The Ninety-Eight Steles

Ji Ning suddenly understood. Compared to the Three Realms, the Nine Directions Chaosworld was vastly more powerful and had far deeper contact with the endless Chaos. It made sense that they used the same written and spoken language as the common tongue of the endless Chaos. The Three Realms, by contrast, was relatively isolated and closed-off, only learning bits and pieces of information about Chaos aliens when they occasionally invaded.

“Whatever. The Heavenly Palace of Azure, the Nine Directions Chaosworld, World God Northrest, the three Flood Dragon Godbeasts… they’re all far too distant from me. Even according to my life oath, I don’t have to leave the Three Realms until I become an Elder God.” Ji Ning was very calm.

Regardless, he had gained tremendous benefits from the Moon Underwater Abyss.

Right now, the great tribulation was upon the Three Realms.

His home, everyone and everything he cared about most, was in the Three Realms. Everything else could be set aside.

Becoming an Elder God was no easy feat! Becoming a True God was already a tremendous obstacle; becoming an Elder God was probably even harder and would definitely require a very long period of time.

“In all the endless years since its creation, only two have obtained these two methods from the Moon Underwater Abyss: one was Brightmoon, and the other is you.” The silver-haired man looked at Ji Ning. “Don’t disappoint my master.”

“I wouldn’t dare, even for the sake of my own life.” Ji Ning laughed.

“Come. I’ll send you out of the Moon Underwater Abyss.”

The silver-haired man led the way. Ji Ning let out a sigh of relief. He had been worried that the deceased World God Northrest might have had other arrangements. After all, the man’s power was too great, his methods too inconceivable. Even Lady Nuwa, who had just broken through to become a World God back then, might not have been a match for this World God Northrest. Ji Ning had been completely at his mercy. Thankfully, everything had worked out smoothly.

Of course, Lady Nuwa had long since entered the endless Chaos to adventure. Her power was probably even more astonishing by now.

…...

The Moonfall Island was magnificently beautiful. Under the silver-haired man’s guidance, Ji Ning arrived at the center of a grassy plain. In the middle of the plain lay a tranquil lake, as still and silent as a massive piece of emerald jade. The wind stirred up by Ji Ning and the silver-haired man’s descent caused ripples to spread across the small lake, a sight of breathtaking beauty.

“Enter this small lake, and you will leave the Moon Underwater Abyss directly.” The silver-haired man instructed.

“I just go in? And I’m out?” Ji Ning pointed at the lake.

Back then, he had plunged headfirst into the waters of the Moon Underwater Abyss and ended up in this world.

“Yes. After you leave, you will appear above the massive Moon Underwater Abyss lake.” The silver-haired man nodded, then stared fixedly at Ji Ning. “Don’t forget your life oath.”

“Of course.” Ji Ning nodded with a smile.

Gazing at this small lake, Ji Ning was filled with joy. Finally! Finally, he was going to get out!

Senior apprentice-sister!

Wait for me!

“Splash.” Ji Ning dove headfirst into the beautiful lake. The water rippled outward in concentric circles, space-time twisted, and Ji Ning was instantly teleported away.

…...

Ji Ning felt space-time shifting around him. Everything was hazy and unclear, and he could tell he was being rapidly teleported. Suddenly, there was a faint tremor in his surroundings, which puzzled him. When he had arrived in the Moon Underwater Abyss world, everything had been smooth and natural. Moments later, his surroundings solidified, and Ji Ning could finally see the scenery clearly.

“Huh?” Ji Ning was stunned.

He looked around. It was an empty, hazy void. In the void, there was an endless staircase, seemingly stretching on forever, leading to a distant, lofty place.

“Th-this… where is this?” Ji Ning was completely baffled.

According to the silver-haired man, he should have been teleported back to the region above the Moon Underwater Abyss lake in the endless Chaos. But there wasn’t a single drop of that lake water here. Instead, there was only this boundless void and these endless stairs.

“What kind of place is this? Why was I teleported here?” Ji Ning was cautious. One could not be careless in an unknown place; it could easily cost one’s life. “That silver-haired man had no reason to deceive me. I was completely helpless in the Moon Underwater Abyss world. If he wanted to kill me, he could have done so with ease.”

“If he had wanted to send me to some special place, I wouldn’t have been able to resist. So, there was no need for him to lie.”

“Could it be… that even the silver-haired man didn’t know about this?”

A thought struck Ji Ning. “Could it be… World God Northrest died so long ago that the teleportation channel he left behind has developed a flaw, causing a deviation during my teleportation?”

Nothing lasted forever.

Even Chaosworlds had a day of destruction. Even beings on the level of World God Northrest could be killed. It wasn’t impossible for the teleportation restrictions he left behind to develop flaws.

“Since I’m not going back, where exactly have I been sent?” Ji Ning calmed himself. He first used Heartforce to probe, then his divine sense. Neither worked!

“A staircase in the void? If there’s a staircase, it must have been built intentionally.” Ji Ning cautiously advanced along the staircase, which led ever upwards.

Ji Ning moved quickly.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he found a massive stone tablet floating next to the stairs. Countless sword-stances were carved into the stone tablet. The sword-intent emanating from each and every stance made Ji Ning’s blood run cold. The intensity of the sword-intent far surpassed even the “Five Treasures Sword Art.”

“Such terrifying sword-intent… this is definitely not something a True God or Daofather could achieve. Could it be a World God? Or is it… that World God Northrest?” Ji Ning mused.

Ji Ning wasn’t in a hurry to move on. He focused his attention on studying this nameless sword art.

If he left this place, who knew if he would ever be able to return? He had to seize the opportunity to study the sword art now. Having mastered the “Five Treasures Sword Art,” he was already standing at the very pinnacle of the Three Realms. However, the ‘Dao’ contained within this sword art was simply too profound and mysterious, probably on a level comprehensible only by Chaos Immortals and World Gods.

Ji Ning pondered before the stele for three full months.

“Hmph.”

Ji Ning’s face went pale. Traces of blood could be seen in his nostrils.

The blood within his body was boiling.

“I can’t study it any further. I’ve reached my limit.” Ji Ning was secretly shocked. “I don’t know who left this sword art behind, or if it was World God Northrest. In any case… this sword art absolutely surpasses that of anyone in the Three Realms.”

In fact, the only World God in the Three Realms was Lady Nuwa.

Lady Nuwa wasn’t a sword-user, either. Naturally, when it came to sword arts, no one in the Three Realms could compare to what was on this stele.

“Let’s go.” Since he couldn’t study it any further, Ji Ning had no choice but to continue along the void staircase. Just a short while later, he encountered another stele, also carved with sword-stances. Like the first, this stele bore no name for the sword art. It was a completely different style from the previous one, but its power was no less.

Ji Ning again spent nearly three months carefully studying it. His insights into the sword were continuously improving.

“There is always a mountain beyond a mountain, a sky beyond a sky.”

“If I believed the Great Elders of the Three Realms were the strongest, I would truly be a frog at the bottom of a well. In the endless Chaos… there are far, far too many experts.” Ji Ning’s sword-arts were improving, but he grew more humble. He understood that there were many who were still stronger than him. The creator of the sword art on just one of these steles could kill him with a single strike.

…...

The void staircase stretched on, seemingly endless.

Ji Ning advanced down the path, studying the steles one after another. There were a total of ninety-eight steles, each bearing a sword art of profound and inscrutable mystery. They opened Ji Ning’s eyes, vastly improving his sword-arts and even giving him some insights and deductions regarding the ‘fifth level of Sword Force.’

The fifth level of Sword Force, the ‘Sword God level.’ Ji Ning had previously believed that when a sword-art contained boundless, intense emotion and reached a certain level, the sword-art could be imbued with a ‘spirit’ or ‘soul.’ This was what Ji Ning had believed before, and it was also what many great powers of the Three Realms believed.

But now, after studying the sword arts of ninety-eight profound Chaos experts…

Ji Ning understood.

Whether or not a sword-art contained emotion was secondary! Just like his own “Brightmoon Sword-Art,” which had contained no emotion in its early stages; hadn’t it still reached the fourth level of Sword Force?

Emotion merely allowed a sword-user to become more engrossed in the sword and to perform beyond their normal limits.

What was truly important was still understanding the sword! Still comprehending the ‘source of the sword,’ elevating Sword Force from a level of ‘spirit/intelligence’ to a level of ‘soul/godhead.’ Of course, intense emotion could help a swordsman transcend his limits… it was merely an auxiliary effect. The foundation was still understanding the sword, and the true path lay in elevating one’s sword-arts.

“If I had wholeheartedly tried to imbue my sword-art with intense emotion, I would have been walking down a deviant path.” Ji Ning broke out in a cold sweat. It was only after seeing these more profound sword arts that he understood his own path.

Clearly, the sword arts on these ninety-eight steles had far surpassed the fifth level of Sword Force, reaching a higher, more inscrutable, and mysterious level.

“I’ve finally reached the end.”

After finishing his study of the ninety-eighth stele, Ji Ning saw that at the end of the distant void staircase stood an ancient palace. It seemed to be constructed entirely from emerald jade. An invisible pressure emanated from within the palace.

(Another request for free recommendation tickets! Everyone gets them every day!)