Chapter Sixteen: The Fourth Turn of the Star-Picking Hand

"Good. Once Ji Ning leaves the Xia Dynasty's capital, I will inform you immediately." The maiden nodded.

The Immortal Wu Xiao nodded with a smile. "Before dealing with Ji Ning, come, let us have a chat."

...

The Xia Dynasty's capital.

Ji Ning, clad in black robes, sat facing the Whitewater Marsh, while his true body had already entered the Water Mansion.

Within the Water Mansion, in the quiet room.

Ji Ning's true body sat cross-legged on the Netherwater Jade Bed, surrounded by a vast array of Five Elements treasures suspended in the air. These treasures weighed from over a thousand jin to tens of thousands of jin, completely encircling Ji Ning.

Time flowed on.

The fluctuations of some of the suspended Five Elements treasures began to weaken continuously, rapidly decaying from true spiritual objects into worthless waste. With the naked eye, one could see pieces of Heavenly Gold Crystal turning into pale, gray, worthless stones, and the originally lively liquid floating in midair swiftly transformed into murky water.

Ji Ning's palms radiated a five-colored light, their might vast and boundless, madly absorbing the essence of the Five Elements spiritual objects.

This continued for over six hours.

What floated in the air had become fragments of stone, stone-like bamboo shoots, ordinary turbid water—some of which seemed rather disgusting—and a large patch of messy soil.

"Whoosh."

Ji Ning let out a breath. He looked down at his hands, which emitted a faint, eerie light, their power enough to make one's heart tremble.

"I've succeeded."

"The Fourth Turn of the Star-Picking Hand!"

Ji Ning's eyes burned with fervor, but he also sensed that his palms had reached an extreme, unable to improve further. To make his hands even stronger, they would need to undergo a transformation—a leap to a higher realm, which required breaking through to the Heavenly God level.

"With the Fourth Turn of the Star-Picking Hand, my palms are comparable to top-grade Pure Yang magic treasures. When I use the Three Heads and Six Arms technique, it's like having six top-grade Pure Yang magic treasures..." Ji Ning felt the power of his hands.

This feeling of strength was truly satisfying.

Magic treasures are extremely important to cultivators.

Why can the early Wanxiang stage completely suppress the perfected Zifu stage? Why does strength skyrocket so dramatically when crossing major realms like the Yuan Shen, Return to Void, and Celestial Immortal stages? One reason is the transformation of one's own magic power; another is the improvement of magic treasures! Even if one's level of the Dao is comparable, the gap in strength remains vast.

A Wanxiang cultivator can use Earth-ranked magic treasures, a Yuan Shen Daoist can use Heaven-ranked treasures, a Return to Void Earth Immortal can use Immortal-ranked treasures, and a Celestial Immortal can use Pure Yang treasures.

The leap in magic treasures naturally creates a huge gap in strength.

Take Ji Ning, for example.

In terms of the Dao, he and Patriarch Golden Bell were on par.

In terms of his divine body and the Star-Picking Hand technique, Ji Ning's foundation was actually stronger than Patriarch Golden Bell's.

Why could he only endure blows before Patriarch Golden Bell?

Why was he inferior to Patriarch Golden Bell?

It was because Patriarch Golden Bell possessed a top-grade Pure Yang divine bell!

For instance, Patriarch Withered Wood and Patriarch Golden Bell—in terms of realm, Patriarch Withered Wood was much higher, yet Patriarch Golden Bell's strength matched his, precisely because the magic treasure compensated for the gap.

"In the Three Realms, some experts rely on their magic treasures to roam freely." Ji Ning had seen some common knowledge in the Mountain of Square Inch and knew that some Celestial Immortals, wielding powerful innate spirit treasures with special abilities, could even contend with True Immortals and Heavenly Gods!

"My hands have leaped from barely Pure Yang level to top-grade Pure Yang! That's comparable to a top-grade mid-grade innate spirit treasure. My close-combat strength has probably also jumped significantly." Ji Ning understood clearly.

The Fourth Turn and the Third Turn of the Star-Picking Hand.

One brought an increase in instantaneous explosive power.

The other elevated the hands to match top-grade Pure Yang magic treasures (top-grade mid-grade innate spirit treasures), nearly on par with the Rahu Bow.

The two combined.

Ji Ning's strength had risen by several minor levels! Patriarch Golden Bell was no longer worth his concern.

"In every aspect, I surpass Patriarch Golden Bell." Ji Ning stepped down from the Netherwater Jade Bed. With a wave of his hand, the countless pieces of trash suspended in midair were enveloped by sword light and turned to ash.

...

Ji Ning's true body left the quiet room and arrived at the main hall of the Water Mansion.

"Ji Ning." The yellow-furred bear smiled warmly. "Mm, you've mastered the Fourth Turn of the Star-Picking Hand. That's quite impressive even in the Three Realms."

Ji Ning nodded.

Although the Star-Picking Hand has six turns, one must become a True God to cultivate the Sixth Turn, and a Heavenly God for the Fifth Turn. Becoming a True God is exceedingly difficult—True Gods are on the level of Dao Ancestors. So for a long time, Ji Ning's best hope was likely the Fifth Turn.

With the Fifth Turn, Ji Ning's hands would rival top-grade innate spirit treasures, enough to make many True Immortals and Heavenly Gods envious.

In fact, even the Fourth Turn already made Ji Ning's hands treasures. If he were killed and his hands cut off, they could probably be used as magic treasures!

"It's all thanks to the divine ability created by Master San Shou that I have such strength." Ji Ning said.

"Master left his legacy until now, and you are the only one to reach this level. Don't underestimate yourself." The yellow-furred bear smiled. "Alright, your strength has greatly improved. You have a 99% chance of passing the ninth floor of the War God Hall. Do you want to go?"

Ji Ning was delighted.

The yellow-furred bear was always modest in his words, generally conservative. If he dared to say 99%, it meant Ji Ning had near-certain success.

"I'm now comparable to a top-tier Celestial Immortal?" Ji Ning was thrilled.

"A Return to Void Fiendgod comparable to a Celestial Immortal, with the Star-Picking Hand at the Fourth Turn—you are among the top-tier Return to Void Fiendgods." The yellow-furred bear laughed. "Naturally, you can match a top-tier Celestial Immortal. So, will you challenge the War God Hall or not?"

"Challenge, of course I'll challenge." Ji Ning nodded.

...

The ninth floor of the War God Hall.

This was a void space. Ji Ning appeared out of nowhere.

"Here?" Ji Ning looked around.

"Whoosh." In the distance, a drop of golden blood appeared, quickly transforming into a Fiendgod clad in golden armor. He was tall and sturdy, with blood-red hair, and held a black spear in his hand. His eyes brimmed with overwhelming killing intent, which startled Ji Ning.

Ji Ning stared in astonishment at the being before him.

"Are you Ji Ning?" The red-haired Fiendgod revealed a smile—a warm, heartening smile, like a father looking at his child.

"You are?" Ji Ning was taken aback.

Although he had always felt the War God Hall was special, and the further he went, the more he sensed something amiss, he had never truly understood. The opponent he faced on the ninth floor was far stronger than any before. Just the aura alone felt to Ji Ning like that of his senior brother Silvermoon.

"My name is Red Snow." The red-haired Fiendgod smiled.

"Are you a Heavenly God?" Ji Ning asked.

The red-haired Fiendgod laughed. "Your insight is sharp. I am indeed a Heavenly God, but this is merely a very weak incarnation of mine, formed from a single drop of blood."

Ji Ning understood the mysteries of incarnations.

The more divine power and blood one splits off, the stronger the incarnation. For example, an incarnation formed from a single strand of hair would naturally be extremely weak. For Fiendgods, blood is important. An incarnation formed from a drop of a Heavenly God's blood would likely be at the Celestial Immortal level, though its exact strength was hard to say.

"Senior Red Snow, how did you know I am Ji Ning?" Ji Ning asked, noting this point of doubt.

"The bear told me." The red-haired Fiendgod smiled. "The God King finally has a successor. I have waited for a very, very long time."

Ji Ning's heart trembled.

Waited for a long time?

"Come, Ji Ning. The God King chose you as his successor. Let me see how powerful you truly are, and whether you are worthy." The red-haired Fiendgod shook his spear.