blood, Ji Ning began to trace a rune on the blade’s surface.

In the blink of an eye, a Lesser Thousand Rune appeared on the blade’s surface, its blood-red glow flickering. Soon, the rune sank completely into the blade.

“Done,” the Black Ox said with a nod.

Ji Ning took out another flying sword and continued. Now that he had mastered the Lesser Thousand Rune, he made almost no mistakes. During his earlier run through the corridor, he had acquired several thousand treasures. Swords were the most common type, and he had over a thousand of them. Ji Ning decided to inscribe runes on all seven hundred and twenty-nine of them in one go.

“Matrices!” Ji Ning sat cross-legged, focusing his mind.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Immediately, nine flying swords rose into the air around Ji Ning, slowly rotating. But something felt missing, causing Ji Ning to frown.

“Remember, the power of a formation lies in its resonance with Heaven and Earth,” the Black Ox said from the side.

After a full quarter of an hour.

The nine flying swords hovering around Ji Ning suddenly took on an intangible essence. It was as if the nine swords had become a single entity. At that moment, the positions of the nine swords seemed perfectly aligned.

“The matrix is formed. Deploy the formation!” With a thought, Ji Ning caused another seventy-two flying swords to rise into the air, arranged in groups of nine.

The first layer of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation required a full eighty-one flying swords to assemble.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh…

All eighty-one flying swords hovered around Ji Ning, who sat with his eyes closed, controlling them. Soon, based on the Lesser Thousand Runes embedded in each sword, a faint, hazy light emanated from all eighty-one swords. At the same time, an invisible sword-light began to converge rapidly toward Ji Ning.

A flickering, unstable sword-light coalesced beside Ji Ning.

Ji Ning finally opened his eyes, gazing at the hovering sword-light. This sword-light was formed from his own Xiantian true essence, transformed and converged through the internal formations of the eighty-one flying swords. Quantity had given rise to a qualitative change, and its power was astonishing.

“Still quite easy.” Ji Ning concentrated, and another eighty-one flying swords rose into the air.

…

The Black Ox watched from the side, unable to help but marvel at the power of Ji Ning’s soul. This was nothing like the earlier, mindless control of several thousand treasures. Here, he had to precisely guide each flying sword, allowing them to form a perfect sword formation that could constantly draw on the power of Heaven and Earth.

“The third layer has been achieved as well. In terms of pure power, the sword-light he can now produce is no weaker than the combined strike of those several thousand treasures earlier.” The Black Ox was astonished. The Lesser Thousand Sword Formation increased its power several times over with each layer.

Hundreds of densely packed flying swords surrounded Ji Ning, each one faintly glowing. The sword-light coalescing in front of him grew increasingly powerful in aura.

Another eighty-one flying swords joined the mix, and the difficulty of control increased dramatically.

Beads of sweat appeared on Ji Ning’s forehead.

Humm…

A faint glow appeared on all the flying swords.

“Done.” The Black Ox was shocked, utterly shocked. “He actually activated the fifth layer of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation!”

Clatter, clatter, clatter, clatter…

All four hundred and five flying swords fell to the ground. Ji Ning opened his eyes, his face covered in sweat. He muttered to himself, “The fifth layer of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation is far too strenuous. My head is throbbing with pain. In ordinary combat, I should stick to the fourth layer. The fourth layer is much easier to manage.”