Opening the Heavenly Eye, Manifesting the Divine Sense

Blood was flying. The Water-Fire Lotus continued to bloom around Ji Ning, and Ji Ning himself continued to fight desperately.

"I must obtain one of the top three divine abilities." Ji Ning remembered what the artifact spirit had said earlier—that he would barely be able to obtain the third divine ability at best when challenging the Divine Abilities Hall. Even with the yellow-furred bear's power, it could only make a vague prediction, not daring to guarantee that Ji Ning would definitely obtain the third one.

This meant that even if he gave it his all, whether or not he could get the third divine ability was still uncertain. With that in mind, Ji Ning had to fight.

"Kill."

The images of the resourceful old Patriarch, Ji Jiuhuo; Granny Shadow, who had threatened suicide to pressure him; the loyal old servant A Xing who followed her; the spirited Ji Liuzhen; and of course his father, Ji Yichuan, whose exterior was as cold as ice but who was deeply emotional inside—and Uncle White, who had loved him since he was very young, all flashed through Ji Ning's mind.

"I want you all to live!"

"Father, Uncle White, Patriarch—all of you must live." Ji Ning looked at the Lishi soldiers surging toward him, and in his heart there was only one word—Kill!

Kill!

Kill all that stand in the way!

Everything I want to protect, everything I cherish—no one shall take it away!

……

The nine flying swords controlled by his divine sense desperately fought around Ji Ning, doing their utmost to assist him. But the surging tide of Lishi soldiers roared forward one after another, surrounding and killing him. Ji Ning's struggle grew weaker and weaker, but his gaze became even more frantic and determined.

He understood what he sought.

He understood his heart.

"BOOM!"

A thunderous sound echoed within his very soul, like the primordial sound of Pangu splitting Heaven and Earth apart. Ji Ning's divine sense, which had been controlling those nine flying swords… suddenly illuminated every single Lishi soldier around him with perfect clarity. Even the skin, flesh, and hair on their bodies were visible in minute detail. Even the pitch-black stone tablet not far away, the large table covered in weapons, everything was enveloped.

It was as if…

Ji Ning had gained an extra eye, an eye that could clearly see everything around him. Every single hair and fiber was visible!

Chapter 31: Opening the Heavenly Eye, Manifesting the Divine Sense

"Divine Sense!" Ji Ning instantly understood.

His soul had transformed to an entirely new level.

Zifu Disciples generally had a 'Divided Mind' ability.

Wanxiang Adepts could usually manifest 'divine thought' and manipulate objects.

Only Primal Daoists could open their 'Heavenly Eye' and manifest 'Divine Sense'. Wherever Divine Sense extended, every strand of hair and fiber could be seen, as if witnessed by one's own eyes.

The progression of the soul was extremely difficult. Yet on the path of immortal cultivation, the soul was of paramount importance. Only when the soul was strong enough could one control the increasingly vast and surging Yuan power. If a mortal had the Yuan power of an Immortal, the result would only be one thing… an inability to control that Yuan power, causing a violent revolt that would shatter the mortal's bones and kill them.

Progress in the soul came through visualization techniques, through comprehending the Dao, through the body becoming stronger and nourishing the soul in turn, and through tempering one's will.

Tempering the will… this was also known as tempering the Dao-heart!

Ji Ning had reached the 'Divine Thought' level when he was eleven years old. In the five years since then, his progress in comprehending the Dao had been astonishing. He had even reached the 'Dao Domain' level. This had clearly been of great benefit to his soul.

Furthermore, just recently, his Fiendgod Body Refining had reached the 'Blood-Drop Rebirth' level, which had once again nourished his soul.

And over these five years, his daily visualization of the Nuwa Diagram had resulted in rapid, daily progress.

And today…

Ji Ning had first fought the great battle at Oxhorn Mountain, witnessed his kinsmen choosing a battle to the death, and had even been forced to flee alone. Now he was undertaking the trial of the Divine Abilities Hall, wanting to seize one of the top three divine abilities. Everything he had experienced today… had been a tempering and a trial for Ji Ning's will. In the face of utter desperation, his will had only grown firmer.

A Dao-heart had become purer, firmer, and more perfect.

The Dao-heart and the will… they were to the soul what military discipline was to an army. Given the same group of soldiers, if they were strictly disciplined, their combat power would be much higher. If they were lax, it would be much worse.

The same principle applied to the Dao-heart and the will.

With the same soul… when the will was firm, a cultivator could unleash a very strong power. Even if their Yuan power was too vast, a firm will could forcibly command it. However, if the will was weak, even if the Yuan power within the body was too vast, one might not be able to command it, and even some simple charm or illusion techniques could be fatal.

Thus, for a cultivator, tempering the Dao-heart was extremely important. The more perfect and pure the Dao-heart, the further one could go on the path of Immortal cultivation.

"Five years of comprehending the Dao."

"Five years of visualization."

"The improvement from Fiendgod Body Refining."

"All of this has laid a solid foundation for me. Today's tempering of the Dao-heart pushes me to break through in one go, opening the Heavenly Eye and manifesting the Divine Sense." A vertical pupil suddenly appeared in the center of Ji Ning's forehead. This vertical pupil was a channel leading to the 'soul' within his sea of consciousness. It was as if Ji Ning's soul was looking outward through this vertical pupil.

Wherever his Heavenly Eye looked, Ji Ning could see at a glance that those Lishi soldiers were merely a conglomeration of energy.

"Close." The vertical pupil on Ji Ning's forehead closed.

When the Heavenly Eye opened, even if demons and ghosts used profound illusionary techniques, he could easily see through them. Furthermore, Divine Sense could envelop a vast area, allowing for extremely clear detection. Even maze formations and illusion formations could be thoroughly investigated by Divine Sense, making it impossible to fool Ji Ning.

Generally speaking, most formations, especially those pertaining to illusions…

Were of little use against cultivators with Divine Sense. Of course, there were powerful formations capable of masking Divine Sense, but such formations were mostly absent from even the vast majority of Wanxiang Adepts.

…

"WHOOSH!"

The power of the nine flying swords being controlled by his divine thought suddenly surged dramatically.

Nine sword beams howled through the air, and rows upon rows of Lishi soldiers were cleaved in two. Heads flew, bodies were severed, and all turned into mist.

"Kill, kill, kill." A look of delight appeared on Ji Ning's face.

"All of you, come forth!"

Ji Ning looked at the large table in the distance. The table was covered in a vast number of weapons. He saw a flying sword lift into the air, then another. Soon, nearly a hundred flying swords were soaring through the air, each turning into a flowing sword of light that swept through and killed everything in its path. A large number of Lishi soldiers continued to fall, turning into mist and dissipating.

Nearly a hundred sword-artifacts, transformed into nearly a hundred streaks of light, dancing around Ji Ning.

Ji Ning himself just stood there, not needing to act.

"My divine thought is too powerful." Ji Ning was completely immersed in pleasant surprise.

His divine thought had now undergone a qualitative transformation. The area it could cover was as clear as if he had seen it with his own eyes. Its telekinetic capabilities had also skyrocketed! Previously, the power his divine thought could imbue into a flying sword was about the same as a Fiendgod at the early Zifu stage. But now, the transformed divine thought possessed a power roughly equal to that of a Fiendgod at the peak Zifu stage!

The power of his divine thought was even stronger than Ji Ning's current Fiendgod body!

With such immense power… and with the aid of the Rainwater Sword Domain, he didn't even need to use his strongest move, 'Silk Rain Forms Threads'. A simple sword technique was enough to sweep aside an entire row. Furthermore, when controlling swords with his divine thought, he didn't need to worry about his own defense. His swordplay became even more aggressive and fierce, and naturally, its power increased.

Hua!

Wave after wave of Lishi soldiers fell. Under the sweeping assault of nearly a hundred flying swords, they died far too quickly.

"My divine thought is far stronger than my close-combat abilities," Ji Ning thought to himself. His progress in his soul had far surpassed both his Fiendgod Body Refining and Ki Refining. His soul had already reached the 'Open Heavenly Eye, Manifest Divine Sense' level, something only Primal Daoists possessed.

Each of his flying swords was more powerful than Ji Ning's original body.

Nearly a hundred flying swords were like nearly a hundred enhanced copies of Ji Ning, sweeping through the battlefield. Wave after wave of Lishi soldiers fell. The faster they died, the faster they would be formed.

New batches of Lishi soldiers were constantly being spawned.

Kill! Kill! Kill!

Nearly a hundred sword beams, like aquatic dragons, howled and shuttled through the area. Although the Lishi soldiers grew more powerful with each wave—decreasing from being able to kill a whole row with one sweep, to five or six, to two or three, and finally to each sword beam barely being able to kill a single one—with nearly a hundred sword-artifacts attacking together, the efficiency was still very fast.

"Huff."

Ji Ning looked around. All was silent. Not a single sound. The only things floating in the air were the nearly one hundred flying swords.

"All gone?" Ji Ning was startled.

"Empty?" Ji Ning looked around. All that remained was the pitch-black stone tablet and the large table filled with weapons, quietly sitting there, as if to tell him… all the Lishi soldiers had been killed by him!

Hua.

A figure appeared beside him. It was the yellow-furred bear. The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning, its gaze complex and strange.

"Are you the reincarnation of a Celestial Immortal?" the yellow-furred bear muttered. "Or the reincarnation of an ancient Fiendgod?"

Ji Ning's hearing was naturally extraordinary, so he heard the yellow-furred bear's muttering. The reincarnation of a Celestial Immortal? The reincarnation of an ancient Fiendgod? Others might not know, but Ji Ning was very clear about his own past life.

"Relying on comprehending the Dao, tempering the Dao-heart, and Fiendgod Body Refining… to push one's soul to the 'Divine Sense' level is virtually impossible," the yellow-furred bear said, looking at Ji Ning. "Those Immortal cultivators only unlock their Heavenly Eye and manifest Divine Sense after becoming Primal Daoists, nourishing their soul within their Primal, allowing it to grow."

"Becoming a Primal Daoist first, and then gaining Divine Sense. This is almost always the case!"

"Wanxiang Adepts who possess Divine Sense are one in ten thousand." The yellow-furred bear shook its head. "For one to possess Divine Sense before becoming a Primal Daoist, they are generally the reincarnation of an Immortal or some other mighty figure, or they have encountered a great stroke of fortune. Could you be the reincarnation of an Immortal? But if you truly were, your senior sect members should have come to receive you long ago. Or perhaps, before entering the aquatic palace, you had another great opportunity?"

Ji Ning just blinked and said nothing.

A great opportunity?

Meeting Judge Cui of the Netherworld Kingdom and being granted the visualization technique 'Nuwa Diagram'—did that count? Happening to be reincarnated without drinking the Meng Po soup and training in the Nuwa Diagram from infancy—did that count?

"Senior, which divine ability can I obtain?" Ji Ning asked hurriedly.

"You've killed all the Lishi soldiers, so naturally, you get the first divine ability." The yellow-furred bear blinked. "Come with me."

He grabbed Ji Ning.

Hua!

The surrounding grey space began to tremble, then even began to warp. Ji Ning had a strange feeling… for a moment, it felt very long, for a moment, it felt very short.

"How much time has passed?" Ji Ning felt a bit panicked.

He was afraid that too much time had passed, and that something had changed at Oxhorn Mountain.

"Don't worry. Don't fret about the time it takes to receive a divine ability," the yellow-furred bear said. "The legacy the master left behind is about to manifest, and the surrounding space-time will begin to separate. Once it is completely separated, time here will be nearly frozen relative to the outside. A hundred years could pass inside, and it would be but a single breath's worth of time outside."

Ji Ning was secretly shocked, but soon calmed down. Back in the Netherworld Kingdom, the flow of time around the Bridge of Helplessness had been vastly different from other places.

It seemed that there were indeed some mighty figures in the Three Realms who could alter the flow of time.

"I wonder what divine ability technique was left behind by the aquatic palace's first master." Ji Ning thought to himself.