Mastery in Isolation

Ji Ning’s breakthrough to the seventeenth stage of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens did not cause much of a stir. Even the high-level members of the First Army of the Broken Horn World’s frontier forces were unaware that Ji Ning had broken through. This was the nature of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens; only major realm leaps would cause the Sunstar and Taiyin Star to descend with true fire and true water. Minor stage breakthroughs were very quiet.

“Hua, hua…” The even more refined Crimsonbright Divine Power transformed into countless streams, flowing through his Fiendgod body, making it stronger and stronger.

The seventeenth stage!

This was one of the ultimate limits of his true body before undergoing the tribulation. If he dared to push it to the eighteenth stage, the Heavenly Tribulation could descend at any moment. Although he now possessed Heartforce and had much more confidence, he was also wreathed in karmic sinfire, carrying immense sin. The might of his tribulation would likely be even more terrifying. If he could actually make it out of the Realm of Annihilation alive, Ji Ning could not imagine what the scene of his true body’s tribulation would be like in the future.

“The sole successor of the Starseizing Hand, a disciple of Patriarch Subhuti, a Fiendgod Body Refiner about to undergo tribulation—and wreathed in karmic sinfire.” Ji Ning had no way to imagine it.

Generally, when Fiendgods underwent tribulation, the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation was common. Once they survived it, they would become Empyrean Gods!

He was no ordinary Fiendgod.

“I’ve heard that some rebellious Ki Refiners also face the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation when they undergo tribulation.” Ji Ning considered. “But I am a Fiendgod Body Refiner. My tribulation…” The factors that determined the power of a Heavenly Tribulation had still not been fully figured out. However, there were many precedents. For example, when Lu Dongbin, a Ki Refiner, underwent his tribulation, he faced the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation.

For ordinary Fiendgods, the Nine-Nine Heavenly Tribulation was quite common.

There were also some rebellious ones, like the Fiendgods born from the very essence of Heaven and Earth in the Three Realms. Their natural aptitudes were simply too monstrous, and the tribulations they underwent were not ordinary either. Ji Ning now had a feeling… that he was probably going to be like one of those peerless Fiendgods born from the concentrated essence of Heaven and Earth.

“Screw it. Now that I have so many opponents, there’s no need to hold back. I need to study Heartforce. I can’t waste this opportunity.” Ji Ning opened his eyes and stopped training.

“It looks like he’s recovered. This time, it’s my turn.” A burly, purple-caped warrior with curving horns laughed loudly, four massive warhammers in his hands, as he strode through the void and charged straight at Ji Ning.

…

Though he was trapped in a desperate situation with no way to escape, Ji Ning no longer dwelled on it. He threw himself wholeheartedly into the battle. As he grew more experienced with the operation of Heartforce, his strength continued to increase. The more Heartforce he could channel into his finger-sword thrusts, the more powerful they naturally became. This left the purple-caped warriors feeling miserable.

Starting from the twelfth year, which was after Ji Ning had broken through to the seventeenth stage, nearly half of the purple-caped warriors were at a disadvantage against him.

As his use of Heartforce grew more and more powerful, one purple-caped warrior after another was suppressed by Ji Ning. However, the difference in strength was not so great that they couldn’t protect their own lives.

By the fifteenth year, Ji Ning was confident that he could kill a few of the opponents he had the advantage over during the fighting, but he did not. He was worried that if he killed a purple-caped warrior and enraged the other side, the loss would outweigh the gain. What was most important to him now was to buy time. Ideally, he could drag things out for decades or even centuries. The longer it took, the greater the chance that his teacher, Patriarch Subhuti, would be able to find him.

In the sixteenth year, Ji Ning’s finger-sword technique could already expend one-twentieth of his Heartforce in a single attack. This was a full-power state. Ji Ning could only execute this with one hand; he was not yet capable of doing so with all six of his hands simultaneously.

In the seventeenth year, he reached the point where a single technique consumed one-sixteenth of his Heartforce.

In the eighteenth year, he could use one-fifteenth of his Heartforce in a single technique! At this point, his ability to use Heartforce had reached perfection. There was no longer any waste or leakage of Heartforce, and Ji Ning felt that there was nowhere left to improve. Although it still fell short of the Heartforce consumption of the Houyi Archery Art, close combat was, after all, different from archery.

Aside from gradually mastering the use of Heartforce, Ji Ning’s sword arts had also grown increasingly powerful.

In the Realm of Annihilation, where there was no influence of any Dao, it instead allowed Ji Ning to perceive the sword arts more purely, enabling him to vaguely touch upon the true essence of the sword.

Ji Ning continued to fight in the Realm of Annihilation. His life was calm, but in the distant Three Realms, the Grand Xia world was no longer so peaceful.

Anchan City. Black-White College.

Night.

On a mountain peak within the Black-White College, a black-robed girl and a black-haired, black-robed man were sitting separately, silently drinking wine and pondering.

“The Seamless Gate is becoming more and more brazen.” The Diancai Immortal’s eyes held anger. He then shook his head and sighed. “But they are indeed formidable. To be able to cause the Beishan clan of Anchan to split from within, and to make so many high-level members of the Anchan Beishan clan want to defect to the Seamless Gate. Luckily, Senior Tonghe acted in fury and killed them.”

Just an hour ago, the Celestial Immortal Tonghe had acted in a rage, killing more than half of the high-level members of the Anchan Beishan clan who were at the Void stage! All who had rebelled were dead!

“Senior Tonghe made his move, and the Seamless Gate has issued an ultimatum. If we don’t defect now, we’ll become their mortal enemies.” The Diancai Immortal looked at Yu Wei. “Yu Wei, what do you think we should do?”

“What use would it be for us to speak? What the Seamless Gate really cares about is Senior Tonghe, who is rumored to possess strength nearly comparable to a Pure Yang True Immortal.” Yu Wei said. “That is precisely why the Seamless Gate has invested so much effort in our Anchan Commandery. They want to win Senior Tonghe over to their side.”

“The Seamless Gate has invested heavily in our area. Other commanderies are in chaos too, but not to the extent of ours. But Senior Tonghe is truly decisive. When the Beishan clan split from within, with nearly half wanting to defect to the Seamless Gate, and even Celestial Immortal Tuoshan was captured alive by the Seamless Gate, he still did not hesitate to kill more than half of the Void-level cultivators, disregarding Tuoshan’s life or death, and chose to stand with the Grand Xia Emperor.” The Diancai Immortal also sighed. “Now the Seamless Gate has issued its ultimatum, and the Anchan Commandery is about to face a calamity.”

Thinking of the calamity, the Diancai Immortal thought of Ji Ning.

That disciple who could always create miracles.

That peerless disciple who could fight his way into the den of the Shaoyin clan, slay two Celestial Immortals, and bear the agony of karmic sinfire.

“I wonder how Ji Ning is doing now. Eighteen years, and he still hasn’t returned.” The Diancai Immortal’s eyes held anxiety.

“Eighteen years.” Yu Wei gazed at the bright moon in the night sky, her heart filled with endless longing.

Junior apprentice-brother…

When will you come back?

“It’s good to be late in returning, to avoid this calamity.” The Diancai Immortal said angrily. “The Seamless Gate is so reckless. Senior Tonghe is still on the Grand Xia Emperor’s side, yet the Grand Xia Emperor hasn’t come to help.”

“The entire Grand Xia is in chaos. He has to help everywhere; what else can he do?” Yu Wei sighed. “And how do you know, Uncle-Master, that the Grand Xia Emperor hasn’t been helping in secret?”

…

In just eighteen years.

The situation in the Grand Xia had become more than a hundred times worse than when Ji Ning was still there.

Back when Ji Ning was around, the Grand Xia only had some internal conflicts between commanderies. Overall, it was still peaceful.

But starting with Ji Ning slaying the two Celestial Immortals of the Shaoyin clan, the Grand Xia world had pulled back the curtain on the ‘fall of Celestial Immortals.’ Sometimes the Seamless Gate would make a move; sometimes the Grand Xia Emperor would retaliate in fury.

Various secret struggles began!

One Celestial Immortal after another died.

The Marquisdom of the Grand Xia, the top-tier sects and schools—all began to experience feuds and killings!

The situation grew worse and worse. Even the Grand Xia’s number one assassin organization, the ‘Bloodcloud Hall,’ finally revealed its true colors, making repeated moves to attack some of the tougher nuts for the Seamless Gate!

Nine years ago…

Danger had appeared at the ancestral home of one of the Shaoyin clan’s branches. Even the Loose Immortal who went to investigate had died. Celestial Immortal Tuoshan and Yu Wei went together to check. In theory, the two of them working together should have been able to escape from danger. Who would have thought the Seamless Gate would pay a huge price this time? Yu Wei barely managed to escape thanks to a teleportation escape technique bestowed by Patriarch Lu, but Celestial Immortal Tuoshan was captured alive!

By the time Sword Immortal Tonghe found out, it was already too late. Celestial Immortal Tuoshan had already been imprisoned in the ‘Fifth World.’

The capture of Celestial Immortal Tuoshan truly marked the beginning of the conflict between the Seamless Gate and the Anchan Commandery.

“Everyone in the Three Realms thought I had died long ago, yet the Seamless Gate knew I was still alive.” Sword Immortal Tonghe also had a premonition of danger. The Seamless Gate was even more troublesome than he had anticipated. The Seamless Gate was trying to influence Sword Immortal Tonghe from every angle—his clan, his territory, external forces, and many other aspects.

But Sword Immortal Tonghe had the great perseverance to completely go into hiding for endless ages—how could he be easily swayed by the Seamless Gate?

You tempt the tribesmen I favor?

You tempt the Void Earth Immortals I wished to nurture?

Traitors… kill!

Tuoshan’s life or death? Kill him if you want to, Seamless Gate!

Sword Immortal Tonghe seemed to have no weaknesses. They fought for nine years. During that time, there were several major battles. Yu Wei and the Diancai Immortal also encountered danger. Furthermore, the news that Yu Wei had become a Celestial Immortal finally spread, and her strength was recognized. However, when attacked by the Seamless Gate, Yu Wei and the Diancai Immortal had also received help from Sword Immortal Tonghe!

Tonghe’s strength was truly formidable.

He alone had once killed thirty-six Celestial Immortals of the Seamless Gate and forced them to flee in utter defeat. Such was the combat power of one nearly a Pure Yang True Immortal. Since Sword Immortal Tonghe had truly revealed his brilliance, even the Shaoyin clan did not dare to cause trouble in the Anchan Commandery anymore. Although the ‘Poison-Ugly Immortal’ was also quite famous, the Poison-Ugly Immortal’s strength lay in his cunning, elusiveness, and numerous clones. But ‘Absolute Sword Immortal’ Tonghe truly possessed astonishing power in direct combat.

The Realm of Annihilation.

“The sword… it can also be this pure.” Ji Ning was fighting a purple-caped warrior. A sliver of silver-white light could be seen flickering at the tip of his finger-sword. Clang, clang, clang… Ji Ning’s finger-sword clashed against the enemy’s battle-axe, sending the opponent’s axe flying away.

The sliver of silver-white light on his finger.

This was Ji Ning’s other gain, aside from ‘Heartforce,’ after eighteen years of battle!

The battles of these eighteen years were hundreds, even thousands of times greater in number than all the battles Ji Ning had fought in the decades before, combined! Apart from recovering his divine power, he was fighting, battles one after another, countless battles! And there was no Dao here, not even the influence of the ‘Dao of the Sword.’ Ji Ning didn’t need to consider how to draw upon more natural energy.

He didn’t need to consider any of that. He only needed to follow his heart and his combat instincts as he wielded his ‘sword art.’

And so, Ji Ning’s sword arts grew purer and purer.

They had pierced directly to the essence of the sword!