Chapter 21 The Dharma Body

"Just name your conditions." Tian Yi and Yu Dou exchanged glances, both breaking into smiles.

"This old madman has finally bowed his head. After fighting for tens of thousands of chaos epochs, he's finally given in." Tian Yi sighed with emotion. He had struggled with Qing Feng for a long time; both were renowned, and neither would yield. With the two great powers at odds, naturally the Tiancang Palace and the Qingfeng Hall became mortal enemies, locked in battle for tens of thousands of chaos epochs.

Choosing to bow meant not only losing face but also forfeiting a great many treasures.

"It's all because of Beiming." Yu Dou glanced at Ji Ning beside him.

"Brother Tian Yi, to be honest, do you think I would bow to you just because you say so?" The Qingfeng Saint Lord from the distant temple shook his head. "That's utterly impossible. But your Tiancang Palace has gained a good brother! Although I'm not afraid of Beiming's current strength, he's only a two-step Daolord. Soon he will surpass me, and your Tiancang Palace will become famous throughout the endless territories along with him."

Tian Yi and Yu Dou smiled.

In the future, Tiancang Palace would have a Heaven-defying Daolord in charge! A truly Heaven-defying Daolord could even slay Eternal Emperors! Ji Ning clearly had such potential.

But Qing Feng, Tian Yi, and Yu Dou never imagined that Ji Ning was even more terrifying than they thought. At this moment, Ji Ning was actually only a one-step Daolord.

"You flatter me," Ji Ning said.

"It's not flattery; it's the truth," said the Qingfeng Saint Lord. Then he looked at Tian Yi. "Tian Yi, tell me, what conditions do you want?"

"Qing Feng, if you want to settle the grievances between our two sides, that's fine," Tian Yi began. "I have three conditions."

…

The negotiations between Tiancang Palace and Qingfeng Hall lasted most of the day, simply because Daolord Tian Yi's demands were so harsh that even selling all of the Qingfeng Saint Lord's treasures wouldn't be enough.

The seller sets a high price; the buyer bargains it down.

In the end—

The Qingfeng Saint Lord paid treasures worth twenty million cubes, and the enmity between the two sides was thus resolved. At the same time, all Daolords on both sides swore oaths not to harm each other.

As long as the Daolords didn't fight, conflicts among World-level cultivators and Ancestral Immortals/Ancestral Gods were only minor matters.

Of course, before this, Ji Ning had thoroughly squeezed Daolord Hu Feng. He made him hand over all his treasures, and Daolord Hu Feng pitifully swore a lifeblood oath that the total value of all treasures on him was less than one cube. Only then did Ji Ning send Daolord Hu Feng and the other captives back.

Inside Tiancang Palace, Ji Ning, Tian Yi, Yu Dou, and Yu Can were gathered, drinking immortal wine and chatting.

"Tsk, only twenty million cubes," Daolord Tian Yi shook his head. "I originally planned to demand at least fifty million cubes! I knew he had life-saving treasures; just one of them would be worth that much. It's all because of you, Yu Dou, persuading me. Otherwise, I wouldn't have let him off so easily."

"Don't be too harsh," Daolord Yu Dou said, raising his wine cup and drinking. "He's only wary of Beiming. In reality, we can't deal with him. If we push him too far, he might take his Qingfeng Hall and migrate far away, making us unable to find him. And he might even secretly retaliate with poison, which would be troublesome."

"His life-saving treasures are more important to him than Qingfeng Hall itself," Daolord Yu Dou sighed. "He obtained them through countless adventures over endless ages. Asking him to give one up is harsher than destroying Qingfeng Hall."

Tian Yi muttered a few words.

Powerful cultivators usually spend countless treasures on cultivating secret arts or on magic treasures. Very little is available for trade! Daolord Tian Yi and Daolord Qing Feng's total treasures definitely exceed a hundred million cubes. But in reality, they couldn't produce that much; some treasures are used for battle.

For example, Ji Ning's six lifebound divine weapons, the Lord's armor, and the Lord's talisman were not for trade.

"All this is thanks to Ji Ning." Tian Yi looked at Ji Ning. "Ji Ning, take these twenty million cubes of treasures." He handed a storage seal to Ji Ning.

"That won't do." Ji Ning was startled. Giving him everything? How could that be?

"You're only a two-step Daolord; you need treasures for many things. Just take it..." Daolord Tian Yi urged.

Ji Ning firmly refused.

Yu Dou beside him said, "Brother Beiming, you became a Daolord not long ago. You should also cultivate a dharma body. A perfect dharma body alone requires nearly ten million cubes of various treasures. And there are other needs too. Just take it."

Seeing this, Ji Ning couldn't refuse any longer and said, "Then I'll take half. If you say more, I won't take anything."

"Haha, fine, fine." Tian Yi shook his head. "I won't persuade you, I won't persuade you. Brother Fuzhou, you're also a two-step Daolord, so you take five million cubes! Yu Dou, the rest is yours."

"Big brother?" Yu Dou quickly called out.

"Big brother, you don't need it? That won't do," Daolord Yu Can also said hastily.

"My true body is currently in the Yi Realm. Once I gain something there, I will immediately attempt the Daomerge," Daolord Tian Yi shook his head. "Whether I succeed or fail, these treasures are useless to me."

Ji Ning, Yu Dou, and Yu Can's hearts sank.

Big brother Tian Yi was the oldest among them and was about to attempt the Daomerge. Everyone understood that the Daomerge was almost certain death; success was extremely rare.

"Come, come, drink, drink. With Ji Ning in my Tiancang Palace, I can attempt the Daomerge with more peace of mind," Daolord Tian Yi laughed heartily. "Today, my old rival bowed before me. How satisfying! More satisfying than obtaining countless treasures."

…

Ji Ning temporarily went into seclusion in the Beiming Cave Mansion within Tiancang Palace.

This time, from the Qingfeng Saint Lord and Daolord Hu Feng, Ji Ning obtained treasures worth over thirteen million cubes. Of these, about ten million cubes were used to purchase various rare materials for cultivating a dharma body!

Inside a grotto.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh..."

Dark, cold, with howling winds.

The dark cave was the source of the grotto's icy cold. Deep inside, at the center, was a frozen figure. Beside it sat a white-robed youth, who was releasing vast amounts of divine power, continuously pouring it into the frozen figure.

Time passed.

"Crack crack crack..." The ice began to fracture.

Boom.

The once-frozen figure flew out. He was naked, radiating endless icy cold, with a face identical to Ji Ning's. Soon, a golden robe condensed on his body surface.

The golden-robed Ji Ning and the white-robed Ji Ning looked at each other.

"Well, my dharma body has taken initial shape. It now has ten percent of my strength. Next comes the meticulous work," the white-robed Ji Ning nodded slightly and said with a smile, "Dharma body Dao-friend, from now on you will reside temporarily in Tiancang Palace."

"Naturally, I obey the true body's commands," the golden-robed Ji Ning also said.

In fact, they shared the same memories and thoughts; Ji Ning was just amusing himself.

The dharma body possessed the same level of 'Dao' attainment.

But it lacked the Azureflower Mark! Ji Ning had the dharma body try to cultivate; it could practice ordinary divine abilities and secret arts, but it simply couldn't cultivate the Nine Chaos Seals!

"Using the Lord's divine ability, I can still unleash extremely strong combat power. I just can't sustain a prolonged fight," Ji Ning nodded. "Since the dharma body is initially formed, I should leave Tiancang Palace."

…

Ji Ning went alone to see Daolord Tian Yi.

"Leaving Tiancang Palace? When do you plan to leave?" Daolord Tian Yi wasn't surprised.

"I won't stay long. Tomorrow," Ji Ning said with a smile.

Daolord Tian Yi nodded. "You're in a period of rapid growth in strength; it's indeed time to travel outside. When you're out, be cautious. Especially with four-step Daolords—never underestimate any of them. You might encounter one who can counter you."

"Understood," Ji Ning nodded.

This time, it was only because he knew the Qingfeng Saint Lord's methods in detail that Ji Ning directly challenged him.

If he were outside, he would certainly be more careful.

Because there were Daolords faster than ten times the speed of light.

"Big brother, there's one more thing I need to trouble you with," Ji Ning said.

"We're brothers; no need to be polite. Just say it," Daolord Tian Yi said.

"I want to visit the Dao Alliance's Sacred City and other places," Ji Ning said.

Among the six major powers of the endless territories, the Dao Alliance ranked first.

Ninety-nine percent of the territories belonged to the Dao Alliance. But the Dao Alliance ruled by non-interference, was too scattered, and many reclusive ancient powers had eccentric temperaments. If the entire Dao Alliance could be completely unified and stand together, the other five major powers would have no way to contend with it.

The Dao Alliance was absolutely unfathomable.

In terms of treasures, divine abilities, and secret arts, the Dao Alliance was absolutely number one. Over countless ages, great powers like Daolord Wanshen and Emperor Heartsword had left their legacies in the Dao Alliance.

"Right. You are the Palace Lord of my Tiancang Palace, so naturally you are a member of the Dao Alliance," Daolord Tian Yi said. "You should go and see the Dao Alliance."

…