Chapter 9: Two Immortal-Grade Treasures

The yellow-furred bear nodded lightly. "There's a great chance. It's worth a try."

Ji Ning smiled and walked toward a side corridor.

In divine-arts body refinement, one only had two chances to enter the War God Hall per major realm. Thus, Ji Ning always asked the yellow-furred bear for advice, as each chance represented a top-tier treasure, and he dared not be careless. Especially now, when it meant immortal-grade treasures!

After a moment.

"Whoosh." Ji Ning had already emerged from the War God Hall.

"I won!" Ji Ning let out a light breath. On the eighth floor of the War God Hall, he had encountered an ancient Fiendgod at the Return to Void stage. His own "Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens" was only at the fifteenth level, comparable to the early Return to Void stage in ordinary divine-arts body refinement. Compared to a true Fiendgod, he was probably only at the level of a perfected Nascent Soul Fiendgod!

This Return to Void Fiendgod was a full major realm above him, and also possessed divine abilities, with overwhelming power!

The battle had been thoroughly exhilarating.

That Return to Void Fiendgod had even split into three avatars, turning into three Fiendgods to besiege Ji Ning alone. Ji Ning used Three Heads, Six Arms and the Star Picking Hand, his sword light crisscrossing... he forced the Return to Void Fiendgod into a disadvantage, and finally the Fiendgod had to concede defeat.

"Wonderful, wonderful. After thirty years of cultivation on Mount Fangcun, I've finally defeated a Return to Void Fiendgod!" Ji Ning recalled the time in Yushan Great Wasteland, when he was like an ant in the eyes of that ancient Return to Void Fiendgod.

But now!

His strength had reached the level of a Return to Void Fiendgod! He was no weaker than such a being, and had even just defeated one!

"Strange. How did a Return to Void Fiendgod appear in this estate?" Ji Ning was puzzled and had asked the estate spirit, the yellow-furred bear, but the spirit refused to say.

"Ji Ning, congratulations on clearing the eighth floor of the War God Hall." The yellow-furred bear appeared out of nowhere. "Back then, the Immortal Ju Hua only managed to clear the seventh floor."

Immortal Ju Hua had only cleared the seventh floor when he became a loose immortal.

Much, much later, Immortal Ju Hua had the strength to clear the eighth floor, but by then he no longer had the chance!

"Senior, I want to choose treasures." Ji Ning smiled. "Last time I cleared the seventh floor, the treasures on the booklet you showed me were all high-grade immortal artifacts, not a single top-grade one."

"This time there will be." The yellow-furred bear said. "And when you choose for the third time, there will be even more treasures."

Ji Ning felt helpless.

Such were the rules of the Treasure Hall.

In theory, one could obtain immortal-grade treasures three times: after clearing the seventh and eighth floors of the War God Hall, and upon reaching the sixteenth level of the "Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens" and entering a new major realm.

The first time, the selection range for immortal-grade treasures was the smallest.

The second time, it was larger.

The third time, all immortal-grade treasures left by Daoist San Shou would be listed, naturally including many rare items.

"You manage the Treasure Hall; it would be a small matter to show me all the treasures for selection." Ji Ning was resigned.

"No choice." The yellow-furred bear shook his head. "These are the rules set by my master, and I cannot change them. Back when you were at the Wanxiang stage, you were most vulnerable to death, so my master made an exception to let you obtain some life-saving treasures. Now? You're much stronger, so you must follow the rules."

Ji Ning nodded.

...

He entered the Treasure Hall.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

He left the Treasure Hall!

Another immortal-grade treasure in hand!

"Hahaha..." Ji Ning walked out of the Treasure Hall laughing. This second selection of immortal-grade treasures was indeed much more joyful than the first.

"Senior, I'm going to seclude myself in a meditation room for a while." Ji Ning said and headed to the estate's meditation room.

Boom!

The door to the meditation room opened, then closed again.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged on the huge bed of Netherwater Jade, which emitted a startling icy coldness, cooling even his soul. He remembered that the first time he sat on this Netherwater Jade bed, his soul felt frozen stiff, but now his strength was far greater.

His insights into the Dao were deeper, his Dao-heart more settled, and his soul stronger. The Netherwater Jade bed only made him feel an incomparable cool refreshment.

"Humm~~~" The Bodhi Heart-Calming Formation also emitted waves of ripples.

Ji Ning's heart was completely still.

With a flip of his hand, two treasures appeared floating before him. One was a golden ring. The other was a set of nine black immortal swords, flickering in and out of visibility as if about to vanish into nothingness.

The golden ring was the treasure Ji Ning had chosen after clearing the seventh floor of the War God Hall, named the "Three Talents Immortal-Snaring Ring." It was a high-grade immortal artifact used to trap and even capture enemies. Once caught by the ring, it was hard to escape, and weaker foes would be directly drawn inside. The ring contained its own space, capable of holding living beings and objects, and once inside, even a Pure Yang True Immortal could not escape.

Of course, a Pure Yang True Immortal would not be foolish enough to be drawn in!

The nine black immortal swords were chosen after clearing the eighth floor of the War God Hall, named the "Plow Heaven Sword Formation." All nine were top-grade immortal flying swords. Individually, they were inferior to the "Thousandbull Sword," which was the pinnacle of top-grade immortal artifacts, nearly matching the power of a Pure Yang immortal sword.

However, the Plow Heaven Immortal Swords were nine in number, and combined, they were no less than the Thousandbull Sword!

Most importantly, Ji Ning had once seen a sword technique manual titled "Plow Heaven" on the ninth floor of the Immortal Palace.

Ji Ning had previously asked the yellow-furred bear, "Senior, I saw a sword technique book called 'Plow Heaven' on the ninth floor of the Immortal Palace. The summary said it was created by the great power 'Plow Heaven Dao Ancestor' of the Three Realms. Is this set of 'Plow Heaven Sword Formation' related to the Plow Heaven Ancestor?"

"Haha, this Plow Heaven Sword Formation is specifically designed to be used with the 'Plow Heaven Sword Technique.' This sword technique was famous in the ancient Pangu World era and is a renowned technique in the Three Realms!" The yellow-furred bear laughed.

Thus, Ji Ning immediately chose this sword formation!

...

Sitting on the Netherwater Jade bed, Ji Ning looked at the two immortal-grade treasures before him and nodded lightly. "After I defeat the ninth-level puppet, I'll immediately go to the ninth floor of the Immortal Palace to select the 'Plow Heaven' sword technique."

"I need to continue absorbing essence from various sources to slowly create and perfect the 'Three-Foot Sword.' As for 'Plow Heaven'... if nothing unexpected happens, it will also become a means for me to deal with enemies."

The sword technique created by the Immortal Bei Xing was far inferior to some of the powerful techniques in the Immortal Palace.

He had completely revised and perfected the first eight stances. The ninth stance also needed revision. As for the future tenth and eleventh stances, he would have to create them himself.

A sword technique he created himself would be most suitable for him and have the greatest power!

But before creating his own, 'Plow Heaven' could serve as a temporary substitute.

"This 'Three Talents Immortal-Snaring Ring'—I'll give it to Uncle Bai when he reaches the Return to Void Earth Immortal stage." Ji Ning thought to himself.

The Three Talents Immortal-Snaring Ring was of little help to him.

When he chose it, he had thought of Uncle Bai, who was a formation grandmaster but lacked offensive means. The ring could manifest 'Heaven, Earth, and Man' and was quite complex to use, making it most suitable for a formation grandmaster like Uncle Bai. It didn't require close combat, so it was indeed fitting!

...

This seclusion lasted over a month. Ji Ning made some changes to the ninth stance of the 'Three-Foot Sword,' 'Sword Roaming the Three Realms,' making it more restrained, yet faster and more fierce.

For the senior Bei Xing, the ninth stance 'Sword Roaming the Three Realms' was an extreme, but for Ji Ning, it was only a midway stance. He was determined to create the tenth and eleventh stances.

"It's already summer?"

Ji Ning walked out of his immortal estate and felt the blazing sun high in the sky.

Every world was illuminated by the Sun Star and the Moon Star.

Even the cave world of the Slanted Moon Temple was no exception. Every world had a shadow of the 'Sun Star' and 'Moon Star.' For example, in the Daxia world, there was one sun and one moon. Because the Sun Star was closer to the Daxia world, the 'sun' there was larger and the 'moon' smaller.

Although they were only shadows of the Sun Star and Moon Star, their power was still astonishing. Clearly, the power of the Sun Star and Moon Star, the leaders of all celestial bodies, was inconceivable.

"Uncle-Master."

"Grand-Master."

"Grand-Master."

On the open ground outside the Immortal Palace, disciples of the Mount Fangcun lineage were gathered, some meditating, some discussing the Dao, relaxed and at ease. Seeing Ji Ning arrive, they all stood up and respectfully called out.

In thirty years, the disciples of Mount Fangcun had truly come to admire and respect Ji Ning from the bottom of their hearts!

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded lightly and walked into the Immortal Palace, searching from the first floor all the way to the ninth.

By the railing on the ninth floor, the white-robed Senior Brother Silvermoon sat leaning against the railing, asleep. Beside him were some immortal wine, roast chicken, and other grilled foods, with his feather fan resting on his stomach.

Ji Ning was not in a hurry. He first walked to a bookshelf and picked up the sword technique manual "Plow Heaven."

The texts on the ninth floor were extraordinary.

Ji Ning opened the summary and nodded with a slight smile. "Plow Heaven" was indeed created by the Plow Heaven Ancestor of the Three Realms, requiring nine immortal swords to execute, ideally with the 'Thirty-Six Layered Plow Heaven Formation' integrated into the swords.

"This 'Plow Heaven' uses the mysteries of Water and Earth, incorporating the mysteries of the Qiankun Dao, and finally manifested through the Sword Dao." Ji Ning nodded. He was quite skilled in Water, Qiankun, and Sword Dao. As for 'Earth,' the Plow Heaven sword technique had many variations; the Plow Heaven Ancestor had clearly prepared some simpler sword techniques for his disciples.

Even if one had little insight into Earth, one could still use the sword techniques that did not involve 'Earth.' And in the future, he believed he would make progress in Earth as well.

"Senior Brother, Senior Brother." Ji Ning put down the summary, walked over to Senior Brother Silvermoon, and called out, even shaking him. "Senior Brother!"

"Ah." Senior Brother Silvermoon opened his eyes. "What is it? What is it?"

"Senior Brother, I want to challenge the ninth-level puppet." Ji Ning said.

...