The Trials of Command

Every Loose Immortal was weak on their own, but Heaven and Earth energy drawn by a hundred thousand Loose Immortals… Ji Ning could truly sense it now. Even though a thousand Celestial Immortals guided that energy, tempering its wild fury, he still found it incredibly difficult to control.

“To master the power of the Xingtian Formation is like mastering the Grand Thousand Sword Formation,” Ji Ning mused.

In the Grand Thousand Sword Formation, the more flying swords one used, the harder it was to control.

Now, especially with the nine Pure Yang supreme-grade flying swords, the ‘Universal Salvation Sword of Ananda’, even with the strength of his Heartforce greatly aiding his control over treasures, Ji Ning could only barely manage the first layer of the Grand Thousand Sword Formation! The main issue was the sheer power of those nine Pure Yang supreme-grade flying swords… after all, not even every Pure Yang True Immortal could acquire a full set of supreme-grade Pure Yang flying swords. The difficulty of controlling them was self-evident. This was only possible for Ji Ning because his Heartforce had reached the third stage, ‘Dominance’, at perfection, allowing him to accomplish such a feat even as a Celestial Immortal. Although Ji Ning had yet to comprehend the method of using Heartforce to refine his divine soul, the stronger one’s Heartforce, the more flying swords they could control. It was like a brute—the greater his strength, the heavier a sword he could naturally wield. The method of using Heartforce to refine the soul was a technique; with technique, the same brute strength could wield a sword several times heavier, and the power of the swordsmanship could also increase explosively.

That was the difference a technique made.

For now, Ji Ning was relying entirely on brute force, using his powerful Heartforce to push through.

“Hua hua hua…” Surging power flowed within the Xingtian God, and Ji Ning manipulated it.

Gradually, he grew familiar with it, gaining experience.

It wasn’t all that different from controlling a sword formation.

…

The white-robed Xia Emperor collected the previously shattered Chaotic Goldstone and set up ten intact pieces of Chaotic Goldstone. The Chaotic Goldstones shimmered with specks of golden light, radiating an endless charm.

“Begin,” the white-robed Xia Emperor said, having watched Ji Ning familiarize himself for a time.

Rumble.

The Xingtian God, Ji Ning, immediately took a step forward, simultaneously raising his thick, powerful right arm. For a moment, the million immortals outside the sealing formation fixed their gazes on the Xingtian God’s arm, which was thousands of zhang long. Boom! The enormous hand, like a giant axe, swung downwards in a cleaving motion.

As Pangu split Heaven and Earth, space trembled, and ripples spread outward in both directions.

The axe-like, dark red hand, carrying awe-inspiring might, its edge like a blade, cleaved directly onto the mountain-like Chaotic Goldstone.

BANG!!!

A thunderous roar shook the air. The shockwave of the impact radiated in all directions, even slamming against the sealing formation, producing a continuous series of booming sounds. Hearing such a commotion, the million immortals outside were all astonished.

“Such impressive momentum.”

“This momentum is the strongest we’ve seen so far.”

“This Ji Ning is truly extraordinary. A prodigy, a monster.”

“I wonder how many pieces of Chaotic Goldstone were shattered.”

The million immortals were astounded. In their hearts, Ji Ning was an absolute monster of a genius. They had thought that even as a commander of the Xingtian Formation, Ji Ning might not be exceptional. But who could have guessed that just this display of power… likely surpassed any of the Celestial Immortals who had gone before.

All of them watched intently.

The shockwave gradually dissipated.

Only then could they see clearly. The stack of mountain-like Chaotic Goldstone had become almost unrecognizable, most of it reduced to rubble.

“Looked like eight pieces?”

“I think nine?”

The million immortals tried to discern the number, but many of the broken stones were scattered about, making it difficult to tell.

With a wave of his hand, the white-robed Xia Emperor swept aside some of the rubble, revealing one intact piece of Chaotic Goldstone and a half-piece covered in cracks.

“Eight pieces shattered, and the ninth is nearly completely broken.” The white-robed Xia Emperor broke into a smile. “Daoist Ji Ning is truly remarkable. Among the three hundred and thirty immortals who have attempted this so far, he is ranked first.”

“This Ji Ning is truly formidable,” the white-robed Xia Emperor sighed inwardly. “For a Celestial Immortal, commanding the Xingtian Formation and shattering six pieces of Chaotic Goldstone is pretty much the limit. Only an unbelievable prodigy like Ji Ning can display such extraordinary strength.” Shattering eight pieces of Chaotic Goldstone versus six pieces—just a difference of two, it seemed.

But with that single palm strike,

the power was progressively weakened. Ji Ning’s Xingtian Formation was actually two full levels stronger in terms of pure might than those of the other talented Celestial Immortals. This was the effect of his Heartforce! A powerful Heartforce allowed Ji Ning to mobilize more of Heaven and Earth’s energy. If he were to comprehend the method of using Heartforce to refine his soul, gaining that technique, the power he could mobilize would be even more astonishing.

“Boom.”

The Xingtian God, Ji Ning, completely dissipated, revealing the one thousand and one Celestial Immortals and one hundred thousand Loose Immortals. Ji Ning immediately flew down, smiling as he said, “My thanks to all fellow Daoists.”

“Ji Ning.” The white-robed Xia Emperor smiled. “If nothing unexpected happens, you will be one of the Nine Great Generals. Of course, if the remaining twenty-nine fellow Daoists manage to produce nine people stronger than you, then there’s nothing to be done.”

“If that happens, it would be a blessing for our Grand Xia,” Ji Ning said.

The Xia Emperor laughed heartily, then said, “Alright, next up is Daoist Floating Dust.”

…

The Celestial Immortal Floating Dust who followed Ji Ning did give the countless immortals a scare, for he managed to shatter seven pieces of Chaotic Goldstone, though barely. This instantly made him second only to Ji Ning. This startled many Celestial Immortals; could it be that a group of truly powerful Celestial Immortals were about to appear, or perhaps someone who would surpass Ji Ning? However, as the trials continued one by one, although some were impressive—after all, the Xia Emperor would place some famous Celestial Immortals at the end—none surpassed Ji Ning, and not a single one even surpassed Floating Dust.

This trial, involving three hundred and fifty-nine Celestial Immortals, lasted until the evening of the following day before it finally concluded.

According to the final rankings,

The Northern Bright Celestial Immortal, Ji Ning, was first. The Floating Dust Celestial Immortal was second. The Fishwater Celestial Immortal was third. The Flying Rain Immortal was fourth. The Ten Thousand Beasts Celestial Immortal was fifth. The Uniter Celestial Immortal was sixth. The Rainbow Celestial Immortal was seventh. The Thousand Needles Immortal was eighth. The Madcap Celestial Immortal was ninth.

Strangely enough, Ji Ning had shattered eight pieces of Chaotic Goldstone, Floating Dust seven, the next seven all shattered six pieces, and the tenth-place contestant had shattered only five.

“This thousand Celestial Immortals and one hundred thousand Loose Immortals will be commanded by Daoist Madcap, and shall be known as the Madcap Army.” The Xia Emperor began the assignments. This first assignment caused many immortals to laugh; calling it the ‘Madcap Army’ hardly sounded celestial at all.

“This thousand Celestial Immortals and one hundred thousand Loose Immortals will be commanded by Immortal Thousand Needles, and shall be known as the Thousand Needles Army.”

…

“This thousand Celestial Immortals and one hundred thousand Loose Immortals will be commanded by Daoist Northern Bright, and shall be known as the Northern Bright Army. Alright. The nine Celestial Immortal legions are now established. The remaining Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals will all be under my personal command.” The Xia Emperor said, “The rest of the Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, each of you go to your respective legions and rest. The nine generals will follow me.”

The Xia Emperor immediately rode a cloud of mist and flew towards the Heavenly Mang Hall.

The five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals followed. Ji Ning and the other nine also followed along.

In a quiet hall within the Heavenly Mang Hall.

“Everyone, sit.” The Xia Emperor sat down and smiled. Everyone else took their seats.

The five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals naturally sat closest to the Xia Emperor. Following them, Ji Ning and the other nine sat in the order of their previous rankings.

“These are the most important techniques of the Xingtian Formation. Quickly learn them and meditate upon them well.” The Xia Emperor waved his hand, and nine dark-red command tokens flew towards Ji Ning and the other nine. “These were personally forged by the Xingtian God himself, who left the techniques within them.”

These command tokens were the size of a palm, dark red in color, and bore ferocious patterns.

The nine tokens floated before the nine people. Ji Ning and the others naturally reached out and grabbed them, then sent their divine sense into them. They soon fully memorized the techniques contained within.

“Keep these command tokens.” The Xia Emperor sighed emotionally. “You all have disregarded life and death, leading the immortals to battle the Seamless Gate. If you manage to survive… you can use these tokens to visit the Xingtian God. You will be permitted to choose one technique from his scripture library, or one Pure Yang treasure or innate spirit treasure from his treasure vault.”

Ji Ning remained relatively calm, but the other Celestial Immortals felt a burning excitement in their hearts. They were not disciples of Daofathers, after all, and many divine abilities and secret arts were beyond their reach.

“Meditate well on them.” The Xia Emperor’s gaze was deep. “It seems that before long, the Seamless Gate will ignite a war.”

In the Grand Xia world, Baiji Commandery was considered a very remote commandery. The more remote the area, the larger the territory granted to its ruler.

It was now dusk.

Above Baiji City, a towering black city was suspended in the air. This floating black city… was even larger than Baiji City itself. Countless chains floated around this suspended black city, their ends piercing into the void, as if giant anchors were fixing a great ship to the seabed. The floating black city was held in place within that void by these countless chains.

On the city walls of this black city, countless black-armored soldiers were patrolling.

Within the city walls were stern military camps and some towering palaces.

On the largest square of this black city was a densely packed mass of immortals, all sitting cross-legged. These were Loose Immortals, and they stretched out as far as the eye could see.

“Hoo~~”

At the front of the square were three enormous black misty cave entrances, each a hundred zhang tall. These black misty cave mouths led to mysterious and terrifying places.

“It is said the black misty cave entrances lead to the legendary Fifth World.”

“The Patriarch also said that in the Fifth World, the number of Celestial Immortals is too numerous to count, and there are far, far more Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. If the Fifth World were to send out its full force, it could easily sweep through the entire Grand Xia.”

“Then why doesn’t it send its full force?”

“It is said that the Fifth World is currently waging war against many other major worlds.”

Countless Loose Immortals murmured quietly among themselves.

…

Within the most towering palace of the floating black city.

Several thousand Celestial Immortals sat cross-legged in the main hall. Each one had black-water-colored runic patterns flickering on their bodies, and all were cultivating quietly.

At the very front of the hall sat the Seamless Gate’s leader, ‘Greenfox’, along with a group of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. There were eight of them in total. The Seamless Gate alone had four, while the Ten Thousand Demons Cave and the Bloodcloud Hall had only sent their respective leaders, with their other experts not present. There was also a white-browed, cold-eyed man, the ‘Baiji True Immortal’, and an old man in black robes with black hair and red pupils.

“After many years of lurking, and decades of manipulation, nearly three thousand Celestial Immortals of the Grand Xia world have defected to our Seamless Gate.” The Greenfox leader smiled. “We have gained three thousand Celestial Immortals, while Xiamang’s side has lost three thousand. This internal and external shift means it is as if our Seamless Gate has gained six thousand Celestial Immortals. As the idle forces from our Seamless Gate in many other major worlds continue to gather, once these three thousand Celestial Immortals master the ‘Muddy Water True Art’, the time for war will have arrived. Senior Apprentice-Brother Baiji, I will rely on you to command them then.”

“I have been waiting for a billion years for this day.” The white-browed, cold-eyed man, Baiji True Immortal, said in a cold voice.