Chapter 6: Treasures and Curios Stir Hearts

The distant yellow-furred bear nodded slightly, thinking to himself, "This Ji Ning is indeed highly talented in swordsmanship—this single strike alone has barely reached the power of a Wanxiang Adept. But if that's all he has, he won't make it through the first level. He must achieve the full force of a normal early Wanxiang cultivator to chop through the wooden stake within one incense stick's time!"

To pass the first level of the War God Hall, one must possess the attack power of an early Wanxiang cultivator!

This was already the simplest test chosen by the spirit of the estate; the real test would also examine combat experience, mental fortitude, movement techniques, and many other aspects—after all, in a real fight, enemies wouldn't stand still like wooden stakes waiting to be chopped.

…

"Even with the Rainwater Sword Domain, my Northriver Sword can't cut through the stake." Ji Ning immediately put away the Northriver Sword.

"Lesser Thousand Sword Formation."

Ji Ning retreated ten zhang, and over seven hundred flying swords materialized in the air around him, each emitting a faint white glow. His powerful Zifu elemental energy poured into all the swords... After transformation and condensation, a fiercely sharp sword-light coalesced before him.

This sword-light faintly took the shape of a flying sword.

"When I fought Dong Ziqi, I was still using perfected Xiantian true essence. Now, with Zifu elemental energy, the power of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation has clearly surged." Ji Ning could feel the sharpness of the sword-light before him; its sheer power alone might rival his full-strength close-combat strikes.

"Rainwater Sword Domain!"

Threads of fine rain drifted around, enveloping the hundred-zhang area in the Rainwater Sword Domain.

"Go." With a thought, the sword-light before him vanished, transforming into a thread of fine rain that instantly crossed ten zhang and grazed the pattern on the stake's surface.

Chi!

A wound appeared on the stake, cutting in about half a fingernail's depth.

"Good." Ji Ning rejoiced, and another sword-light condensed before him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Each sword-light, upon flying out, merged completely into the Rainwater Sword Domain, becoming a thread of fine rain that sliced into the distant stake, leaving another wound. The deeper the cut, the harder it became... The elemental energy in Ji Ning's Zifu rapidly depleted, but the wound on the stake grew larger.

After a long while.

"Bang!" A thread of rain swept across the stake, cutting it cleanly in two. The upper half fell and crashed to the ground.

"I succeeded." Ji Ning was overjoyed. He turned to look at the incense stick behind him; it had burned more than halfway.

"Congratulations on your success." The yellow-furred bear walked over. "Do you wish to challenge the second level of the War God Hall?"

Ji Ning's heart stirred.

The second level of the War God Hall?

It seemed that passing the second level only granted the choice of a Mortal-ranked treasure, the same reward as the first level. But the danger...

"Senior, how does the second level compare to the first?" Ji Ning asked. "How dangerous is it?"

"Far more dangerous," the yellow-furred bear said bluntly. "The first level was the easiest test. From the second level onward, it won't be so easy—they won't let you chop without fighting back. And I won't give you any guidance. You just go in and fight! Kill! If you feel your life is in danger, you can immediately use the talisman to teleport out. Once you teleport out, you lose!"

"Are you willing to use your second chance to challenge the second level?" The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning.

"Second chance?" Ji Ning was startled.

The yellow-furred bear said, "I advise you to use it. Your divine body has already reached Xiantian perfection. You might break through at any moment. Once you do, the two chances for the Xiantian life stage will be gone, wasted if unused."

Ji Ning pondered.

"Then I'll give it a try." Ji Ning smiled.

"Go ahead." The yellow-furred bear said.

Whoosh!

Ji Ning vanished from the first level of the War God Hall.

But just over ten seconds later.

"Bang!" Ji Ning reappeared on the first level, tumbling and crashing to the ground. His beast-hide was torn, with several bloody wounds that healed instantly upon hitting the ground.

"You lost." The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning.

"Both the first and second levels only offer a choice of Mortal-ranked treasures upon success." Ji Ning stood up angrily, his beast-hide automatically restoring itself. "Why is the second level so hard?"

As soon as he entered, he was instantly surrounded by dozens of strange beasts resembling black leopards. Caught off guard, he struggled to respond, only to find that each black leopard was as powerful as Dong Ziqi! He used every trick he had, but lasted only ten seconds before he had to give up. If he hadn't, those black leopards would have torn him to shreds.

"The ten levels of the War God Hall get progressively harder." The yellow-furred bear growled. "That's the master's rule. Shouting won't change it."

"So passing the second level is no different from passing the first?" Ji Ning retorted.

"There is a difference."

The yellow-furred bear said, "If you pass the first level, I'll give you a large selection of Mortal-ranked treasures and curios of equivalent value to choose from, including some top-grade Mortal-ranked treasures."

"If you pass the second level, you can choose from all the treasures in the Treasure Hall that are of equal value to Mortal-ranked treasures. Among them are some very special, very peculiar items—though only Mortal-ranked, some are more valuable than ordinary Earth-ranked treasures."

Ji Ning understood.

"Go on, to the Treasure Hall." The yellow-furred bear extended a paw and grasped Ji Ning's hand.

Whoosh!

Both vanished.

…

The Treasure Hall.

The Treasure Hall was a vast chamber. High above, treasures and curios floated, emanating powerful auras... Though these auras were unsettling, they were contained by the first master's spells and restrictions, posing no harm to Ji Ning below.

"Many treasures and curios." The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning beside him. A golden book appeared in its paw. "This golden book records all Mortal-ranked treasures and curios. You may choose. Go ahead."

Ji Ning took the golden book.

The book bore only two divine-demonic characters: "Treasure." He opened it to find illustrations and descriptions of treasures and curios.

"This is..." Ji Ning stared wide-eyed.

"Compared to these treasures, the ones used by the Zifu cultivators of our Swallow Mountain are complete garbage." Ji Ning felt a sense of speechlessness, like a peasant army encountering a regular army—their equipment was on a completely different level.

The worst treasures here were high-grade Mortal-ranked; most were top-grade Mortal-ranked.

Any Mortal-ranked treasure left by the first master was naturally of high quality.

"Whoosh."

"This Three Talents Poison Banner is terrifying. With it, a Zifu Perfection cultivator could contend with a Wanxiang Adept. Its power is probably no less than the completed Ten Thousand Ghost Banner of Bei Zishan. But the Ten Thousand Ghost Banner requires torturing countless souls, while this banner doesn't incur such great sin." Ji Ning marveled.

Even the demonic path had brilliant treasures—ones that required no sin to forge such fearsome artifacts.

"This one is also powerful—the Nine Yang Sword Formation?" Ji Ning's eyes burned with desire. What attracted him most was that this treasure consisted of nine flying swords, all high-grade Mortal-ranked!

"The Nine Yang Sword Formation suits you best." The yellow-furred bear spoke beside him. "Choosing this treasure means choosing nine flying swords. Though only high-grade Mortal-ranked, they share the same origin. Using them as the core of your Lesser Thousand Sword Formation can increase its power three to five times! These nine high-grade Mortal-ranked swords alone are worth dozens of ordinary Mortal-ranked flying swords."

Ji Ning's eyes burned.

It was a fine item.

"Yin Fire Vial?" Ji Ning's brows twitched. "Truly vicious."

"Water-Fire Chaos Staff." Ji Ning's heart raced. He controlled water and fire and had a divine body; this staff was perfect for a divine demon.

"Starlight Needles? A set of thirty-six? With my strong soul, I'm best suited for controlling many items." Ji Ning was equally tempted.

Treasure after treasure.

Even those he couldn't use made him covet them. They were top-grade! Compared to the treasures he'd taken from Bei Zishan and Ju San, these were incomparable—he'd gladly trade dozens of his Mortal-ranked treasures for just one of these.

Ji Ning didn't know that these treasures, rated as top-grade or high-grade by the first master, would all be rated as top-grade by modern standards. Even the nine swords of the Nine Yang Sword Formation would be considered nine top-grade Mortal-ranked flying swords today.

"Wonderful." Ji Ning's heart itched.

He really wanted to take a pile of them.

Ji Ning began to understand the Immortal Juhua. Poor Immortal Juhua could see these powerful treasures but couldn't obtain them. If he could take them freely, he might have overcome his tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal!

Though the first master nurtured his descendants and later generations, he showed no indulgence. Even if the later master died, his rules remained unbreakable. Want treasures? Follow the first master's rules.

"Frozen Three-Eyed Fireworm Eggs? They can hatch a race of Three-Eyed Fireworms. An ordinary adult Three-Eyed Fireworm can match a Zifu cultivator? The only drawback is that they require large amounts of spirit materials and a long time to grow, but they can be cultivated into very powerful Three-Eyed Fireworms." Ji Ning's heart burned.

"A puppet that can fight on par with an ordinary early Wanxiang Adept? An indestructible puppet? The only drawback is the massive elemental energy consumption."

Treasures and curios.

Each one captivated Ji Ning, stirring his heart.

"Don't get dazzled." The yellow-furred bear warned. "The Nine Yang Sword Formation suits you best. Such fine nine swords, sharing the same origin, are hard to find out in the world. Your Lesser Thousand Sword Formation needs a core, and the stronger the core swords, the better."

Ji Ning turned another page.

A formation? Ji Ning's eyelids twitched. Facing endless threats, with a large group of Zifu cultivators to deal with, the most effective tool was a formation! Formations could create miracles!

"Nether Dragon Locking Heaven Formation, a great formation suitable for guarding a tribe or sect. It consists of five sub-formations..." Ji Ning's heart stirred. He read on carefully, his joy growing with every line.

"This is it, this is it!" Ji Ning howled inwardly. "With this, my strength can skyrocket, and the clan leader and everyone else can also surge in power."

…