Chapter 34 The Arrow Flies

Ji Ning stood in a clearing in the mountain forest, holding a bow and arrow, gazing into the distance.

Ten thousand li away.

At another spot in the mountain forest of Mount Fangcun, the black-robed Ji Ning stood. With a wave of his hand, an archery target appeared beside him.

"To hit the bullseye of a target ten thousand li away." The black-robed Ji Ning shook his head gently.

The test of Houyi's archery: no divine sense, no elemental or divine power to control the arrow, only raw physical strength to shoot the arrow and hit a one-inch bullseye ten thousand li away. Ten consecutive hits to succeed!

This test was extremely difficult.

Without divine sense, even ordinary Earth Immortals or loose immortals could barely see ten thousand li with their naked eyes, let alone the bullseye. Moreover, obstacles like trees and fog over such a distance made it hard to see clearly.

To pass this test, one first needed a divine ability like 'Thousand-Mile Eyes'!

The divine ability 'Thousand-Mile Eyes', when cultivated to the extreme, could see clearly across millions or billions of li!

Ji Ning hadn't cultivated that ability, but he had cultivated the even more powerful 'Candle Dragon's Eye'. He had obtained the first volume from the Grand Xia treasury, enough to reach the Void Return Fiendgod level. Over the years at Mount Fangcun, he had gathered the Nine Heavens Polar Light to refine into his eyes, forming a lifebound candle flame!

Though cultivation was hard, he had reached the second level of the lifebound candle flame.

Once activated, his naked eye could see an ant within a hundred thousand li.

"Let me try."

Ji Ning stood in the forest, activating the 'Candle Dragon's Eye' divine ability. In his eyes, a candle-like light flickered. If an ordinary cultivator met his gaze and he released his power, they would see a flash of white, then darkness, and be blinded.

Temporarily blinded, or even permanently if weak.

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~~~" As the ability activated, countless rays of light from afar gathered into his eyes.

The light reflected from countless objects was all absorbed by his eyes.

Trees, streams, lakes, mountain paths—everything was under his observation.

Ten thousand li away, an archery target stood, with the second incarnation 'black-robed Ji Ning' beside it.

"No divine or elemental power to control the arrow?" Ji Ning flipped his hand, producing a black arrow. He nocked it, drew the bow, and shot.

Whoosh!

Ji Ning's physical strength was astonishing—he could toss a mountain like a toy. The purple great bow, a Heaven-grade treasure, was drawn to a full moon.

Ji Ning sensed the wind...

The wind blew...

In archery, sensing the wind was crucial; it greatly affected the arrow. As a child, Ji Ning had practiced archery hard, but after starting cultivation, he rarely practiced, as his skill was sufficient. In critical moments, he could use elemental power to adjust the arrow's direction slightly. But now, he couldn't use elemental or divine power.

Now, Ji Ning couldn't use elemental or divine power to control the arrow.

"The wind's speed... the wind's changes..."

"Almost."

"Go."

With lifebound candle flame burning in his eyes, Ji Ning stared into the distance and released his fingers.

Twang!

The arrow turned into a streak of light, piercing through the air.

It tore through trees, rocks, and soil. Though the external forces seemed small, over ten thousand li, the deviation became enormous. "Whoosh!" The arrow flew past three li away from the target.

"This..." Ji Ning, with lifebound candle flame in his eyes, saw it clearly and was stunned. "So far off?"

A full three li off?

That was ridiculous!

"Let me try again." Ji Ning drew the purple bow and shot another arrow.

Twang!

The bowstring echoed, and the arrow flew into the distance. This time, it passed five li from the target.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning frowned.

"Again."

Arrow after arrow flew out.

Some missed by three, four, five, or six li. Sometimes, luck brought them within one li. Once, an arrow flew just tens of meters from the target. Ji Ning shot ten thousand arrows before stopping. For someone with strength comparable to a Void Return Fiendgod and a body like an Immortal-grade treasure, ten thousand shots were easy, but his mind was exhausted!

"I knew it would be hard, but I didn't expect so many problems." After ten thousand tries, Ji Ning identified several issues.

To hit a bullseye ten thousand li away with only raw strength:

First, obstacles like trees and rocks along the path affected the arrow, causing tiny deviations. Though Ji Ning's arrows were fast and the deviations small, the accumulated effect over ten thousand li could be significant.

Second, the wind!

Ji Ning had comprehended the 'Way of the Gust' at the Immortal Feast, and his heart could merge with the wind, sensing it accurately. But he sensed the wind at the moment of release, around his location.

The wind changed during the arrow's flight!

The wind where he stood might be light, but five or six thousand li away, it could be a gale.

Even with a vague sense of the wind and the arrow's speed, it was still affected.

...

These two main factors made hitting the bullseye ten thousand li away extremely difficult.

"What to do? I have the artifact spirit of the innate spirit treasure bow. He must know how ancient divine archers practiced." Ji Ning summoned the artifact spirit of the Luohou Bow.

Whoosh.

A black-robed youth appeared beside him.

"What do you want?" The youth saw Ji Ning with the bow. "Oh, practicing archery."

"Luohou Bow, I want to cultivate the 'Houyi Archery Art'," Ji Ning said directly. "But to obtain it, I must pass a test: no divine sense, no divine or elemental power to control the arrow, only raw strength to hit a one-inch bullseye ten thousand li away, ten consecutive times."

"Houyi Archery Art?" The youth exclaimed. "Young master, you can obtain the Houyi Archery Art?"

Ji Ning nodded. "But I must pass the test."

"This test is quite hard. Shoot a hundred arrows for me first."

"Alright."

Ji Ning shot another hundred arrows. Though he understood the problems, he still failed every time, with large deviations.

The youth watched from afar, using his invisible sense to cover ten thousand li and clearly see the target.

"How is it?" Ji Ning looked at him.

"You have some foundation. I thought you'd miss by a hundred li." The youth nodded. "Archery is all about accuracy. The more powerful the archery art, the more it emphasizes arrow power. Accuracy is hard to adjust with divine power, so it's crucial."

Ji Ning nodded.

"Start step by step. First, shoot at a hundred li."

...

Under the guidance of the Luohou Bow, Ji Ning began practicing again. Though the Luohou Bow had never practiced, it had seen its past masters, ancient divine archers.

First a hundred li.

Then two hundred, three hundred li...

With the Luohou Bow's guidance, Ji Ning practiced for nearly three years, reaching the point where he could hit the bullseye at twelve hundred li with only raw strength. That was his limit; no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't improve.

"What's wrong? This is how archery is usually practiced. You've mastered sensing the wind and the universe, and your arrow speed is good. But something seems missing." The youth was puzzled.

After all, he had only watched; he wasn't a divine archer himself.

During these three years, Ji Ning had also visited the Immortal Palace's eighth floor and selected an archery technique for reference. Together with the Luohou Bow's guidance, he had reached this level.

"What's wrong?" Ji Ning sat on the ground, also puzzled.

"Still practicing archery, little junior brother?" A voice laughed. A woodcutter carrying an axe and firewood walked over.

"Senior apprentice-brother." Ji Ning quickly stood up, ashamed. "I've practiced for nearly three years, but I still can't pass the Houyi Archery Art test."

"The Houyi Archery Art is indeed extremely difficult, and the test is hard. Shoot a few arrows for me to see." The woodcutter smiled.

"Yes." Ji Ning was overjoyed.

Senior apprentice-brother was the undisputed number one under the Patriarch. Even Second Senior Apprentice-Brother Jidian and many other senior brothers and sisters admitted inferiority. When chatting with Yinyue, he had whispered that Senior Apprentice-Brother must be at the Dao Ancestor level. With such strength and long seclusion here, he might have studied the Houyi Archery Art, one of the top ten great divine abilities in the Three Realms.

Though several disciples under the Patriarch had studied the Houyi Archery Art, none had achieved much.

But with Senior Apprentice-Brother's ability, he must have some accomplishments.

Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang! Twang!

Arrow after arrow flew out.

Ji Ning gave his all, sensing the wind and the universe. At that moment, heaven, earth, and wind were all in his heart. He felt as if he controlled the entire world and the countless winds, even vaguely perceiving wind changes far away. This state was the 'Dao Domain' of the archery Dao. Ji Ning's high realm and the involvement of 'wind' and 'universe' in archery helped him learn quickly.

Arrow after arrow flew toward the target ten thousand li away.

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

Each arrow stayed within ten meters of the target, flying past. Once, an arrow even hit the target, but far from the bullseye.

"Alright, you can stop." The woodcutter said.

"Please guide me, Senior Apprentice-Brother." Ji Ning stopped and bowed respectfully.

The woodcutter smiled. "Your foundation is solid, but you lack the most important thing."

"The most important thing?" Ji Ning was puzzled.

"Yes." The woodcutter nodded. "Remember, the arrow flies, and the heart flies. When you reach that state, you can hit the bullseye ten thousand li away." Then he carried his axe and firewood and walked away leisurely.

Ji Ning stood there, murmuring to himself, "The arrow flies, and the heart flies?"

...