The Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower

What Ji Ning needed most right now was time!

His natural talent could not be considered low; even in his youth, Patriarch Lu and Subhuti had taken notice of him. Now, after experiencing so many trials, he had become even more exceptional. The talent of a cultivator was never permanently fixed—it shifted with encounters and tempering. Some might sink into mediocrity, while others might soar to dazzling new heights.

Ji Ning clearly belonged to the latter category, growing ever more brilliant. But even the most monstrous of prodigies needed time to grow!

Treasures that could alter the flow of time… they did exist in the Three Realms.

In the past, the Grand Xia Emperor had used the ‘Brightmoon Waterworld Diagram’ to change the passage of time within that realm! However, even with the aid of a treasure, such alterations required massive amounts of energy. Although the Xia Emperor was a Pure Yang True Immortal, he could only alter the time-flow for some weak Wanxiang Adepts. He was utterly incapable of allowing Celestial Immortals to enjoy a ‘shift in the stream of time.’

For Ji Ning, a True God and True Immortal, to have the time-flow around him altered… even Patriarch Subhuti, or Daoist Three Purities, would find it a headache.

If Mother Nuwa were here, she could do it.

When Nuwa created the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the time-flow around the Bridge of Naihe and the Six Paths themselves was many times faster! A vast torrent of souls poured in, yet that terrifying time-flow was maintained without any Immortals or Fiendgods needing to replenish their energy. This was because the Six Paths of Reincarnation itself was a perfect formation, its consumption incredibly low; the heaven-and-earth energy it absorbed from the outside was enough to sustain the expenditure.

But the Six Paths was a formation!

The ‘Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower’ was a treasure!

Within the Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower, the flow of time was a stable ten times faster than outside. Ten years inside meant only one year outside. This temporal acceleration was completely stable, requiring no energy whatsoever to maintain. The treasure itself was a stable spacetime. Even if a True God Daofather, or even a World God, entered, the time-flow would remain at a stable ten times multiplier.

Furthermore…

This treasure could accelerate time even further! But if one wished to surpass the tenfold multiplier, it would require the expenditure of energy. The stronger the cultivator, the more energy they would need to consume to accelerate the time-flow.

"A stable spacetime treasure." Ji Ning was stunned. "Even my master, Subhuti, who can create the Tristar Crescent Major World in another dimension, cannot refine a stable spacetime treasure."

Such a treasure was incredibly rare.

This single treasure alone was at the level of a Chaos treasure.

……

Ji Ning craved time above all else.

The Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower could lengthen time by a factor of ten. With a heavy expenditure of energy, the flow could be made even faster. Most importantly… this treasure was located within the World Prison. And it was in the possession of a True God!

"Prisoner True God Shiyu?" Ji Ning frowned.

The owner of the Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower was none other than Prisoner True God Shiyu.

This True God could be considered the most terrifying True God in the entire World Prison. Almost all of the imprisoned True Gods and True Immortals knew his story, though very few knew he possessed the ‘Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower.’ Ji Ning had only learned of it because he had soul-searched a True God who was Shiyu’s subordinate.

"Very troublesome. He's clearly a True God, yet he has fought against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Counting the Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower, he has three Chaos treasures on him," Ji Ning muttered to himself. "Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals… if placed in the Three Realms, they would be considered the leadership level. That means his strength is close to the leadership level."

"Wearing him down by exhausting his energy? That won't work either."

"His level of insight is high. He is one of the very few True God and True Immortal prisoners in the World Prison who can absorb power directly from the chaos," Ji Ning thought.

One had to comprehend the Dao of Chaos to a certain degree in order to absorb power from the chaos. Once someone could absorb power from the chaos, they would never have to worry about running out of energy.

Every Elder God and Ancestral Immortal could do this.

Only a very small number of True Gods and True Immortals could do it, and Prisoner True God Shiyu was clearly one of them.

"What should I do? How can I deal with him?" Ji Ning pondered. "My Starseizing Manor is placed in the Tristar Crescent Major World. But even if I go back to the Tristar Crescent Major World and bring that group of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals to set up the Rahu Formation… we would still be far from the leadership level."

Ji Ning had clashed with the leadership level before.

Daofather Magic Hand had defeated him—even while he was controlling the Envoy of All Things—with just a single hand. Of course, Daofather Magic Hand was also one of the most powerful attackers within the leadership level.

As for Prisoner True God Shiyu, he had merely survived a fight with an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal; his actual strength was probably similar to Ji Ning's when controlling the Envoy.

"Perhaps if I reach the fifth level of Sword Force, I would have a chance." Ji Ning silently mused.

Ji Ning continued his string of battles within the World Prison, beginning to challenge not only True Gods but also True Immortals.

He continuously delved into the mysteries of the sword technique left behind by 'World God Northrest,' desperately hoping to reach the fifth level of Sword Force as soon as possible.

But…

Although he was constantly making slow progress, he was still just a single thread short. This feeling was enough to drive a man mad. Yet Ji Ning remained calm. He understood that as long as he kept improving, he would eventually break through one day.

……

Time flowed on; days passed, then months…

Within the Three Realms.

The Dadi (Great Earth) World of the Zhuanxu Realmverse. Another Realm War had begun.

This was the second Realm War following the Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) Realmverse. Although its scale was much smaller than the war in the Huangdi Realmverse, it was still far grander than many previous wars in realmverses like the Crimsonbright Realmverse.

On the side of Nuwa's camp, over eight hundred True Gods and True Immortals were participating.

The Seamless Gate side had over six hundred True Gods and True Immortals, supplemented by puppets.

"This war's outcome is hard to predict." Daofather Biyou stood on the city wall, gazing into the distance.

The black-robed Godking laughed. "It's normal for the outcome to be uncertain. These struggles over qi of fortune are, by nature, battles to seize that very fortune. As long as we don't see another monster like Ji Ning, it should be fine."

"In the primordial era, there was Houyi. In the Three Realms, there's been Ji Ning. That's already enough. If Nuwa's camp produces another prodigy like this, they might as well concede the struggle for fortune." Daofather Biyou shook his head.

"Hmm. Houyi is indeed terrifying," the black-robed Godking sighed. "I never heard he was good with an axe. He's always used a bow, hasn't he? Using a bow is long-range combat, but an axe is close combat. There's a huge difference. How could he be so powerful with an axe?"

"I heard that Houyi once chopped at the divine 'Osmanthus Tree' on the Grand Yin Star," Daofather Biyou said with a smile. "That tree isn't so easy to hack at. Being able to chop it down… his strength might be enough to destroy the entire Grand Yin Star. We've also heard for a long time that the senior disciple of Subhuti had been on the mountain, chopping wood as a woodcutter. Now it seems Houyi never stopped chopping at that tree."

"But I'm worried…"

Daofather Biyou frowned. "If he's this formidable with an axe, Houyi's true talent was always in archery. I wonder how terrifying his bow has become now."

"Hmm, he's trouble. If his archery is truly too powerful, we might have to ask Uncle Stonerule or the Lord of All Demons to deal with him," the black-robed Godking sighed.

"Yes." Daofather Biyou nodded, then sighed. "The final battle is approaching soon. This Ji Ning is a monster no less than Houyi. In terms of growth, he might even be more astonishing. In just a few short centuries, he has mastered a sword-art that surpasses the limits of the Heavenly Dao. With such peerless swordsman talent… give him ten thousand years, and who knows what he'll become? He'll probably be another Houyi."

The black-robed Godking nodded.

He had never paid much attention to Ji Ning before, but the battle at the Zhuolu Great World, and especially the scene of Ji Ning clashing with Daofather Magic Hand, had forced the black-robed Godking to truly fear Ji Ning. He had to admit that Ji Ning's potential was terrifying.

……

Within the chaos, inside the stone stele at the Cold Star Glacier.

The World Prison.

Five years had passed in the blink of an eye.

Five years had passed since Ji Ning was ambushed and assassinated, and he had come to the World Prison to dedicate himself to battle, tempering himself and comprehending the profound mysteries of the sword.

On a beautiful patch of grassland, a magnificent palace, carved as if from a single piece of emerald jade, stood resplendent. Within this emerald palace sat a white-robed youth, Ji Ning, with his legs crossed and his eyes closed in silent meditation.

"Hum~~~~"

A surge of power, traceable to the very source of the Sword, from the endless depths of the chaos itself, descended.

A mysterious aura swirled around Ji Ning—a terrifying, heart-trembling presence. It was the aura of the 'Sword.'

Gradually, a seven-colored sword-light began to appear on the surface of Ji Ning's body. It was as if Ji Ning himself had transformed into a single, terrifying divine sword.