The Sword Peacock

If she was lucky, she might even be able to raise a beast that was more powerful than herself.

Beast-type void dwellers had low intelligence and were far inferior to cultivators in terms of the Dao. However, this was precisely what made their improvements easier. Their most powerful weapon was their formidable bodies.

“ROOOAR!” The nine beasts, positioned in nine different directions tens of thousands of kilometers away, howled and shrieked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning stood on the island, his gaze sweeping across his surroundings. He laughed with a clear voice, “I wonder just which great power this is. Are you too scared to show yourself, instead sending out only these beasts?”

The Emperor Quietdark, whose heartforce was currently manifesting through the nine beasts, felt a flash of anger.

“These children of mine are more than enough to kill you,” the one of the beasts that resembled a rocky giant snarled. Deep within his rocky body, vaguely cracked and exposed, there was flesh.

“Oh? Really?”

Ji Ning moved.

Whoosh!

A streak of black electric light lanced across the skies. Tens of thousands of kilometers meant nothing to Ji Ning; it was as effortless as a mortal taking a single step. He appeared directly in front of the rocky giant, and a streak of icy sword-light descended.

“Damn it.” The rocky giant swung its twin massive fists towards Ji Ning, completely ignoring the attack.

“KILL!” The other eight beasts flew over as well.

Suddenly—

Swish. Swish. Swish.

The sword-light flashed and returned. Ji Ning stood calmly before the rocky giant. The giant’s twin fists froze in mid-air before they could touch Ji Ning. It stood there dumbly for a moment, and then… CRASH. Its neck, chest, and abdomen were all severed, cleanly broken into four neat segments that plummeted downwards into the swamp. Ji Ning’s sword-light had already extinguished all life-force from the rocky giant. He had even held back the rainbow sword-light; this level of opponent simply didn’t warrant its use.

“What? He’s this powerful without using any Sword Force? That sword-art… it has to be the fifth level of Sword Force. There’s no mistake.” The Emperor Quietdark confirmed it instantly. Although Ji Ning hadn’t used the rainbow sword-light, that fact alone made it even more frightening.

“FLEE!”

The eight beasts that had been charging towards Ji Ning immediately scattered in all directions.

“Leaving?” Ji Ning’s eyes turned cold. Although he had the Lightning-Serpent Teleportation, the eight beasts were fleeing in different directions and would soon charge into the void.

“Rise,” Ji Ning said, pointing a finger at the sky.

BOOM!

The surrounding world suddenly darkened. Within a range of tens of thousands of kilometers, strands of rainbow sword-light began to appear. In an instant, the world for thousands of kilometers became a world of rainbow sword-light—a realm of the sword.

The eight beasts stared at the world around them, which had suddenly transformed into a realm of rainbow sword-light, utterly terrified. The Emperor Quietdark, manifesting through them, urged them to flee quickly! He had already guessed that Ji Ning was at the fifth level of Sword Force, so he wasn’t surprised. “Hmph. So what if he can form a Sword World? It’s large in scale, but it’s also weak. Each strand of sword-light is very weak. They can’t hurt my children at all.”

“Sword… Peacock,” Ji Ning murmured. His voice echoed like the voice of heaven and earth itself within the tens of thousands of kilometers of Sword World, as if it represented a fundamental law.

The entire, resplendent world of rainbow sword-light instantly seemed to become one entity. Like a flower bud unfurling into full bloom, or a peacock spreading its tail.

SWISH! SWISH! SWISH! SWISH!

Strands of sword-light, like flower petals or the tail-feathers of a peacock, radiated outwards in every direction with a profound and mystical intent. The countless strands of rainbow sword-light had transformed into a thousand and one tail-feathers, a thousand and one flower petals, beautiful enough to make one unconsciously fall into a trance.

The eight beasts that had been trying to flee were completely washed over by the terrifying sword-light before they could run far. In an instant, their bodies were shattered, and the life-force within them was extinguished.

Thus, all nine beasts were dead!

“The seven stances of the [Sword World] truly possess extraordinary power.” Ji Ning nodded slightly.

This technique wasn’t his own creation. He had created the [Brightmoon] sword-art, which was essentially a close-combat art—a life-or-death fighting art. Techniques like the ‘Heavenbreaker Stance’, ‘Blood Drop Stance’, and ‘Shadowless Stance’ were all dueling arts.

However, the seven stances of the [Sword World] were techniques of mass slaughter. They were methods of utilizing Sword Force on a large scale for massacre! Such techniques were exceptionally effective against a large number of weaker opponents. If he was facing an opponent of equal strength, they wouldn’t work; he would still need to rely on his [Brightmoon] sword-art for close-quarters combat. But at certain times…

disposable troops could affect the overall situation, and at such times, this kind of technique was useful. Ji Ning had no time to painstakingly create such an art himself, but among the ninety-eight sword-inscribed steles left behind by World God Northrest, one was dedicated to this kind of mass-slaughter sword-art. That was the [Sword World].

The technique Ji Ning had just used was the second stance of the [Sword World], the ‘Sword Peacock’ stance.

“Daofather-level beasts…” Ji Ning shook his head. With a single step, he vanished into the air once more, flying out of the void to continue his advance, intending to rendezvous with the other groups.

The Quietdark World, Clan Territory.

“Such a terrifying sword-art…” The Emperor Quietdark was still lost in the beautiful technique that had resembled a peacock spreading its tail. As a top-tier Daofather, he could see perfectly how terrifying that incredibly beautiful technique truly was.

You have to understand that Daofathers manipulated their treasures by sending them flying long distances to kill enemies.

But this technique directly used the ‘rainbow sword-light’ of the Sword Dao’s prime source to kill. With a single thought, it could cover an extremely wide area, and it could even unleash such terrifying power from scattered Sword Force.

“Splendid.”

“Profound.”

“A shockingly sharp aura.” The Emperor Quietdark was completely shaken. “I have followed Lord of All Demons and have traveled through the primordial chaos, visiting many places. But this is the first time I have seen such a beautiful technique. By itself, that one sword-stance is enough to be called the number one sword-art of the Three Realms. Too frightening. This sword-art is far too frightening.”

How could he know that this technique had been created by the peak World God ‘Northrest’ as he meditated on the nameless sword-art? Even World Gods would find it breathtaking to observe. For him, the Emperor Quietdark, who was merely a True God, to see it… it was no wonder he was so shaken.

“How could I ever hope to fool an existence this powerful? Trying to lure him into the Dreamshadow Forest will be far too difficult. And the Dreamshadow Forest might not even be able to trap him,” the Emperor Quietdark said to himself, having greatly elevated his assessment of Ji Ning after witnessing that sword-strike firsthand. In his heart, this Ji Ning was even more fearsome than Lord Yuding.

“How could such a sword-art be created?” the Emperor Quietdark could not help but mutter. “Right. I must go see the Great Demon God Cixiu immediately.”

…

Deep within the Ancient Ruins, inside the dark-gold fortress.

A foreign Daofather sat leisurely on his throne, resting his chin on his hand, watching the four major scenes playing out in mid-air. These were scenes of combat involving Kuafu, Lord Yuding, Tathagata Buddha, and Lord Fuxi.

“The Nuwa camp is quite powerful. This is only part of their strength, right?” the foreign Daofather mused.

“Their main forces are still being kept in the Three Realms. They wouldn’t dare to empty their nest to come here. If they did, we of the Seamless Gate would be able to wipe out their home base,” the Celestial Immortal Wuxiao said from below with a laugh.

“Those who specialize in formations are all monstrous talents. This Lord Fuxi, and your Seamless Gate’s Master Stonerule… I just don’t understand it. How can they create such troublesome, painstaking formations?” The foreign Daofather lamented. “I have no desire to waste my time on formations. I prefer to rely on my own strength; that’s the most solid foundation.”

“Great master.” A voice came from outside.

The foreign Daofather was startled.

The Celestial Immortal Wuxiao below laughed. “The Emperor Quietdark has arrived. It seems there is good news.”

“Quietdark is very steady in his work.” The foreign Daofather looked calmly towards the entrance. Soon, the Emperor Quietdark rushed in and knelt down reverently. “Reporting to master! I was ordered to try and kill Ji Ning, and to try and lure him into the Dreamshadow Forest. But… this Ji Ning’s strength is far too great. I simply have no way to accomplish this.”

“Far too great?” The Celestial Immortal Wuxiao beside them frowned. “He’s a junior who has been cultivating for less than a millennium. How strong can he be?”

“Master, I first sent the ‘Eight-Armed Warfiend Formation’ to deal with Ji Ning, but all 199 Empyrean Gods of the formation were killed, and I didn’t even receive a message back,” the Emperor Quietdark reported. “Ji Ning is extremely cautious. The members of my clan under my command simply could not get close to him, nor could they lead him anywhere.”

The foreign Daofather on the throne frowned. “Is it the fifth level of Sword Force?”

“Master, I sent the nine beasts I had raised to deal with Ji Ning. Would you like to view the battle?” the Emperor Quietdark asked.

“Yes,” the foreign Daofather nodded.

The Emperor Quietdark immediately pointed into the air, and a battle scene appeared in mid-air. This was what he had observed with his own heartforce.

The entire hall fell silent.

Everyone watched the battle scene.

The nine beasts appeared. Ji Ning stood up, sword in hand.

A single sword-strike… and one beast was severed into four pieces. At this, the foreign Daofather nodded and commented, “Such sword-art is indeed the fifth level of Sword Force.”

Next, the eight beasts fled in all directions. Ji Ning pointed to the sky, summoning endless Sword Force to form a Sword World. Then, he executed the terrifying mass-slaughter technique… the Sword Peacock.

Like a peacock spreading its tail…

A scene of splendor and beauty…

It left every Daofather in the hall completely silent.

After a long time, the foreign Daofather on the throne sighed softly, “So beautiful. What a beautiful sword-stroke. It has been so long since I last saw such beautiful sword-art. The last time was outside ‘Fuqiu City’, when I saw a Chaos Immortal fight from afar. That was when I saw such beautiful sword-art. Worthy of the title of the number one Sword Immortal of the Three Realms. That title… is well-deserved!”

The other Daofathers and experts below all nodded.

This sword-stroke had been a bloody, mass-murder technique, yet its beauty was enough to entrance even Daofathers.

“How can he be this strong? How is he even stronger than he was back in the Zhuolu Major World?” the Celestial Immortal Wuxiao below said, unable to accept it. “Last time, he still relied on the Hive. Now, he’s simply dressed in a white robe, holding a single sword, yet his power is this great.”

“Master.” The Emperor Quietdark’s expression suddenly changed as he quickly reported.

“What is it?” The foreign Daofather frowned. He had been immersed in the beauty of that strike, and being interrupted naturally displeased him.

The Emperor Quietdark quickly said, “After killing the nine beasts, Ji Ning continued to advance. Now, he has detected the waves of battle from Kuafu’s squad and is rushing towards them at high speed. He will probably rendezvous with them soon.”