The Coldblade Sword Formation

Ji Ning hesitated.

Which one should he choose?

“Senior,” Ji Ning said, immediately putting on an obedient tone. “After my Fiendgod Body Refining reaches the Wanxiang level and I clear the fourth floor of the War God Hall, I’ll have another chance to pick an Earth-ranked treasure. Will there be better items then?”

“Of course there will be better ones!” the yellow-furred bear said confidently. “Better than the Earthfire Heartlamp, the Cold-Sha Mirror, and the Coldblade Sword Formation… definitely. And more than one! You’ve only cleared the third floor of the War God Hall. Why would I bring out the absolute best Earth-ranked treasures right now? If I did, you wouldn’t even consider the Earthfire Heartlamp and the others.”

“Hurry up and pick. There are plenty of treasures, but unfortunately, you can’t have them all.” The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning. “My master left so many treasures, not for a single owner to take everything. If you die, you should leave a few nice things for the next owner, shouldn’t you?”

Ji Ning curled his lips inwardly.

Bad luck.

Die?

Having stepped onto the path of cultivation, Ji Ning had absolutely no intention of failing.

“I’ll choose this one.” Ji Ning pointed at the open page, the one recording the Coldblade Sword Formation.

“I really do want the Earthfire Heartlamp and the Cold-Sha Mirror,” Ji Ning thought to himself. “But they can’t increase my combat strength in the short term. The Coldblade Sword Formation, on the other hand, can boost my power immediately! These nine Coldblade swords are top-grade Earth-ranked treasures by Daoist Threelives’ classification. In terms of raw power, they’re even slightly superior to ordinary Heaven-ranked flying swords. This will allow my Lesser Thousand Sword Formation to rise by an entire level!”

The closer one’s strength got to its limits, the harder it was to make any improvement. To rise by an entire level was exceptionally difficult.

The main reason was the sheer power of the Coldblade Sword Formation itself.

If he wanted to buy them from the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, the price of a single Coldblade sword would exceed that of an ordinary Heaven-ranked flying sword. Given their rarity, each could cost ten thousand jin of Primordial Liquid! A complete set of these top-grade Earth-ranked treasures, all from the same source, was even rarer—practically priceless. A full set would sell for at least 100,000 jin of Primordial Liquid.

One hundred thousand jin of Primordial Liquid?

Even a Primal Daoist would be terrified by that price. Ji Ning’s lucky haul from the Dragon Whale King’s corpse hadn’t yielded nearly that much.

The power of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation depended entirely on the quality of the flying swords it used. There was no fake news there.

“Thank goodness I have the Treasure Hall,” Ji Ning thought. “The Lesser Thousand Sword Formation has met its true master in me, to unleash such terrifying power.”

The formation was simple: the stronger the treasures, the more devastating the formation. Although the ‘Thousand Sword Immortal’ had made a fearsome name for himself with it back in the day, he had still fallen to Celestial Immortal Juhua. But with the Treasure Hall backing him up, the limits of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation were destined to be pushed to the extreme.

“Come.” The yellow-furred bear waved upward into the void.

From the distant depths of the void, dots of starlight descended, piercing through the restrictive barrier to arrive before Ji Ning. They were nine pitch-black flying swords. Though black, they had a glossy, lustrous sheen. Seen from the side, a faint layer of deep green light was visible on their surfaces.

Beautiful. A true work of art.

“Perfect.” Ji Ning couldn’t help but softly praise. He immediately released his Yuan power, and streams of water-blue energy wrapped around the nine Coldblade flying swords, easily refining them.

With a thought, Ji Ning sent the nine streaks of starlight spinning around him.

“Their power is not inferior to Heaven-ranked magic treasures.” Ji Ning couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.

Heaven-ranked treasures were normally only usable by Primal Daoists. Yet these Earth-ranked treasures, which he could wield now, had such power. That was why they were called ‘top-grade Earth-ranked treasures.’ And he had a full set of nine!

“This is enough to make even Primal Daoists green with envy, enough to make them ambush me,” Ji Ning said with a soft laugh.

“It’s hard to judge a treasure’s true rank by looking at it alone. Only by personally refining it can you tell,” the yellow-furred bear said.

“Excellent.” The more Ji Ning thought about it, the happier he became.

“Alright. If you want to choose more treasures, go back and train hard,” the yellow-furred bear urged.

Ji Ning nodded.

Immediately, a massive illusory head of a bear appeared, swallowing Ji Ning in a single gulp.

On Serpentwing Lake’s Brightheart Island, word quickly spread that Ji Ning, who had been in secluded meditation for half a month, had finally emerged.

No one knew of the ‘aquatic palace’s existence except Ji Ning. Since he had entered the quiet room and ordered that no one disturb him, everyone assumed he had been in seclusion the entire time.

“Master, master!” The azure-robed girl appeared at the quiet room’s entrance in an instant.

Ji Ning stepped out, raising his head to look outside. A biting cold wind greeted him, and thick goose-feather snow drifted through the sky.

“Master, why couldn’t I sense you at all after you entered seclusion?” the azure-robed girl immediately asked via mental communication. “It felt like you were incredibly far away. But I’m your spirit-beast; our contract hasn’t been dissolved, so I know you aren’t dead. But if you aren’t dead, why couldn’t I sense you?”

The Whitewater Hound walked over and also communicated mentally: “Ning, when you went into seclusion, Skygreen came looking for you. I stopped her.”

“Oh.” Ji Ning smiled.

Back when he had first entered the aquatic palace, it had caused his parents a great deal of worry. They had known he had entered some ancient, special ruin. Uncle White had known about it for a long time as well.

“I had an encounter,” Ji Ning said.

“An encounter?” Qingqing was surprised.

The vast lands ruled by the Grand Xia Dynasty held countless secrets. Anything could happen. Things like an ancient, awakened Fiendgod suddenly emerging right in the middle of a battle were common enough. What couldn’t happen?

Qingqing understood that Ji Ning didn’t want to go into detail, and she muttered, “So stingy.”

Ji Ning smiled.

The aquatic palace implicated Daoist Threelives. Its influence was enough to shake the entire Three Realms! How could Ji Ning dare to casually reveal its existence? He was its master now, and only he could enter it. No one else could enter it… He hadn’t even told his parents, since they wouldn’t be able to enter anyway. Telling them would only cause trouble, not bring any good.

“Young master.” In the distance, Qiuye walked over with a bright, happy expression. “You’re out of seclusion. Young Master Ji Mo came by while you were in seclusion, hoping to seek your guidance.”

“Ji Mo?” Ji Ning nodded. “He didn’t come during those first three days after I returned.”

Ji Mo was, aside from Ji Ning himself, the most outstanding member of the younger generation of the Ji clan.

“Young Master Ji Mo has also been out gaining experience,” Qiuye said. “So when you returned, the clan leader sent people to find him. It took a few days. On the ninth day after you began your seclusion, Young Master Ji Mo came alone.”

Ji Ning smiled and nodded.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in the distance. With two flashes, it arrived before him. It was a tall, handsome young man with sword-like brows. The look in his eyes as he gazed at Ji Ning was filled with fervor. He immediately bowed respectfully: “Greetings, Young Master Ji Ning.”

“You’ve made considerable progress over the years,” Ji Ning said with a smile of approval.

One glance was enough. Ji Mo’s aura had completely changed. In the old days, he had been very gentle and quiet. Now, he was like an unsheathed war blade, filled with a powerful fighting spirit forged through the trials of battle.

“I’m still far behind you, young master,” Ji Mo said respectfully.

“If you don’t mind, you’re welcome to stay here for a while anytime,” Ji Ning said suddenly.

Ji Mo was startled, then a look of joy appeared on his face.

Back then, he had knelt and begged Ji Ning to take him as a disciple, but Ji Ning had been focused entirely on his Dao and had no time for him. Now that Ji Ning had decided to live long-term at Serpentwing Lake, he was naturally willing to spend a little time occasionally guiding this, aside from himself, the most outstanding member of the Ji clan’s younger generation. It was also a way to train experts for the Ji clan.

Suddenly—

“Is Junior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning present?” A voice, very familiar, instantly rang out across the entire Serpentwing Lake.

“Junior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning?”

“Calling our young master ‘junior apprentice-brother’?” Qiuye’s face showed a look of surprise.

“Calling the island master ‘junior apprentice-brother’?” Many of the maids and servants on Brightheart Island were also stunned and confused. The ‘island master’ was, of course, Ji Ning, the master of Brightheart Island.

“Junior apprentice-brother?”

In an instant, everyone on Serpentwing Lake’s islands was puzzled and curious. Only the few who knew that Ji Ning had joined the Black-White College guessed: “It might be a fellow disciple from the Black-White College who has arrived.”

Hearing this voice, Ji Ning was also startled. He couldn’t help but look up towards the source.

In the distance, a sailboat was flying through the air, and two beautiful figures could be faintly seen on board.

“Ning, it seems to be your two senior apprentice-sisters,” the Whitewater Hound sent mentally. “Impressive. You come back, and two senior apprentice-sisters chase after you all the way here.”

“They’re just passing through for a visit,” Ji Ning said, glancing at Uncle White.

The Whitewater Hound just laughed.

Ji Ning then looked up at the distant sailboat and said softly, “But it is quite a coincidence. I just came out of seclusion, and they just happen to arrive.”

Swoosh.

Ji Ning immediately rode the wind, soaring into the air to greet them: “Senior Apprentice-Sister Nine Lotos, Senior Apprentice-Sister Qingqing.”

Above Serpentwing Lake, Nine Lotos, clad in her water-blue Daoist robe, and Qingqing, in her silver clothes, both flew down.

“We found out from Junior Apprentice-Brother Northson that you live here,” Nine Lotos said with a smile. “We’re out gaining experience and were passing through the Yan Mountains, so we thought we’d stop by and visit. You have excellent taste, Junior Apprentice-Brother, choosing such a beautiful place… the vast Serpentwing Lake, and the island at its center is also quite lovely.”

Ji Ning turned to look. Indeed, the lake stretched out before them, sparkling like emerald jade. At its heart, the island was covered in flowers and plants, with pavilions and towers peeking out from among them. It truly was a secluded paradise.

“Senior Apprentice-Sister, you might not know this, but this place was originally lair to a demon,” Ji Ning said with a laugh. “After I killed that demon, my Ji clan put a lot of effort into transforming the place over a long period, turning what was once a demon’s island into what it is today. You two, let’s not keep talking up here in the air. Come, let’s go down and have a look around my island, and let me, as your host, do my duty.”

“Alright.”

Senior Apprentice-Sister Nine Lotos, Senior Apprentice-Sister Qingqing, and Ji Ning flew down together.

On Brightheart Island, the mortal servants and maids muttered to each other in excitement: “Ooh, fairies!”

“They’re flying!”

“So beautiful!”

“Immortals!”

The mortals were thrilled.

Ji Ning and the other two descended. The Skygreen Serpent and the Whitewater Hound naturally came over as well.

“These two great demons must be the Skygreen Serpent named Qingqing and the Whitewater Hound named Uncle White that Junior Apprentice-Brother Wood mentioned?” Nine Lotos said with a smile.

“What?! Qingqing?!” The silver-robed woman beside her immediately glared.

“That’s right, Qingqing. She’s called Qingqing, too.” Nine Lotos was barely containing her laughter. This was a joke she had been holding back, waiting until the two ‘Qingqings’ met face-to-face.