Chapter 17 The Seventeenth Level of the Crimson Brightness Nine Heavens Diagram

"What just happened?" the yellow-furred bear pressed. "I clearly felt you had reached a limit and couldn't defeat that purple-cloaked fellow, but then suddenly—"

The black-robed Ji Ning understood what the bear wanted to ask. He didn't hide it from the bear, since there were still some in the Three Realms who could use heartforce. He said, "Senior Bear, earlier my divine power was nearly exhausted, and I saw no hope of survival. So I disregarded everything and unleashed my strongest sword technique with all my might. Who would have thought its power would exceed my own expectations? I then discovered that my heartforce had also been consumed along with my sword technique."

"Heartforce?" the yellow-furred bear exclaimed in surprise. "You can channel heartforce through your sword-fingers?"

"Mm," Ji Ning nodded.

"This, this, this..." The yellow-furred bear could hardly believe it.

In fact, the yellow-furred bear knew even less about heartforce than Ji Ning did. Ji Ning had at least studied the "Houyi Archery Art" and read some general knowledge books about the Three Realms in the Inch-Long Mountain. The yellow-furred bear had only learned a little when he followed San Shou Daoist back in the day.

"You, you can also use heartforce on your sword-fingers, and you haven't even undergone the tribulation yet?" The yellow-furred bear was still deeply shaken. In the Three Realms, those known for mastering heartforce were all fearsome existences, usually True Gods or Dao Ancestors, or at the very least, Celestial Immortals or True Immortals.

"That has nothing to do with the tribulation," the black-robed Ji Ning shook his head. "It's about the realm of heartforce. According to the division by the great god Houyi, heartforce has five major realms. The descent of the karmic fire and my experiences in the Land of Extinction this time allowed me to reach the third realm, Dominance, in heartforce. Plus, during the more than half a year I wandered in the Land of Extinction, I spent almost all my time practicing the Houyi Archery Art, gaining a more perfect grasp of heartforce. Perhaps because my foundation in the Houyi Archery Art was solid and I had reached the third realm of heartforce, I was able to manifest it by chance."

"The third realm?" The yellow-furred bear didn't understand; he had no knowledge of Houyi's five realms of heartforce.

"But what can I do?" the black-robed Ji Ning shook his head. "Even if I understand how to use heartforce through my fingers, I haven't undergone the tribulation. Facing the Broken Horn World in these ancient ruins, I simply can't defeat them. Let alone escape the Land of Extinction."

"Don't lose heart," the yellow-furred bear said. "Being able to comprehend the method of using heartforce through your sword-fingers is still some gain."

"I'm not losing heart," the black-robed Ji Ning said calmly.

"By the way, the vast army of the Broken Horn World could have captured you. Why didn't they make a move, and instead let you recover?" the yellow-furred bear pressed curiously.

The black-robed Ji Ning shook his head: "I don't know either. It seems they treat me as a target, or maybe there are other reasons. Whatever the case, as long as I can stay alive, I will naturally live on... The longer I drag it out, the more likely my master will find me. I have to seize this thread of hope."

"Mm," the yellow-furred bear nodded.

...

In the ethereal void space of the Water Mansion.

The yellow-furred bear had returned here and saw the seven mighty figures.

"How is it?" the black-armored seductive woman asked quickly.

"Ji Ning said that the reason the Broken Horn World army didn't kill or capture him, only trapped him, seems to be that they treat him as a target to temper their powerful warriors," the yellow-furred bear said. "But we don't need to delve into the reason. Regardless, Ji Ning is not in mortal danger now. You don't need to expose yourselves. We'll wait slowly; the longer we drag it out, the better. If Patriarch Bodhi can find Ji Ning, everything will be fine."

The seven Fiendgods all nodded in agreement.

"There's also an important matter: Ji Ning said he comprehended the method of using heartforce through his fingers," the yellow-furred bear quickly added. "So his strength has greatly increased."

"Comprehended the method of using heartforce?"

The seven Fiendgods exclaimed simultaneously.

The red-haired one said incredulously, "He, he... This is heartforce, heartforce! How could he possibly comprehend..."

"Ji Ning has been practicing the Houyi Archery Art and has a set of heartforce techniques. He was inspired, and his heartforce has reached the third realm," the yellow-furred bear said. "He mentioned something about the third realm of heartforce and said Houyi divided it into five realms, but I don't understand."

"The third realm already?"

"What a prodigy."

"Simply..."

These seven were all stunned. The yellow-furred bear didn't need to fight in the ancient Pangu World, but the seven of them had followed San Shou Daoist and had to engage in battle after battle, so they were very familiar with information about many powerful figures in the Three Realms. Knowing oneself and the enemy allowed them to live long; they naturally understood the division of the five realms of heartforce and knew that the third realm was already a very high level even in the ancient Pangu World.

"Truly worthy of being the human race," the child among the seven figures sighed. "The human race's comprehension is truly the best among all races. I wonder how Goddess Nuwa created such a race with such comprehension. Compared to the human race, our Fiendgod comprehension is almost nonexistent."

"The human race rose from humble beginnings yet became the masters of the ancient Pangu World. Even among Dao Ancestors, the human race has produced the most! The power of the human race alone equals that of all other races combined. Our young master... is an unparalleled prodigy even among humans. No comparison, no comparison," the old man also sighed.

They were true Fiendgods; the youngest among them had been born along with the ancient Pangu World at its inception.

How long had they lived?

They had witnessed the rise of the human race with their own eyes. When the human race first appeared, they were very weak; any moderately powerful Fiendgod could have wiped out the entire race. But the human race was created by Goddess Nuwa, and after Pangu's death, Nuwa was the strongest in the ancient world, so no one would destroy the human race without reason. The human race multiplied quickly, had strong comprehension, grew fast, and continuously produced Celestial Immortals, Pure Yang True Immortals, and even Dao Ancestors. The human race's status grew higher and higher, until finally, the human race alone matched all other races combined! Even some Chaos Fiendgods had to acknowledge the human race's position.

Those who dared to oppose the human race were directly annihilated by the human race's mighty figures!

"Truly worthy of being our young master, the inheritor of the divine king," a youth with a very approachable demeanor said emotionally. "To comprehend the method of using heartforce before undergoing the tribulation, combined with the Star Picking Hand, our young master will likely become almost the strongest among all Void Return Fiendgods, and even incomparably close to a Celestial God!"

"It's not enough yet, but the young master indeed has hope of being incomparably close to a Celestial God," the Snow Scorpion also nodded.

The difference between a Celestial God and a Void Return Fiendgod was, of course, enormous.

But how many Celestial Gods possessed such an incredible divine ability as the 'Star Picking Hand'?

And how many mastered heartforce?

These two points alone bridged a large gap. Yet even so, they only said he had hope of being 'incomparably close' to a Celestial God, not that he could reach the combat power of a Celestial God. Because when a Fiendgod undergoes the tribulation and becomes a Celestial God, even the divine body undergoes a earth-shaking transformation, and the divine power of a Celestial God also makes a great leap. The gap in both divine body and divine power is too vast! The Star Picking Hand divine ability alone could never bridge that gap, and even with the addition of mysterious heartforce, it was hard to say.

Moreover...

A Celestial God's realm in the Dao was also extremely high.

Thus, from ancient times to the present, no Void Return Fiendgod had ever truly reached the level of a Celestial God. Of course, Ji Ning was also an unprecedented prodigy. First, only he knew the Star Picking Hand, as San Shou Daoist had already died. Although some knew how to use heartforce, very few could do so at the Void Return Fiendgod level. After all, Ji Ning first obtained the "Houyi Archery Art," then experienced the descent of karmic fire and other difficulties to reach the third realm of heartforce, and finally comprehended the method.

To combine the 'Star Picking Hand' and 'heartforce use' in one person, Ji Ning was truly a prodigy.

Thus, even the seven Fiendgods who had lived since Pangu's creation of the world sighed that Ji Ning would be 'incomparably close' to a Celestial God.

...

"What is this alien doing?"

"Seems to be cultivating."

The general and the eight hundred and one purple-cloaked warriors all watched the human youth in the distance. At this moment, above Ji Ning's head floated two miniature stars: a miniature Sun Star and a miniature Moon Star. The Sun Star was surrounded by flames, with Golden Crows flying; the Moon Star even had a osmanthus tree growing. Both stars were exquisitely detailed, as if they were the two supreme stars shrunk countless times.

Divine power was continuously recovering.

Ji Ning cultivated calmly.

After a long time...

When his divine power was fully restored, Ji Ning returned to his peak state.

"Whoosh." Ji Ning opened his eyes and swept his gaze over the warriors of the Broken Horn World.

"He's stopped; he must have recovered," the general nodded with a smile. "Bei Long Nie, you go."

"Yes." A purple-cloaked warrior with battle intent burning in his eyes excitedly extended his slender tongue and made a rustling sound. "Alien brat, I won't be as useless as Tong Tuo and the others. Hahaha..." As the piercing laughter still echoed, a black light had already streaked across the sky to Ji Ning's front.

...

One battle after another.

Each time, a single purple-cloaked warrior fought Ji Ning alone. Some were inferior to Ji Ning in pure attack but had advantages in speed and other aspects, allowing them to compete. Among the purple-cloaked warriors, there were also extremely outstanding ones who suppressed Ji Ning in every aspect.

Each time, Ji Ning fought until his divine power was nearly exhausted, then stopped and calmly cultivated to recover using the Crimson Brightness Nine Heavens Diagram. The aliens allowed him to recover.

Fight! Cultivate!

Fight! Cultivate!

The aliens took turns, frantically squeezing Ji Ning's potential. The three Mother Queens, through each exchange, sensed the fluctuations of heartforce and strove to deduce the heartforce technique.

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, twelve years had gone by.

In battle, Ji Ning forgot the passage of time. These twelve years, he was completely immersed in the use of heartforce. Each battle was a tempering; he continuously experimented, and his use of heartforce through his fingers became more and more exquisite. Now, Ji Ning could consume about one-thirtieth of his heartforce in a single sword-finger strike, which was already astonishing, but it clearly had not yet reached perfection.

"Hummm..." "Hummm..."

The two miniature stars, the Moon Star and the Sun Star, floated above Ji Ning's head.

A large amount of divine power was being transformed within his body. Over these twelve years, Ji Ning's divine power had continuously grown, becoming more abundant and more perfect, until today... it had truly reached the extreme of the sixteenth level of the Crimson Brightness Nine Heavens Diagram.

"Boom!"

The divine power finally began to transform.

...