The Five Treasure Peaks

“Master… I, I…” Prince Dongji’s eyes went wide. He stammered, completely at a loss for words.

“Dongji?” The captured Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal immediately understood when he saw the prince. Shock and fury flashed in his eyes. He quickly said, “Senior, senior, this junior was merely guarding this post in the East Luan World. I had no intention of offending two seniors. My master is the Wuyou True Immortal. I beg the seniors to spare this junior.”

“Lord Prefect.” Nine-Fang Heavenly God looked toward Ji Ning.

“Let him go.” Ji Ning nodded.

The Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal crumpled to the ground. He scrambled up two steps and viciously slapped Prince Dongji across the face, smack, smack. He roared in reprimand, “The Chongyun Mountain is no place for your insolence! How dare you offend these two seniors!”

After slapping the prince twice.

The Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal quickly turned back to Ji Ning and Nine-Fang Heavenly God, forcing a smile. “Two seniors, when this senior just grabbed me, I panicked and crushed a message talisman. My master will likely arrive soon.” He had thought he was in great danger. Now, it seemed the other party had no intention of killing him.

“Your master?” Ji Ning spoke.

“My master is the Wuyou True Immortal,” the Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal said hastily.

Ji Ning nodded lightly. “I have heard of the Wuyou True Immortal’s great name, but have never met him. Today, I may finally have the chance.”

Whoosh!

A figure appeared in the distance, followed by a hearty laugh. “Could this be the Ji Ning of the North, who slew immortals and demons alike and was invincible throughout the Realm War? This junior is hardly worth your personal attention, friend. You honor him too much.” The laughter rang out across the mountains.

“Invincible throughout the Realm War?” The Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal and Prince Dongji were stunned. The other cultivators were merely bewildered, as they knew almost nothing of the ‘Realm War.’

Ji Ning looked.

A slovenly, bearded young man was riding clouds and mist toward him. His beard was very long, and he swayed his head, yet his face looked quite young. It was an odd sight.

“They say the Wuyou True Immortal is wild and uninhibited, with the sharpest tongue of all. Now I see it for myself. This was my fault for disciplining your disciple a little,” Ji Ning said with a faint smile. He had heard of the Wuyou True Immortal. The man spoke entirely as he pleased, and sometimes offended people with his words. Yet his true nature also won him friends. He was quite famous throughout the Three Realms.

“Ah, ah, ah. That’s not what I meant.” The Wuyou True Immortal flew over and waved his sleeve grandly. “This junior didn’t know his place and offended you. He deserves death or punishment, entirely at your discretion. What I meant was, you needn’t lift a finger. Just give the order, and I’ll do it for you. Consider it me cleaning house.”

Ji Ning was speechless.

The Wuyou True Immortal was indeed wild, unkempt, and utterly shameless. The rumors were true. Among Celestial Immortals and True Gods, very few would say such things in front of their own disciples.

“It’s over, it’s over.” Prince Dongji sat slumped on the ground, completely dazed.

“Invincible throughout the Realm War? The war that my master said gathered billions of immortals and gods? Where Celestial Immortals and True Gods died in droves? This, this white-robed… he, he was invincible in that war?” Dongji was utterly lost. It was beyond his imagination. “Even Master Wuyou bows so low. He’s clearly much stronger than Master Wuyou! And one of his subordinates reached out a hand from ten thousand li away to grab a Celestial Immortal. Who exactly is he? How could I run into him? Why am I so unlucky?”

Prince Dongji was terrified and regretful.

The pot that goes to the well too often eventually breaks. He had been arrogant for so long, relying on his status. This time, he had truly kicked an iron plate—a plate of primordial chaos divine iron!

“It’s over, I’m dead, I’m dead for sure.” Prince Dongji was from the royal family. He had seen many lose their heads to a royal’s fury. This man’s status was far higher. Crushing him would be child’s play.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ji Ning, Nine-Fang Heavenly God, and the Wuyou True Immortal all tore through the void, leaving the East Luan World.

Prince Dongji finally came to his senses.

“They… they left?” Dongji blinked. “I didn’t die?”

“Master.” Prince Dongji quickly looked at his master, the Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal.

The Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal frowned at him. “Hmph. According to True Immortal Wuyou, you should have been executed.”

“Executed?” Prince Dongji was terrified.

“You were only spared because Senior North pleaded for you, saying you had no murderous intent,” the Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal said. “But while your life is spared, your punishment cannot be escaped.”

“I truly had no murderous intent,” Prince Dongji said quickly. “I only wanted to drive him away. Later, when he crippled one of my men, I was angry and wanted to lock him up for a lesson.” Prince Dongji wasn’t a fundamentally evil person. He was just born into royalty, highly talented in cultivation, and had been pampered his whole life. He was used to being arrogant, especially after becoming a Sword Sect disciple.

He was used to bullying others. When Ji Ning crippled one of his men, he was furious. When had he ever been pushed around?

Later, when Ji Ning revealed his true power, he was scared into a cold sweat.

It was fortunate he had no murderous intent, or it would have been obvious to Ji Ning. Ji Ning would never have pleaded for him.

“Earlier, True Immortal Wuyou was about to expel you from the Sword Sect! But Senior North said you should go to the mortal world and work as a waiter in a tavern for three hundred years, during which you must not fight back against any blows or insults,” the Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal said coldly. “If you break this rule, you will be immediately expelled from the Sword Sect.”

Prince Dongji breathed a sigh of relief.

He knelt and kowtowed toward the empty sky. “Thank you, Senior North!”

Being a mortal tavern waiter for three hundred years, not fighting back against any blow or insult… it was indeed difficult. But being expelled from the Sword Sect? He usually acted arrogant and had made many enemies. Without the Sword Sect disciple status as a protective charm, he would surely die without a burial place. At least now he was still a Sword Sect disciple, just undergoing three hundred years of worldly trials.

“I swear this oath, with Heaven and Earth as witness.” Prince Dongji quickly made the vow.

“Go. From today, you are no longer a prince. You are a mortal tavern waiter.” The Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal waved his hand. “Come see me again in three hundred years.”

“Yes, Master.”

Dongji bowed respectfully, then transformed into a streak of light and flew away alone.

The Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal didn’t bother to look at his disciple again.

He was a demonic beast with a fickle temperament. He had doted on Dongji before. But this time, Dongji had caused a catastrophe. The Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal had even been captured, and he now held a grudge against Dongji. He had no goodwill left. If Ji Ning and Wuyou hadn’t set Dongji’s fate, he would have already expelled this troublemaking disciple.

“Three hundred years. Hmph.” The Three-Scorpion Celestial Immortal tore through space and vanished.

Even if his disciple came to see him in three hundred years, he would not teach him with any heart.

Because he was already disgusted with this disciple.

The disciple had great comprehension, and he had liked him before. But now… he was disgusted! What did high comprehension matter? How many could safely survive the Heavenly Tribulation anyway?

…

No one expected that this arrogant, tyrannical Prince Dongji, after serving three hundred years as a mortal waiter, would become humble, steady, and polite—like a rough piece of jade finally polished to brilliance. He directly overcame the Heavenly Tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal. He was later accepted into the Buddhist faith and, on the final battlefield of the great calamity, became a battle commander in Nuwa’s camp, fighting alongside Ji Ning.

Of course, Ji Ning did not know this yet.

He felt that the guard had murderous intent, so he had directly crippled him. The prince was still redeemable, so he pointed out a path that could grind away the prince’s arrogance. He didn’t think much beyond that. At Ji Ning’s level, his mind was filled with the art of the sword and the struggle against the Seamless Gate.

…

Ji Ning had originally planned to cultivate in the East Luan World for three or four months. But the Wuyou True Immortal said the other twenty-six worlds only contained fragmented sword techniques, while the complete ‘Five Treasures Sword Art’ could be found in the ‘Sword Immortal World.’ Those fragmented techniques could all be found within the Five Treasures Sword Art, so there was no need to study them deliberately.

Ji Ning thought it worthwhile to study them anyway, but he decided to spend only ten days or half a month in each world.

And so…

He visited one small world after another.

Sometimes it was a sword technique on a cliff face. Sometimes it was a sword-art trace formed by the forking rivers on a wild plain. Sometimes it was a series of canyon scars in a forest… All had been left casually by the Daofather Fuju. Ji Ning held the Stargold Beads, followed by Nine-Fang Heavenly God, and went from place to place to meditate.

He constantly compared the Ninefold Chaos Seal with the sword arts, and often gained insights.

Each world took as little as three to five days, or as long as a month or two.

When Ji Ning had traversed the twenty-six worlds, exactly one year had passed. Finally, he arrived at the twenty-seventh and final world of the Twenty-Seven Worlds of Fuju—the Sword Immortal World.

The Sword Immortal World.

There were no mortals in this small world. At its center stood five mountains. The mountains rose one higher than the next. Strangely, the first mountain was a thousand li tall, the second was two thousand li tall, the third was three thousand li tall… and the last was five thousand li tall.

For a small world to have mountains so tall was utterly inconceivable!

The peaks were completely lost in the clouds.

“The Five Treasure Peaks!”

Ji Ning and Nine-Fang Heavenly God appeared in midair, looking at the five towering mountains before them. The mountains exuded an oppressive aura that pressed down on them. Ji Ning was startled. Beside him, Nine-Fang Heavenly God’s face even paled before he steadied himself.

“Such a powerful presence. I felt uncomfortable even without focusing,” Nine-Fang Heavenly God said in surprise. “An ordinary Celestial Immortal probably couldn’t withstand it.”

“The peaks that contain the complete Five Treasures Sword Art could hardly be ordinary. This sword art is said to be the number one in the Three Realms.” Ji Ning smiled. “Aura is intangible and formless. Resisting it depends on the Dao-heart. Nine-Fang, although Heavenly Gods don’t risk Qi deviation, the Dao-heart is still important. You must temper yours more.”

Nine-Fang nodded. “Yes, Lord Prefect.”

Among the seven Heavenly Gods under his command, Nine-Fang had the weakest foundation. The other six had followed Daoist Threelives through countless primordial battles. Nine-Fang was only a Void Fiendgod in the primordial era and only broke through to Heavenly God in the Starseizing Major World. He had experienced few true battles since then, and lacking a good teacher, he was deficient in many areas.

“The number one sword art in the Three Realms. I’ve heard it’s incredibly profound.” Ji Ning had already heard countless rumors about the Five Treasures Sword Art. The rumors had almost demonized it. The more he heard, the more curious he became.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ji Ning and Nine-Fang flew toward the Five Treasure Peaks.