The Unbreakable Defense

Under the infusion of the Daofather’s boundless magic power, every single divine sword radiated an endless, oppressive might. The distant True God Shiyu’s expression shifted, a flicker of renewed gravity entering his eyes. “It seems this Warden’s Ki Refining arts are even more formidable than his close-combat prowess.”

“Go.”

From his vantage point high in the sky, Ji Ning pointed into the distance.

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. One by one, the thirty-six divine swords transformed into streaks of flowing light, converging on True God Shiyu from every direction. Their initial flight speed was nothing extraordinary—none of them had breached the Heavenly Dao’s limit—remaining within Shiyu’s tolerance. But the moment the thirty-six swords closed in on him, their speed exploded, every single one of them shattering the Heavenly Dao’s limit. Moreover, their movements became utterly ghostly and unpredictable, each one executing the Shadowless Stance of the Brightmoon Sword-Art.

The Brightmoon Sword-Art that Ji Ning had created consisted of exactly five stances, each one intended to capture a specific artistic conception. In Ji Ning’s vision, this sword-art possessed infinite, inexhaustible potential. As long as his own strength grew, he could continuously refine and perfect it.

“Hua, hua, hua…” True God Shiyu, manifesting his Three Heads, Six Arms, traced arcs of flowing light with his short staves. At a glance, Shiyu’s entire form seemed to blur into a vast, shadowy Taiji diagram, effortlessly repelling every incoming attack.

“Eh?” Ji Ning’s brow furrowed.

His long-range attacks were, in fact, slightly more powerful than his close-combat strategy, yet they still could not wound his opponent.

“I refuse to believe you can block this forever,” Ji Ning muttered. Under the unified control of his Heartforce and divine soul, the thirty-six divine swords grew ever more frenzied. All manner of profound sword techniques were unleashed in succession, coordinating with each other, encompassing nearly every possibility. And yet, True God Shiyu remained anchored in his defense, his six short staves combining into a flawless, seamless barrier.

“Hahaha…”

True God Shiyu laughed heartily even as he blocked, “Warden! Do you know, in ages past, I exchanged blows with Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals on several occasions, and even they could not overcome me! Compared to them, your strength still falls short!”

“When we first began fighting, your sword-arts startled me,” he continued. “But fast though they are, they remain within my control. With six arms or just two, it makes no difference—I can block them all.” As he spoke, he actually withdrew four of his arms, returning to a normal humanoid form, wielding only his two short staves.

The two staves danced in perfect harmony.

The fusion of Yin and Yang produced a defense so watertight it seemed not a single drop could leak through. The faint, massive Taiji diagram enveloped True God Shiyu like an impenetrable shield.

“How can this be…” Ji Ning’s expression darkened.

“When we first clashed, I was being cautious,” Shiyu said calmly. “But now I see that your strength has not yet reached the level of an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal. In pure defense… I need not exert myself fully. Without activating any divine abilities, I can fight on like this indefinitely, drawing power from the primordial chaos. I can sustain this battle for a very, very long time.”

Ji Ning understood this well.

If his opponent activated a divine ability, his endurance would be limited, and Ji Ning—relying on his long-range attacks and Grand Immortal Pills—could eventually exhaust him. But this True God Shiyu’s defensive arts were simply absurd. By committing solely to defense, he didn’t even need to use divine abilities to hold the line.

“The techniques of those Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals are far mightier than yours, and their power far greater,” Shiyu said flatly. “Yet my Tai-chi Force and Wuji Force have both reached the fifth level. Their combined application is practically perfection itself. I have escaped from the clutches of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals using these arts. You… are still far from that mark.”

An Elder God, in terms of divine body alone, was vastly superior to a True God. They already possessed strength at the Leader level.

An Ancestral Immortal with a first-grade Golden Core was far more powerful than the Daofathers of the Three Realms. They, too, were on par with Elder Gods—another Leader-level existence, at minimum.

The Leader level… this was a classification used in the Three Realms.

The Leader level signified strength on par with an Elder God. A newly born Elder God typically possessed this level of power. Mother Nuwa, for example, was born grasping the Heavenly Dao of Life. Later, she comprehended the two Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, as well as the five Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth. Such strength placed her among the very top-tier Elder Gods.

Thus, Mother Nuwa was the supreme being of the primordial era, surpassing all other Elder Gods, Buddhist and Daoist leaders alike! Within the Seamless Gate, only the Heartlord of the Demonheart could rival her. Although Daofather Magic Hand had exchanged blows with Mother Nuwa one-on-one, it was only a brief skirmish—her actual strength was still far inferior.

As for the Lord of All Demons, he too was born an Elder God. In the art of escape, he surpassed even World Gods! This was a testament to his incredible mastery.

And True God Shiyu, having escaped from Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, demonstrated the terrifying power of a perfect fifth-level fusion of Tai-chi Force and Wuji Force. Of course, he also possessed divine abilities that could explosively amplify his power in an instant. It was only by combining these with his Tai-chi and Wuji forces that he could briefly withstand some of the more fearsome Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

“Hmph.” Ji Ning attacked madly for a few more moments before finally stopping in grudging acknowledgment.

“It seems that although my strength can suppress him and force him into a purely defensive posture, my power merely approaches the Leader level. And Shiyu’s greatest specialty is defense. Breaking through his guard is simply too difficult.” Ji Ning pondered deeply, “But I need the Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower as quickly as possible. If I delay too long, the final great war might already have begun. Acquiring the tower after that would be meaningless.”

He desperately needed the Heaven-Gazing Taihao Tower to prepare for that coming calamity.

“To make another leap in strength in a short time…” Ji Ning thought, “There are two ways.”

“First, I break through to the True God level. Once I step into the True God realm, relying on the ‘Eighteen Fiendgod Avatars of Taowu’ and the ‘One True Body’ techniques, I will actually be at the half-step Elder God level. Although I’ll still be a tier below a true Elder God, combined with my sword-arts, I should be on par with an ordinary Elder God. At that point, I would have Leader-level strength. And although True God Shiyu can hold off Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, he can only do so briefly. Here in the World Prison, with nowhere to flee, if I truly grind him down at the Leader level, he will eventually be defeated.”

“But…”

“To reach the True God realm…” Ji Ning’s brow was tight.

Strictly speaking, he had long met the requirements for breaking through to True God.

First, a Perfect Divine Body. His divine body had long been flawless and complete. Second, he needed to comprehend a Grand Dao. He had already comprehended three: the Grand Dao of Thunder, the Grand Dao of Dripping (Rainwater), and the Dao of the Sword.

“According to the Forlorn World God method, one must find a single spark of spiritual light amidst endless, desolate stillness. Find it, and the breakthrough is achieved.”

“It sounds so mysterious… and the Forlorn World God method requires time above all else. Time is exactly what I lack,” Ji Ning shook his head.

Cultivating this method focused on ‘desolate stillness.’ Once one entered this state, they would sit motionless like a withered old tree, searching for that spark of light. It was an approach that generally demanded a great deal of time.

“The second method is the Violet-Light Qiong Divine Sword.” Ji Ning mused, “The Qiong Sword is the most important divine weapon of World God Northrest. Its power is enough to drive Chaos Immortals and World Gods mad. According to World God Northrest, even restoring its outer surface layer would give it power far exceeding a Chaos Treasure. With such a divine weapon, my strength would also soar.”

“Comparatively speaking…”

“Restoring the Violet-Light Qiong Divine Sword seems the more certain path,” Ji Ning nodded to himself.

Previously, he had already restored roughly one-fifth of the Qiong Sword’s surface layer. And now, he had stepped into the fifth level of Sword Force. Although he had failed to defeat True God Shiyu, Shiyu was undoubtedly the most troublesome and fearsome True God or True Immortal imprisoned here. The other True Gods and True Immortals were comparatively easier to deal with.

He could go on a large-scale sweep, gathering enough treasures to hopefully restore the Qiong Sword’s surface layer completely.

“Then let’s begin.”

After a brief moment of deliberation, Ji Ning transformed into a streak of black lightning, disappearing over the distant horizon from above the gorge.

True God Shiyu watched Ji Ning leave from afar, a cold glint in his eyes. “Trying to take my treasures? I possess three Chaos Treasures on my person. Without a few tricks up my sleeve, I would have been stripped clean long ago. But damn it all… I’m chained here, unable to escape anywhere.” Aside from his peerless defense, he was also a master of escape—a skill rendered utterly useless by the chains binding him in the World Prison.

…

And so, Ji Ning began a massive, systematic campaign against the True Gods and True Immortals imprisoned within the World Prison. The number of True Gods and True Immortals here was far smaller than that of Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals. Thus, every single True God or True Immortal was a resource Ji Ning had to cherish. After each battle, if he felt he had gained something, he would immediately withdraw to meditate, absorbing the hard-won experience from every clash.