Chapter 14: Annihilation

Ji Ning felt a heart-wrenching pain that spread through every part of his body. Since his parents left, he had very few loved ones. Although Master Diancai was strict and always had a cold face, Ji Ning could feel the deep care in his master's heart. Master Diancai was the same kind of person as his father, Ji Yichuan.

"No, no..." Ji Ning's heart was filled only with despair.

Under the heavenly tribulation, no one could save his master! Even a Grand Dao Ancestor could only watch from the side, because intervening would trigger a heavenly punishment, under which even a Grand Dao Ancestor would have no choice but to die.

Then a fierce longing surged within Ji Ning.

"I've had enough, enough!!!" Ji Ning roared in despair within his heart, "I've had enough of this powerlessness. I really don't want my loved ones to leave me, I don't want it, I don't want it!"

Mother left...

Father left...

Master was about to leave too...

Ji Ning's heart felt as if it were being cut by knives! An incredibly strong belief arose—a belief that he would not be toyed with by fate, that he would truly control his own destiny.

"I must become strong, even stronger. If I were like Pangu or Nuwa, able to create the world, mend the heavens, or destroy heaven and earth, then the so-called heavenly tribulation would probably be nothing but a joke." For the first time, Ji Ning yearned for the very peak of the Three Realms, the undisputed pinnacle—

That was the realm of the Pangu God.

Pangu split heaven and earth, creating the primordial world.

Nuwa comprehended eighty-four thousand Daos and was called 'the Most Benevolent and Holy Pangu God, Lady Nuwa.' She too had reached the realm of Pangu and was unquestionably the strongest in the Three Realms!

At that level...

Even heaven and earth must submit! Let alone a mere part of heaven and earth, the 'heavenly tribulation.'

"Master—" No matter how much Ji Ning yearned, he could not change what was happening before him; he could only watch it unfold!

...

No matter how pained and unwilling Ji Ning and the Mad Immortal Wu were, the one truly in despair at this moment was Diancai, who was undergoing the tribulation.

Diancai clutched his chest and looked up.

When he saw that the swirling thunderclouds in the sky had not dissipated but were instead gathering even greater power, Diancai despaired: "Why is there still more? Why is there still..."

Despair.

"Junior apprentice-sister, I'm coming." Diancai's face became calm. Looking at the thunderbolt that had already formed in the high sky, he pointed into the distance and said, "Go!"

Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish! Swish!

The five black Plowshares Immortal Swords shot into the sky, meeting the thunderbolt head-on.

This time, Diancai executed the most magnificent sword technique of his life, the most powerful sword technique. The five immortal swords intertwined in the air, perfectly complementing each other, as they welcomed the coming destruction.

...

Back then, Diancai was only a third-generation disciple of the Black-White College.

"Young man, you should be full of vitality. Why are you like this?"

"Junior apprentice-sister is dead. I have nothing to live for, nothing to live for!"

"Nothing to live for? Since you have nothing to live for, this old man just happens to want to kill someone. Don't resist, and let me kill you."

Whoosh.

Five flying swords of the lowest grade rose and flew toward the young man lost in despair and numbness.

An invisible sword-intent instantly transmitted into the young man's mind.

One sword technique after another was displayed...

The sword techniques grew increasingly despairing.

Despair to the extreme.

"The Eighteenth Form of the Five Elements Sword Art—Lesser Five Elements Annihilation!"

Each form grew more profound and inconceivable.

"The Thirty-Sixth Form of the Five Elements Sword Art—Greater Five Elements All Living Beings!"

"Hahaha..."

"You and I are fated. I'll teach you a set of sword techniques to ponder. Young man, your path ahead is still long!"

The voice echoed in his mind.

When the young man 'Diancai' came to his senses and looked around, he could not find the old man.

After this encounter, Diancai's sword realm soared. He was deemed by the loose immortals of the Black-White College as the most likely to become a Celestial Immortal! Later, with the Daoist canon Ji Ning gave him and his own sword techniques as reference, Diancai gained insights and made breakthroughs. He even reached the realm of the Northern Traveler Immortal, yet at that time he had only comprehended the Seventeenth Form of the Five Elements Sword Art!

Note that the first eighteen forms were only the first volume.

The latter eighteen forms were even more profound.

To be able to pass on such sword techniques, this old man was definitely a formidable figure in the Three Realms. Clearly, he was just wandering freely through the Three Realms. Seeing that Diancai had some potential, he casually taught him a set of sword techniques and then drifted away. He did not take him as a disciple! If he had taken him as a disciple, he would have taught him qi-refining methods, secret arts, and so on, and would have often guided him through doubts in his cultivation. But when Diancai encountered difficulties in comprehending the 'Five Elements Sword Art,' he could only ponder on his own!

"Condense!"

At that moment, Diancai suddenly had an epiphany.

It was as if the dark sky was instantly pierced by golden sunlight. With the emotional ups and downs caused by the thunder tribulation, falling into despair, and preparing to face death... his sword technique truly broke through.

He comprehended the true essence of the 'Extreme of Despair'—the Lesser Five Elements Annihilation!

"The Eighteenth Form of the Five Elements Sword Art—Lesser Five Elements Annihilation!" Diancai clutched his chest but suddenly smiled.

The five black flying swords in the air had manifested the phantom images of five great mountains. Originally, these five mountain phantoms were of five colors, with light flowing between them, subtly complementing and aiding each other. But as Diancai willed it...

"Rumble~~~"

The entire space trembled.

The five mountain phantoms instantly merged into one, forming a five-fingered mountain. Five mountains became one! This great mountain had five peaks like five fingers, colored in five hues. This five-fingered mountain carried an immensely heavy despair and oppression, as if it could suppress and destroy everything!

The final form of the first volume of the Five Elements Sword Art, the sword form of the completed first volume—Lesser Five Elements Annihilation!

"Boom~~~"

The forty-sixth heavenly thunderbolt struck the peak of the five-fingered mountain formed by the five Plowshares Immortal Swords.

The entire five-fingered mountain peak merely trembled, and the thunderbolt dissipated.

"Boom~~~"

The forty-seventh heavenly thunderbolt struck down!

Diancai clutched his chest and looked up with a smile. The five Plowshares Immortal Swords once again rose to meet it. The five-fingered mountain peak was majestic and vast, as if such a mountain truly existed in an infinitely distant world. It blocked another thunderbolt.

...

"This..." The Mad Immortal Wu and Ji Ning were completely stunned.

The two, who had been in despair, were dumbfounded.

"Earlier, my junior apprentice-brother had to use a forbidden technique to withstand the Five-Nine Tribulation. Now, with the Six-Nine Tribulation, how is it easier?" The Mad Immortal Wu was astonished. "A breakthrough on the spot? This, this—a breakthrough during the tribulation?"

Ji Ning was also bewildered. Usually, breakthroughs occurred during life-and-death battles, but the thunderbolts carried no trace of the Dao's mystery; they were purely brutal, wild bombardments. How could they 'enlighten' his master? How had his master's sword technique suddenly become so much more powerful?

Though he didn't understand why his master had broken through on the spot, Ji Ning was filled with joy.

"Hahaha... Block them, block them!" Ji Ning stared intently.

One thunderbolt after another struck down.

Diancai met them all with the 'Lesser Five Elements Annihilation' form. However, starting from the fifty-first thunderbolt, it became noticeably more difficult! The fifty-second thunderbolt knocked the five immortal swords down a hundred zhang! The fifty-third thunderbolt nearly shattered the five-fingered mountain phantom of the Plowshares Immortal Swords.

"The last, the last one!" Ji Ning and the Mad Immortal Wu stared.

Boom!

The fifty-fourth heavenly thunderbolt! This thunderbolt faintly carried a trace of purple.

"Block!" Diancai's momentum was even stronger. Having emerged from despair, his Dao-heart was more powerful. The five Plowshares Immortal Swords surged upstream madly, transforming into a massive five-fingered mountain.

Bang!!!!

The thunderbolt and the five-fingered mountain collided. The mountain completely collapsed, the five swords scattered in all directions, and the thunderbolt also dissipated entirely.

"He blocked it!" The Mad Immortal Wu roared excitedly.

Ji Ning, however, looked up at the swirling thunderclouds. The Mad Immortal Wu also watched. They both feared there might be more thunderbolts. But this time there were none. The swirling thunderclouds in the sky began to dissipate, scattering in all directions, and a bolt of lightning also wrapped around Diancai's body.

This bolt of lightning appeared out of nowhere and descended upon Diancai. A subtle, mysterious aura emanated from his body—an aura completely different from that of a Return to Void Earth Immortal or a loose immortal.

"A Celestial Immortal body." Ji Ning and the Mad Immortal Wu both showed joy.

"Congratulations, Master." When the lightning disappeared, Ji Ning immediately called out loudly.

"Junior apprentice-brother, the Six-Nine Tribulation! For a qi-refining cultivator to encounter the Six-Nine Tribulation is almost inconceivable. Probably only some disciples of Dao Ancestors or legendary figures would experience such a thing. And you actually withstood it! Hahaha, I admire you so much. Junior apprentice-brother, rest quickly. The Heart Demon Tribulation will come soon. You've passed the most dangerous and terrifying Six-Nine Tribulation; don't fall to the Heart Demon Tribulation." The Mad Immortal Wu quickly said.

"Mm."

Diancai nodded calmly, a smile on his face. He pointed at Ji Ning from afar, and the five Plowshares Immortal Swords flew toward him: "I no longer need these five immortal swords."

Ji Ning nodded and immediately retrieved the five Plowshares Immortal Swords.

"The Heart Demon Tribulation lasts at least seven days." The Mad Immortal Wu said solemnly, "Ji Ning, during the time junior apprentice-brother undergoes the Heart Demon Tribulation... no disturbance is allowed. If an external enemy attacks, it will likely happen in the coming period. You and I must be careful."

"Mm, I understand. No one will disturb my master." Ji Ning also said solemnly.

His true body had cultivated the Eighty-Nine Arcane Art, excelling in close combat. In a direct confrontation, he truly feared no one. As for his second avatar, it had nine Plowshares Immortal Swords forming the 'Plowshares Sword Formation,' making him as strong as two Celestial Immortals.

No matter who!

No matter what force was behind them, he would never allow them to disrupt his master's tribulation!

...

Within the borders of Anchan Commandery, ripples spread through the dim void, and then a woman in white appeared.

This woman had a pretty face, and her aura was faint, yet she was already at the Earth Immortal or loose immortal level. However, there was a natural arrogance in her eyes—an arrogance that looked down on everything.

"Mm?" The woman in white looked at a distant mountain range. "I've arrived."

...