The Lightning Walk

Boom! Boom! Boom!~~~

One Immortal-ranked top-grade flying sword after another stabbed fiercely at Ji Ning’s chest. Not a single white mark was left behind. Although each impact sent him stumbling backward, he would simply walk back to his original position.

“Blackwater Thread of the Heaven-Sundering Art!”

The black-robed Ji Ning had completely erupted, executing the most powerful technique of the current Plow the Heavens art. Whoosh~~ Whoosh~~ Whoosh~~ A series of sword scars streaked through the air in curving arcs. Where the scars passed, rivers began to manifest. The nine illusory rivers in the air merged together like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, coalescing into a single, surging black river.

This surging black river was formed by all nine Plow the Heavens swords simultaneously striking toward Ji Ning’s chest.

“Boom!”

This time, Ji Ning’s true body could not hold his ground. He was involuntarily sent flying backward before crashing heavily into the wall with a loud bang. Bracing himself against the wall with both hands, he landed steadily.

Ji Ning lowered his head to examine his chest. The skin remained utterly flawless, without a trace of damage.

“What a divine ability! What a divine ability!” Ji Ning’s heart was filled with elation.

He had left the Grand Xia world for over thirty years, and wasn’t the entire purpose of that journey to learn something truly powerful to take back? Now, he had accomplished exactly that.

The Eight-Nine Arcane Art was hailed as the ‘number one divine ability in the Three Realms below the True God level.’ In ancient times, the most supreme powers of the Three Realms had joined forces, seeking to create a great divine ability that could elevate the Fiendgod body to rival Pangu himself. Although they had failed to create their ideal ‘twelfth cycle,’ even this mere nine-cycle version was incredibly formidable.

After all, he was still very weak right now. Becoming an Empyrean God was still an unfathomably distant goal, and a True God was even more remote. Even if this divine ability truly possessed tenth, eleventh, or twelfth cycles, he would be in no position to train in them anyway.

“With the divine ability complete, I shall make another trip to the Quya Mountain Range!” Ji Ning rose to his feet, and animal-hide robes automatically appeared on his body.

He walked out of the immortal estate, casually putting it away in his possession.

“Master, where are you going?” Qingya Xiaoyu was just about to enter the immortal estate.

“I need to go to the lower realms for a few days. I shall return shortly,” Ji Ning instructed. “If your Aunt Qing or Grandfather White asks, tell them as much.”

“Understood.” Qingya Xiaoyu obediently nodded.

Ji Ning departed alone. When he reached the entrance of the Palace of Immortals—

“Junior apprentice-brother. Junior apprentice-brother.” The white-robed Silvermoon Fairy was fanning himself as he walked over with a beaming smile. “Seeing you so full of vigor, it seems your Eight-Nine Arcane Art has already reached the third cycle, yes?”

“Indeed.” Ji Ning nodded.

The Eight-Nine Arcane Art only had two major difficulties. The first was the initial insight required to learn the ‘Seventy-Two Transformations,’ which was somewhat challenging. The second was refining the body afterward, which required a massive amount of treasures. Ji Ning had already gained the initial insight long ago, and having acquired a hundred top-grade Immortal-ranked pills before, he had naturally succeeded in one smooth push.

“How many immortal pills did you consume?” Silvermoon asked, curious.

“Ninety-nine,” Ji Ning replied with a smile.

“Mmm, that was cutting it close.” Silvermoon nodded. “Junior apprentice-brother, you must work hard and earn enough treasures to repay me as soon as possible.”

“I will,” Ji Ning nodded. “Junior apprentice-brother still has matters to attend to, so I will take my leave.”

“Go on, go on.” Silvermoon watched Ji Ning depart with a smile, shaking his head in utter satisfaction. “I, Silvermoon, am truly a genius. I gave little junior apprentice-brother a hundred immortal pills, and I can just idle away until ten thousand years pass by in the blink of an eye. Little junior apprentice-brother still owes me a hundred immortal pills! My immortal pills aren’t diminished—I gave out a hundred and I’ll get a hundred back—plus I gained dozens of Immortal-ranked treasures, and I’ve earned a favor from junior apprentice-brother as well.”

To a mighty Empyrean God, what did these treasures even amount to? But the sense of achievement and satisfaction from pulling off such a ‘clever move’ was what Silvermoon cherished most.

The Tristar Crescent Realm, the Star Continent.

Deep within the Quya Mountain Range, outside the thunder forbidden zone, two figures sat. One was the Golden-Furred Bear King. The other was a youth dressed in a loose Daoist robe, his eyes shining like stars.

“Elder brother,” the Golden-Furred Bear King said hurriedly. “This thunder barrier is simply too difficult. With your abilities as a Celestial Immortal, you’ve tried eight times already. Just now, when you and I joined forces, we still couldn’t advance a single inch past the one hundred sixty zhang mark before the lightning blasted us back. That’s our absolute limit. I say we should invite another Celestial Immortal here.”

“Fool!”

The Daoist-robed youth frowned and shot a glance at the Golden-Furred Bear King. “A treasure ground like this—how can it be leaked to others?”

“But are we just going to watch from the sidelines?” the Golden-Furred Bear King retorted. “Elder brother, you know as well as I that that black-robed youth broke through the thunder forbidden zone and entered the gorge long ago. The longer we drag our feet, the greater the chance that he obtains the treasure.”

Back then, Ji Ning had spoken with that black-robed youth before gritting his teeth, giving up, and leaving.

After Ji Ning had abandoned the attempt, the Golden-Furred Bear King had tried his utmost and managed to break through the first forbidden zone. But when he encountered the thunder forbidden zone, even relying on his formidable defensive abilities, he had been unable to advance past the one hundred twenty zhang mark. Worried that the ‘black-robed youth’ might claim the treasure, he had immediately left the Quya Mountain Range to seek out his friend, ‘Ancestor Wuyai.’

The two of them swore oath by the Heavenly Dao.

Whatever treasure they obtained would be split evenly between them. Ancestor Wuyai, a Celestial Immortal, was stronger. The Golden-Furred Bear King, though weaker, was the one who knew the secrets of the treasure ground.

“Now, several people already know about this treasure ground,” Ancestor Wuyai said, shaking his head. “If the information spreads further, the treasure will slip right through our fingers. You stupid bear, there’s no need to worry too much. That black-robed youth said there’s a third forbidden zone. If that weren’t true, he’d probably have already taken the treasure and left long ago. But he hasn’t left, which means the third forbidden zone is truly difficult to overcome. Since it’s that difficult, even if we invite another Celestial Immortal, we might not succeed. That would only risk leaking the information. Better that the two of us take our time and figure this out ourselves.”

“Mm.” The Golden-Furred Bear King nodded.

“Let’s think it over some more and see if we can find a better combined formation to break through this thunder barrier,” Ancestor Wuyai said.

“Alright.” The Golden-Furred Bear King nodded.

Just as they had been pondering for over an hour, a rumbling sound suddenly came from the distant oppressive pressure zone.

“A powerful expert has come!” Ancestor Wuyai frowned, listening to the rumbles. “They’re advancing very quickly. Could news of the treasure ground have leaked again?”

“Impossible,” the Golden-Furred Bear King frowned. “Of the surviving twelve Eastern Flow Demon Kings, I’ve already intimidated my elder brother into forcing the other two to swear a Heavenly Dao oath. As for that ‘Northmont Immortal,’ he gave up over a year ago and hasn’t been back since. Could it be… the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan? But the Qi Kingdom’s royal clan is pathetically weak…”

Even as they spoke—

Boom!

A figure charged out and landed on the ground.

It was a youth in animal hide, wielding a terrifyingly powerful Immortal-ranked sword.

“Northmont Immortal?” The Golden-Furred Bear King was stunned.

“Little fellow.” Ancestor Wuyai, standing by his side, frowned. “Who is your master?”

He had heard the Golden-Furred Bear King’s account and naturally recognized this as ‘Northmont’ at a glance. For a cultivator to possess such power at the early Void stage, he must have a very impressive master. Perhaps he was even a fellow disciple from the same ‘Mount Innerheart’ lineage. However, with so many disciples on Mount Innerheart, why would a Celestial Immortal like him yield when faced with such a treasure?

“Golden-Furred Bear King, is this your helper?” Ji Ning’s gaze fell upon Ancestor Wuyai. This ‘ancestor’ was a green-robed youth with an extraordinary, transcendent aura.

“This is my elder brother, a Celestial Immortal of far greater power than myself—Celestial Immortal Wuyai,” the Golden-Furred Bear King said proudly.

“A Celestial Immortal?”

Ji Ning was startled.

Ancestor Wuyai, however, pressed on. “Little fellow, I asked you a question. Who is your master?”

Ji Ning smiled but didn’t answer, instead walking straight into the thunder forbidden zone.

Ancestor Wuyai couldn’t help but frown. Seeing Ji Ning’s utter calm, he was even more convinced that the youth had an extraordinary background. He said coldly from the sidelines, “Little fellow, this is a thunder forbidden zone. You have to cross a full one hundred eighty zhang of it to get through. With your strength, you are still far from sufficient.”

By now, Ji Ning had already stepped into the thunder forbidden zone.

Boom! Boom! Boom!…

Bolts of lightning and thunder immediately came crashing down. Ji Ning, however, was perfectly calm, offering no resistance whatsoever as he let the lightning strike his body.

“A Fiendgod Body Refiner can only barely endure the first ten zhang of the thunder zone through pure physical toughness,” Ancestor Wuyai said, shaking his head.

But Ji Ning kept walking forward.

Ten zhang. Twenty zhang. Thirty zhang…

The thunder grew more and more ferocious, yet Ji Ning continued as if on a leisurely stroll, allowing the lightning to batter him.

“Th-this, this…” Ancestor Wuyai and the Golden-Furred Bear King were both utterly dumbstruck.

Seventy zhang. Eighty zhang. Ninety zhang…

Ji Ning continued forward with ease. The massive pillars of lightning as thick as water barrels came crashing down with a thunderous roar, but to Ji Ning, it felt like being washed by the rain, very comfortable. He could feel his skin being struck and tempered, becoming unbelievably comfortable.

One hundred twenty zhang. One hundred thirty zhang. One hundred forty zhang…

Ji Ning simply kept walking straight.

Even the black-robed youth, who had appeared at the entrance to the gorge in the distance, was watching in shock. “That fur-clad brat… it’s only been a little over a year since I last saw him. How has he become so powerful all of a sudden?”

One hundred sixty zhang. One hundred seventy zhang…

“My fur cloak is a Heaven-ranked top-grade Dao-robe transformed, and the robe itself is extremely flexible and excels at deflecting force. Its toughness is comparable to an Immortal-ranked low-grade flying sword.” A flying sword was too sharp, and what is too rigid easily breaks. For enduring attacks, a Heaven-ranked top-grade Dao-robe could indeed match an Immortal-ranked low-grade flying sword.

Bathing in the endless thunder, Ji Ning walked straight out of the one hundred eighty zhang range, and the lightning abruptly vanished.

On the other side of the thunder forbidden zone, Ancestor Wuyai and the Golden-Furred Bear King were completely stupefied.

“Enduring it with his body alone? Th-this… the force at the one hundred sixty zhang mark is already comparable to the combined attack of my elder brother and myself. The force at one hundred eighty zhang must be at the high-Celestial Immortal level!” the Golden-Furred Bear King trembled. “A mere early Void cultivator, not even using a magic treasure, endured it with his body alone? This body is…”

“Such a body… it’s almost on par with an Immortal-ranked magic treasure.” Ancestor Wuyai’s expression suddenly changed. As a disciple of the Mount Innerheart lineage and a Celestial Immortal, he could only think of one divine ability at this moment—the number one divine ability below the True God level in the Three Realms: the Eight-Nine Arcane Art.

“To have a body that has reached this level at his realm, it can only be the Eight-Nine Arcane Art! And the Eight-Nine Arcane Art can only be taught personally by the Patriarch himself, or with his permission. Could he be a disciple taken in by the Patriarch?” At this thought, terror seized Ancestor Wuyai’s heart, and he hurriedly sent a mental transmission to Ji Ning. “May I ask the Northmont Immortal if you know Brother Silvermoon the Empyrean God?”

Silvermoon the Empyrean God was the manager of the Palace of Immortals, and every disciple of the Mount Innerheart lineage knew of him.

“You know Senior Apprentice-Brother Silvermoon?” Ji Ning turned to look at him.

“Your junior, Wuyai, pays respects to Uncle-Master.” Ancestor Wuyai hurriedly transmitted back with respect. He had no doubt that Ji Ning was impersonating someone—after all, outsiders couldn’t enter the Tristar Crescent Realm at all. And the Eight-Nine Arcane Art could not be faked!

Ji Ning was taken aback.

It wasn’t too strange, though. In the Tristar Crescent Realm, many cultivators who transcended the tribulation and became Celestial Immortals were accepted into the Mount Innerheart lineage.

“Oh. We can chat on Mount Innerheart another time.” Ji Ning turned and walked toward the gorge.

The black-robed youth at the entrance of the gorge frowned slightly, turned around, and charged back into the gorge.

Soon.

Ji Ning also stepped into this gorge, shrouded by a layer of thick fog. The waves of terrifying energy pulsing from within the gorge grew increasingly intense.