Chapter 8 The Ninth Form of the Three-Foot Sword

On a patch of grassland in the Crescent Moon Three-Star Cave, Ji Ning's immortal mansion stood.

In a courtyard within the mansion.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged on the ground, eyes closed, motionless. Beside him lay a large snow-white dog.

"Whoosh."

A girl in green appeared out of thin air—it was Xiaoqing.

"Don't make a sound." The Whitewater Marsh opened its eyes and sent a voice transmission.

"What's wrong, Uncle Bai?" Xiaoqing looked puzzled at Ji Ning, who sat cross-legged with eyes closed, and transmitted, "Is master cultivating? But usually he cultivates in the meditation chamber, why is he sitting on the ground?"

Ji Ning usually entered the meditation chamber in the Water Mansion to cultivate, which was built by San Shou Daoren, and his comprehension there was extremely fast. Of course, the existence of the 'Water Mansion' was a great secret; even Patriarch Bodhi had instructed Ji Ning never to reveal it. So to this day, Xiaoqing and Uncle Bai knew nothing of it.

"Ning'er was strolling in the courtyard when he suddenly had an epiphany, so he sat down right there to comprehend it," the Whitewater Marsh transmitted. "When an epiphany comes, a flash of insight must be seized immediately; there's no time to waste going to the meditation chamber."

"Oh." Xiaoqing nodded.

That was how epiphanies worked—a flash of insight had to be grasped at once.

"Master's sword arts have advanced astonishingly in these thirty years; he's even defeated the eighth-level puppet nine times. Now that he's had another epiphany, his strength is sure to soar!" Xiaoqing said excitedly. "Maybe he can defeat a ninth-level puppet."

Ninth-level puppets... many Returned Void great demons and Returned Void divine demons were helpless against them!

This showed how remarkable Ji Ning's progress had been over the thirty years.

"Ning'er's talent is extremely high, especially in the way of the sword," said the Whitewater Marsh. "In the Great Xia world, Ning'er had to divide his attention among other things, studying various spells and techniques, and there were all kinds of conflicts and battles. But here on Mount Fangcun, there are no conflicts, and Ning'er has devoted himself entirely to the sword arts. Over thirty years, his sword arts have become extraordinary and unfathomable."

"Mm, truly unfathomable." Xiaoqing nodded.

Over these thirty years, Xiaoqing had made great progress, mastering the Great Teleportation. The Whitewater Marsh, being more intelligent and perceptive than Xiaoqing, had also become a true formation grandmaster.

But Ji Ning's progress far surpassed theirs!

At first, the ordinary disciples of Mount Fangcun had muttered and gossiped, showing little respect for Ji Ning. But later, as Ji Ning immersed himself in sword arts and continuously improved, defeating fifth-level, sixth-level, seventh-level, and eighth-level puppets in succession, the disciples of Mount Fangcun were left dumbfounded!

Even the administrator of the Immortal Palace, 'Silver Moon Demon', remarked, "Junior Brother Ji Ning is truly a peerless sword immortal prodigy. His progress in sword arts is terrifyingly fast."

Although Patriarch Bodhi gave lectures, the master could only show the way; cultivation ultimately depended on the individual. The master could only offer guidance at critical moments... The main cultivation and comprehension were up to Ji Ning. Clearly, Ji Ning was exceptionally outstanding in the 'Way of the Sword'! Even the peerless sword immortal Lü Dongbin had been moved and repeatedly tried to take Ji Ning as his disciple.

But the Great Xia Emperor firmly refused! However, a mistake turned out for the best, as Ji Ning came to Mount Fangcun and became a disciple of Patriarch Bodhi.

"Look!"

On the twelfth day of Ji Ning's seated epiphany, sword qi spontaneously appeared around him in the courtyard.

Swish! Swish!

Xiaoqing and the Whitewater Marsh quickly retreated to the distant corridor and watched from afar. The strands of sword qi around Ji Ning grew more numerous, and Ji Ning opened his eyes.

"So this is the realm Senior Beixing once reached?" Ji Ning murmured. The countless sword qi around him converged, becoming extremely solid, forming a dazzling immortal sword radiating white light.

"Chop." Ji Ning spoke.

Rip!

The white-light immortal sword formed from sword qi streaked across the air. As it did, a massive black dragon phantom appeared on the sword! The black dragon phantom coiled around the flying sword, and even the dragon's eyes held a wild and unrestrained look. The white-light flying sword tore through the air, causing explosions all around.

"The ninth form of the Three-Foot Sword," Ji Ning murmured to himself. "Sword Roams the Three Realms!"

"I've finally mastered Senior Beixing's strongest sword strike. But I feel that this 'Sword Roams the Three Realms' is too wild and unrestrained, not restrained enough. If I could make it a bit more restrained—after all, 'a dragon in ascent has regrets'—its power might increase." Ji Ning's insight was now extremely high.

The sword art manuals on the fourth floor of the Immortal Palace were already at the level of the Three-Foot Sword.

On the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth floors, Ji Ning didn't repeat similar ones, but even so, he had studied hundreds of sword art books! In particular, he had chosen nine books from the eighth floor of the Immortal Palace, all written by great figures of the Three Realms. Though just random notes, they were profound and unfathomable.

With such extensive exposure to sword arts, how could Ji Ning's insight not be high?

Beixing the Immortal had originally traveled the world and trained hard on his own.

But Ji Ning had become a disciple of Patriarch Bodhi, with countless sword art books from the Three Realms at his disposal. Coupled with his innate talent as a peerless sword immortal prodigy, how could his insight not be high?

"Now, I have fully comprehended all nine forms of the Three-Foot Sword," Ji Ning nodded inwardly. "But I have modified the first eight forms to suit my own sword style. The ninth form... also needs some modification."

With so many peerless sword classics for reference, Ji Ning's foundation in the 'Way of the Sword' was indeed extraordinary.

...

"Master, master!" Xiaoqing ran over. "That sword move just now looked profound and mysterious. Have you broken through?"

"Mm, I've fully comprehended the ninth form of the Three-Foot Sword," Ji Ning nodded.

The nine forms of the Three-Foot Sword were: Sword Heart Illuminated, Thorns Dense, Sword Light Flashes, Sun at High Noon, Moonlight Conceals Sword, Domain of the Great Way, Single-Character Sword Slash, Both Immortal and Demon, and Sword Roams the Three Realms!

The Whitewater Marsh was shocked and excited: "Ning'er, I've heard that Beixing the Immortal could rival celestial immortals with this Three-Foot Sword. Some celestial immortals don't even have as high a sword art realm as the Three-Foot Sword. Does that mean your sword art realm is already higher than some celestial immortals?"

"The claim that Senior Beixing rivaled celestial immortals is very vague," Ji Ning said. He had chatted with several senior brothers on Mount Fangcun and understood more. "Crossing the tribulation to become a celestial immortal is extremely difficult. Some Returned Void Earth Immortals have an easier tribulation, while others face a tribulation a hundred or a thousand times harder. I've even heard of some Returned Void Earth Immortals whose heavenly tribulation simply dissipated without descending. Moreover, celestial immortals have different cultivation periods; some are loose cultivators, some are disciples of great figures, so their strength naturally varies."

"So-called 'rivaling celestial immortals' for Senior Beixing only means comparing with the most ordinary celestial immortals."

"For example, the historical Ju Hua the Loose Immortal lived for millions of years and was also said to 'rival celestial immortals.' Senior Beixing lived for a million years and was also said to rival celestial immortals." Ji Ning laughed. "Celestial immortals can differ greatly in strength; it's hard to say. Weak celestial immortals can be slain by some heaven-defying loose immortals who have lived for millions or tens of millions of years. And the strongest celestial immortals—I've heard that some have fully mastered the Great Way of the Sword, just one step away from becoming Pure Yang True Immortals. Those are the monstrous celestial immortals, who can even rival Pure Yang True Immortals."

"So even among celestial immortals, strength varies greatly. This 'rivaling celestial immortals' talk... haha, it's all praise." Ji Ning said.

Indeed.

Now, his divine demon body refinement had already reached the fifteenth level of the 'Red Bright Nine Heavens Chart', comparable to an ordinary Returned Void divine demon body refiner at the early stage! Once he used the Star Picking Hand and his terrifying sword arts, he was no weaker than Beixing the Immortal in his time!

When Ji Ning first entered the Black-White College, he deeply admired Beixing the Immortal and had no doubt about the claim that 'Beixing the Immortal rivaled celestial immortals.'

But now that he had reached Beixing's level himself, hearing 'rivaling celestial immortals' felt somewhat embarrassing. After all, Ji Ning knew that he was only comparable to the most ordinary celestial immortals, and merely on par. If he encountered a slightly stronger celestial immortal, he might be defeated or even killed!

Xiaoqing, however, said excitedly, "Master, don't be modest. Regardless, your sword art realm is at the celestial immortal level! Even surpassing ordinary celestial immortals, right?"

Ji Ning paused, then smiled helplessly: "Right. But Xiaoqing, my strength is still minor in the Three Realms; I need to keep a low profile."

"Master, your strength is almost unmatched among those below celestial immortals," Xiaoqing said, completely lacking modesty.

Ji Ning smiled.

Unmatched among those below celestial immortals?

Even if he encountered a heaven-defying loose immortal who had lived for millions of years, he probably wouldn't be much stronger. He was indeed among the top below celestial immortals. But loose immortals in the Three Realms were minor figures; celestial immortals were the ones with real status. As a disciple of Patriarch Bodhi, he naturally had to aim higher.

"I haven't entered the ninth floor of the Immortal Palace or the Three Realms Palace," Ji Ning thought. "Once I go to the ninth floor and then the Three Realms Palace... especially the Three Realms Palace—senior brothers have said that obtaining just one technique there is enough to roam the Three Realms. Then my strength will probably be even greater than now, no longer at Beixing's level, but at least at Ju Hua the Immortal's level. Even against powerful celestial immortals, I might have a chance to deal with them."

Ji Ning looked forward to the Three Realms Palace.

"Xiaoqing, Uncle Bai," Ji Ning instructed, "I want to go into seclusion to further refine and perfect my Three-Foot Sword. You go about your own business; don't worry about me."

"Alright." The Whitewater Marsh nodded.

"Master, you've just broken through and now you're going into seclusion again. The gap between us is growing bigger and bigger," Xiaoqing said helplessly, then grinned. "But luckily, my 'Great Teleportation' will take you a long, long time to master, right?"

Ji Ning shook his head.

A long time?

As a human, he had to fully master the 'Great Way of Space' to perform the Great Teleportation. His sword way was still far from complete, and the 'Great Way of Space' was even more distant!

"Rumble~~~"

The stone door closed, and Ji Ning entered the meditation chamber.

Then ripples spread in the chamber, and Ji Ning walked straight into them, entering the Water Mansion.

"Ji Ning, you've finally fully mastered all nine forms of the Three-Foot Sword." In the main hall of the Water Mansion, the yellow-furred bear stood there, smiling.

"Senior, do I have a chance to clear the eighth floor of the War God Palace now?" Ji Ning asked. Ten years ago, he had cleared the seventh floor and chosen an immortal-grade treasure.

...