Chapter 15: Unity of Heaven and Man

The tall, thin man in white emerged stealthily from the water in the distance, watching the battle between the Azure Serpent King and the human youth from afar. 'This human youth is truly formidable,' he couldn't help but murmur in awe. 'He's actually forced the king to shrink his body and fight him. In terms of strength, I'm no match for this human youth... It seems I'll have to be careful if I encounter any human youths in the future. Hmm, but it looks like this human youth is about to die!'

'Once he's dead, I'll have to ask for a piece of his flesh to taste. In my three hundred years of cultivation, I've never seen such a powerful human youth.'

'Mm.'

'How tragic.' The tall, thin man in white shook his head as he watched.

At this moment, Ji Ning's beast-hide clothes were badly torn, blood stained his chest, and his hairband had snapped, leaving his hair completely disheveled. Yet his hands gripping the Northmoon swords were as steady as ever, and his eyes shone as brightly as ever, as if flames were burning within them!

Longing!

A longing for victory. Even when at a complete disadvantage, even when wounded time and again, Ji Ning never gave up.

...

'So what if he's a divine body cultivator?' The tall, thin man in white sighed. 'He's still only at the Houtian stage. Wounded again and again, recovering again and again. Each recovery consumes a vast amount of divine power! Once his divine power is depleted... and he's utterly exhausted, he'll have no strength left to resist.'

He could already see the scene of this astonishing youth falling, only to be devoured by the great demons.

'Pitiful. A hero who could one day be renowned across the endless lands is about to die here.' The tall, thin man in white stared intently, afraid to miss a single moment.

'Hmm?'

The tall, thin man in white's expression changed slightly. 'How is his swordsmanship...'

...

The Azure Serpent King's strength was too great. After shrinking, its body was like a steel whip, tougher, more agile, and faster! In strength, defense, speed, and agility, it surpassed Ji Ning... Ji Ning's only advantages were his swordsmanship and the Northmoon swords in his hands.

The pressure from the Azure Serpent King forced Ji Ning into a state of complete emptiness... an emptiness where only the battle remained! He had no other thoughts, only to fight!

Kill!

Kill!

The Azure Serpent King before him was a nightmare. Its pounce was faster than his own 'Lightning Flash'! Its coils were more tenacious than his 'Endless Flow'! Its tail strikes left him breathless. Fortunately, his two Northmoon swords could complement each other.

If one sword couldn't block, then use two!

'Clang!' 'Clang!' 'Clang!'...

At first, he was still wounded from time to time.

But thanks to his divine physique and the antidote pill he had taken, the Azure Serpent King's venom, though causing some numbness, did not affect his performance. As for bleeding and injuries... Ji Ning cared little!

Gradually...

The Azure Serpent King seemed unable to break through the blockade of the two Northmoon swords, finding it hard to leave new wounds on Ji Ning's body.

'Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~~~' The swordsmanship flowed like a silken ribbon, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth.

The Azure Serpent King, now a streak of cyan light, circled Ji Ning, launching frenzied attacks again and again. But the perfectly rounded swordsmanship, drawing upon the power of heaven and earth, was so continuous... One sword-light after another rose, like mercury pouring across the ground, leaving no gap, causing the Azure Serpent King to return fruitlessly time and again.

'Hmm?' Ji Ning finally had a moment to think.

Earlier, the threat and pressure from the Azure Serpent King had been too great, forcing him to focus entirely on the battle. Now that the 'pressure' had lessened, he could spare some thought for other matters. As he did, he realized that under the immense pressure, his swordsmanship had become so perfectly rounded, with no flaws in the transitions or buildup of his sword techniques.

'My swordsmanship...' A smile gradually spread across Ji Ning's face.

'Hahaha!!!'

Ji Ning suddenly burst into laughter, hearty and unrestrained. 'I've broken through! Hahaha, Azure Serpent King, thank you for helping me break through. I've finally reached the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man in my swordsmanship.'

Unity of Heaven and Man!

After two exhilarating battles, especially under the unprecedented pressure from the Azure Serpent King, Ji Ning finally took that step, reaching the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man in his swordsmanship! In truth, Ji Ning had already entered the realm with all the techniques of his two sword styles, and he was very close to a breakthrough. He just needed an opportunity.

If he had stayed in West Prefecture City to practice slowly, relying on steady effort, it might have taken years to break through.

...

'Hiss, hiss~~' A low hiss came from the Azure Serpent King, who was somewhat angered. Proud as it was, it never expected such a scene to occur while hunting a youth.

'Angry? So what?' Ji Ning stood on the water, his spirits high. 'Now I'm not afraid of you!'

'Hiss~~'

With a hiss, the Azure Serpent King lunged at Ji Ning with even greater ferocity, sometimes not even caring about its own injuries. Earlier, when it held an absolute advantage, it had been reluctant to get hurt. But now, it was willing to be wounded to kill this human who dared to provoke it.

'Come on, little snake!' Ji Ning wielded his swords, executing his techniques. At this moment, he felt that practicing swordsmanship was a pleasure, with a natural, graceful rhythm.

Each move, each transition, was flawless.

A simple horizontal slash, a simple thrust—all perfect, without a single flaw!

'Let's stop here for today. Azure Serpent King, thank you for helping me break through.' Ji Ning laughed loudly and began to sprint away.

Holding both Northmoon swords, he executed the 'Watertight' technique from the 'Drip Water Sutra', focusing on defense rather than offense. This left the Azure Serpent King unable to do anything to Ji Ning... In the blink of an eye, Ji Ning had run far away.

After a long time—

'Roar~~'

The Azure Serpent King, having swum back, could only raise its head and let out a low roar to vent its frustration. In its growth, it had even encountered Xiantian humans who had reached the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man, and it had beaten them until they were battered and exhausted... But that youth just now had used twin swords, which was like two people attacking together, perfectly coordinated in mind and spirit, making his power ten times greater.

Even when Ji Ning was merely at the 'entering the realm' stage, even if one sword was in a transitional state temporarily leaving the Unity of Heaven and Man, the other sword would remain in that state. His combat strength was no less than those who could only use one sword and had reached Unity of Heaven and Man.

And now...

After fully reaching Unity of Heaven and Man, Ji Ning's strength had surged again. Before this innate divine beast, he could now leave safely.

...

Swoosh!

He sprinted all the way, fast as the wind.

'Hahaha...' Ji Ning laughed heartily, running wildly. He stepped on the water to leave the East Mountain Marsh and entered the forest. After running for a while, he leaped onto a large tree, stepped on its crown, and floated across dozens of zhang to land on a rocky cliff. With just a few bounds, he reached the summit of a small hill.

He sat down on the peak, leisurely took a bamboo tube of fruit wine from his storage crystal, and took a sip. 'What a thrill! Today has been truly exhilarating,' he shouted with satisfaction.

He had fought two great demons in succession. The Water Rhinoceros King had been slain by his own hand! The other, even more powerful demon, the Azure Serpent King, was indeed formidable and had put great pressure on him. But under that pressure, his swordsmanship had finally broken through, reaching the realm of Unity of Heaven and Man.

'Unity of Heaven and Man!'

Ji Ning couldn't help but feel a bit proud. 'Although the Xiantian beings of West Prefecture City can use magical treasures, in terms of realm alone, most of them are probably inferior to me.'

'But I wonder what realm my father has reached. Before he ventured out, he was already the number one in the Ji clan's West Prefecture, having long reached Unity of Heaven and Man. Then he went out to explore for nearly ten years, met my mother... and after returning, he stayed quietly in West Prefecture City. No one knows his true strength!' Ji Ning mused. 'But when the Winged Serpent great demon attacked earlier, the sword strike my father delivered from afar...'

That strike had been truly terrifying.

'My father's realm should be higher than mine.' Ji Ning shook his head. 'Enough thinking. I haven't even reached Xiantian yet.'

Xiantian beings were extraordinary.

Even Qi Refiners could use various magical treasures, talismans, formations, and so on. As for divine body cultivators... they would undergo a earth-shattering transformation, truly becoming gods and demons. After all, in the ancient age of gods and demons, those born as gods and demons were already Xiantian beings.

'I'm practicing the foremost divine body cultivation method, also the most difficult. In the history of the Ji clan, no one who practiced it has ever reached Xiantian.' Ji Ning was troubled. 'So how am I supposed to break through?'

The 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Chart' was too difficult!

In truth, with Ji Ning's aptitude—his body as pure as a Xiantian Dao body, and his soul, which grew stronger daily through the visualization method 'Nuwa Chart'—he had great advantages in body cultivation. His training speed should have been very fast. If he had been practicing an ordinary divine body cultivation method, he would have already reached Xiantian.

In Qi Refining, Ji Ning's aptitude was slightly lacking.

Because he had been injured in the womb, his meridians were damaged. When his father Ji Yichuan and Prefecture Lord Ji Youyang examined him as an infant, they found that some of his meridians were damaged, making his aptitude mediocre. Most beings relied on Qi Refining to embark on the path of immortality, while divine body cultivation was even harder. They never expected that although Ji Ning was weaker in Qi Refining, his body cultivation was astonishingly strong.

'The 'Redmoon Nine Heavens Chart' also records this.'

'One must achieve the union of yin and yang, the fusion of water and fire, merging the power of the Lunar Star and the Solar Star into the Redmoon divine power.' Ji Ning pondered. 'But how exactly does one fuse water and fire? How does one merge the Lunar and Solar into one?'

Ji Ning only knew that water and fire were incompatible! How could water and fire merge?

This step was very difficult.

'I must achieve Xiantian!' Ji Ning suddenly stood up, standing atop the mountain peak, his eyes filled with boundless longing. 'Xiantian beings are merely the starting point in the distant Heavenly Realm! For the ancient gods and demons, they were born as Xiantian beings! If I can't even break through to Xiantian, how can I talk about taking control of my own destiny?'