Chapter 13: The Sword Gate

"This old servant will go." The attendant said with a chuckle, then strode over.

Mount Chongyun was vast; the area where the complete sword technique traces could be observed was also not small. In the first row, only twenty-seven seats were placed, each separated by a distance of ten zhang. This allowed everyone to cultivate in peace. The attendant walked directly toward Ji Ning.

"This Dao—" The attendant's voice was shrill as he called out, reaching out to pat Ji Ning's shoulder.

…

While cultivating, Ji Ning's heartforce naturally spread out, even enveloping this small world. He was fully immersed in contemplation, using the traces of Fuju Daozu's sword technique to continuously deduce various sword arts. He deduced thousands of sword arts, and more than ten were stronger than 'Three-Foot Sword'.

Deducing many sword arts and occasionally gaining insights, Ji Ning walked further and further on the path of 'Sword Force'.

At this moment, Ji Ning was intently deducing a powerful sword art.

"Bang!"

Someone patted his shoulder.

Ji Ning was jolted awake, and the sword art he had been studying was ruined.

"My heartforce envelops this small world. If a Celestial Immortal or True Immortal-level expert had come, I should have known long ago. Who dares disturb my contemplation?" Ji Ning felt a trace of anger. Disturbance during cultivation was most taboo. He immediately turned his head to look behind him and saw the pale, beardless attendant.

Ji Ning could tell at a glance that the other party was only at the Daoist of Primordial Unity level.

"This fellow Daoist." The attendant pointed at the cushion beneath Ji Ning. "My prince wishes to study sword arts and needs a spot. He has taken a liking to your position."

Ji Ning frowned, swept his gaze, and saw the gorgeously dressed young man surrounded by attendants in the distance. The young man glanced at Ji Ning with apparent disdain.

"You should know what to choose." The attendant's eyes held arrogance. Seeing that his prince had three Primordial Unity Daoists as followers, the other party should guess that the prince's origins were extraordinary. Cultivators generally knew how to avoid trouble.

"Do not disturb my enlightenment." Ji Ning glanced at the attendant and said coldly, then closed his eyes and continued contemplating.

"You..." The attendant pointed at Ji Ning, momentarily at a loss for words.

"Fellow Daoist, do not bring disaster upon yourself!" The attendant shouted.

Ji Ning ignored him.

With Ji Ning's current strength and status, these little fellows were as weak as ants. Even if an ant roared a few times, Ji Ning wouldn't care much. He was too lazy to bother. Moreover, this was Mount Chongyun, a place to contemplate the Daozu's sword technique, so few dared to start a fight.

Ji Ning believed that after a few roars, the other party would have no choice but to leave.

"Your Highness." The attendant ran back to the prince.

"What's the matter?" The prince was somewhat annoyed.

"That white-robed brat is as stubborn as a rock; he completely ignored me." The attendant said helplessly.

"He's asking for death." The prince's face darkened. "Make a move and throw him out."

"No." The attendant quickly said, "This is Mount Chongyun, a place to contemplate the Daozu's sword technique. If we start a fight, it will affect many cultivators and great demons who are meditating. They will all be angered. Offending one is one thing, but we cannot offend all the cultivators and demons."

"I only said to throw him out, not to fight to the death." The prince frowned. "Those truly immersed in enlightenment won't wake up from a scuffle. Those who wake up are those not truly absorbed. Also, we can set up a small formation around the fight to prevent it from affecting others."

"You three, go." The prince ordered.

The attendant and the two guard captains exchanged glances, then replied, "Yes."

The three walked toward Ji Ning.

"Hum!"

A fiery red crystal ball floated before the attendant's chest, and a fiery red barrier appeared around Ji Ning.

"Fellow Daoist." The attendant shouted directly, his voice like thunder exploding in Ji Ning's ears.

Ji Ning opened his eyes and looked at the three.

"Leave quickly and give up your seat. Otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless." The attendant shouted. The two guard captains also exuded overwhelming auras. Some cultivators and demons nearby who had stopped meditating noticed the commotion and watched curiously.

"Interesting."

"Fights are rare at the foot of Mount Chongyun."

"Those three are too arrogant. If the other party doesn't want to give up the seat, they use force. Even if they want to fight, they should wait until the meditator leaves Mount Chongyun." The surrounding cultivators and demons discussed.

Fighting over trivial matters was common among cultivators.

But few directly fought on Mount Chongyun; they usually settled life-and-death matters after leaving.

If I ask you to yield and you don't, then when you leave Mount Chongyun, don't blame me for being ruthless!

Thus, those who felt outmatched would usually obediently give up their seats.

…

"Leave quickly."

"Scram."

The two guard captains also shouted. With their extraordinary backgrounds, they cared little about an ordinary Primordial Unity Daoist.

"How noisy." A cold glint flashed in Ji Ning's eyes. Boom! An invisible blast of air instantly struck the three Primordial Unity Daoists. The attendant and the two guard captains, who had been about to act, felt an overwhelming force pressing down on them and were involuntarily sent flying. The guard captain who had shouted 'Scram' fell to the ground and let out a miserable howl.

"Ah, ah, my Zifu, my Zifu..." The guard captain was both in pain and terrified.

The other fat guard captain and the attendant also fell to the ground. They scrambled up and saw their companion.

"His, his Zifu has been crippled."

"Crippled."

They were both terrified.

In one exchange, all three were sent flying, and one was crippled. Although their backgrounds were formidable, this was precisely why they had been reluctant to provoke Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals earlier. Even with a powerful background, summoning reinforcements took time. If they were killed by a Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal, it would be too unjust. So they had specifically targeted the white-robed brat, who seemed the easiest to bully.

"We've hit an iron wall." The fat guard muttered, "An iron wall with spikes."

"Bullshit!" The prince roared angrily.

The fat guard was so frightened he didn't dare make a sound, secretly glad that his companion, who usually spoke too harshly, had met with misfortune this time.

"Your Highness." The attendant quickly said, "This man is formidable."

"How dare he cripple my man." The prince's gaze was terrifying as he stared at Ji Ning in the distance.

Most importantly, at this moment, more than half of the cultivators and demons at the foot of Mount Chongyun were watching the scene with interest. Unlike Ji Ning, who could immerse himself in cultivation for a month or two at a time, these cultivators were too weak. The Daozu's sword technique was too profound for them; they had to stop after a short while of contemplation.

Being watched by the crowd of cultivators made the prince even more furious, and he vented his anger on Ji Ning.

"Fellow Daoist." The prince walked over directly, followed by the attendant, the fat guard, and other guards.

The prince's voice was clear but carried anger: "Your hand is quite ruthless."

Ji Ning remained with his eyes closed, ignoring him completely. The prince did not dare to act directly; he had seen Ji Ning's move earlier. He was only at the early Primordial Unity stage, no match for Ji Ning.

"Five junior brothers." The prince gave a loud shout.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Instantly, five figures flew down from above Chongyun Mountain, each with powerful auras, all at the loose immortal level.

"Five Loose Immortals."

"The Five Loose Immortals guarding Chongyun Mountain of the Sword Sect."

"This youth actually calls the Five Loose Immortals junior brothers? Could he also be from the Sword Sect? But judging by age, the Five Loose Immortals seem much older."

"Needless to say, daring to call the Five Loose Immortals junior brothers, this youth should be a formal disciple of the Sword Sect."

"I recognize him. He is the Third Prince of the East Luan Dynasty, and has taken the Three Scorpion Celestial Immortal as his master."

"So that's it. Looks like this white-robed man is in trouble. Offending a formal disciple of the Sword Sect—that's no small matter."

"This white-robed man really doesn't know when to back down. The other party dared to act so arrogantly at Chongyun Mountain, so he must have some backing. He should have been more cautious. Now he's provoked a powerful enemy."

All sorts of discussions broke out.

The five loose immortals descended from the sky, and the surrounding cultivators and demons all made way, not daring to provoke the Sword Sect. The five loose immortals respectfully saluted the prince.

"Senior Brother Dongji."

"Greetings, Senior Brother Dongji."

The five loose immortals who flew over had each lived for over a hundred thousand years, yet they now spoke very respectfully. They were all disciples of the Sword Sect, but only outer disciples, assigned to maintain order and the beautiful environment around Chongyun Mountain—simply put, they were gatekeepers. But this prince was a formal disciple!

Prince Dongji flipped his hand and produced a gold token with the character 'Sword' on it. He directly shouted, "This white-robed brat has shown disrespect to my Sword Sect and even crippled one of my Yuan Shen Daoists. Please, five senior brothers, arrest him and throw him into the Sword Sect prison."

"He really is a Sword Sect disciple."

"A formal disciple."

"Look at that gold token."

"I've heard the Sword Sect is a very powerful sect throughout the Three Realms, and its founder is Ancestor Fuju."

More discussions arose. The Sword Sect, founded by Ancestor Fuju, once had a status comparable to that of Mount Fangcun! But after Ancestor Fuju's death, the tree fell and the monkeys scattered. Moreover, Ancestor Fuju was not very good at teaching disciples; not one of his disciples became an Ancestor. Now, only three Heavenly God True Immortals remain in the Sword Sect. In terms of strength, the current Sword Sect is inferior even to the Star-Picking Manor.

Even so, a sect with three Heavenly God True Immortals, and one that has made friends across the Three Realms, is still a top-tier major sect. A formal disciple holds a much higher status than an ordinary Return-to-Void Earth Immortal.

"How dare you show disrespect to my Sword Sect!"

"Seize him!"

"Seize him!" The five loose immortals turned into streaks of light and flew toward Ji Ning.

Ji Ning opened his eyes and swept his gaze across.

Boom~~~

A gaze like a solid substance struck the five loose immortals, sending them flying back as streaks of light to a place beyond the naked eye.

Ji Ning then looked at the prince.

"No—" The prince was terrified and stumbled backward, falling to the ground in panic. Too terrifying—he hadn't even seen what method was used; it seemed just a glance sent the five loose immortals flying. His guards were so frightened they dared not breathe.

"Whoosh."

A streak of light flashed.

A bald old man appeared beside Ji Ning and said respectfully, "Master, your subordinate arrived late."

Ji Ning said calmly with a smile, "A small matter."

Ninefang Heavenly God was also furious. He had been sleeping soundly in a nearby tavern, but as a Heavenly God, he sensed everything around him. If any powerful figure, even a Celestial Immortal, approached, he would immediately notice. But the prince's party only had a few Yuan Shen Daoists, so Ninefang Heavenly God hadn't paid attention. It was only when Ji Ning swept his gaze and unleashed his power that Ninefang Heavenly God woke up and realized someone had provoked his master.

"Daring to provoke my master, are you looking for death?" Ninefang Heavenly God glared at the prince.

The prince, sitting on the ground, realized that this white-robed youth likely had a formidable background.

"I am a Sword Sect disciple," the prince said, hurriedly pulling out the gold token as if it were his last straw. "I am a formal disciple of the Sword Sect. My master is an ancestral Celestial Immortal, stationed in the East Luan Realm! My grandmaster is Ancestor Wudao!"

"Ninefang, after all, we came to study Ancestor Fuju's sword techniques, so let's be polite," Ji Ning said with a smile.

The prince relaxed inwardly and sneered to himself, 'So you're still afraid of my Sword Sect.' But outwardly, he didn't dare to be too arrogant; the Sword Sect, no matter how powerful, couldn't save him immediately.

"He offended you, Master..." Ninefang Heavenly God quickly said.

"No need to bother. By the way, this kid said his master is the Celestial Immortal stationed in the East Luan Realm. Summon his master here," Ji Ning said.

"Yes."

Ninefang Heavenly God nodded, then extended his right hand.

Whoosh~~~~

His right hand instantly expanded, shooting across the sky, traversing ten thousand li, and directly seized the Celestial Immortal ancestor in the East Luan Dynasty's palace.

In the palace, Three Scorpion Celestial Immortal was drinking fine wine and watching beautiful dancers, utterly content. He was originally a demon, but had joined the Sword Sect. This time, he was ordered by his master to guard the East Luan Realm, mainly to watch over Chongyun Mountain.

"How comfortable. I'm so lucky that my master assigned me here. Other senior and junior brothers have to be ready at all times to fight the Abyss Gate," Three Scorpion Celestial Immortal thought smugly. Being assigned here was a stroke of luck. "And my luck is really good. Coming to the East Luan Realm, I found a good seedling. That Dongji has such high comprehension."

"No need to fight, and I've taken a good disciple. Comfortable, comfortable." Three Scorpion Celestial Immortal squinted at the dancers.

Bang.

Three Scorpion Celestial Immortal looked up and saw a large hand glowing with black light piercing through the roof, reaching down.

"Ah!" Three Scorpion Celestial Immortal was grabbed and then whisked away with a whoosh.

The dancers stared blankly at the now-empty throne, then looked up at the hole in the palace roof, still remembering the black-glowing hand.

"The ancestor has been captured!"

"The ancestor has been captured!" Various cries of panic arose.

...

"This..."

"Heavens."

"This is simply..."

The cultivators and demons present were all dumbfounded, looking up at the arm that extended to the horizon. How could an arm be so long? They didn't know that Ninefang Heavenly God's true form was a bat; if he transformed, his body alone would be ten thousand li in size. The same was true for Snow Scorpion Heavenly God.

A single arm, when extended, could reach up to a hundred thousand li.

At the level of True God Ancestor... someone like Sanxiao Daoist could slap away an entire major world with one palm.

"Whoosh."

The right arm that had stretched across the sky retracted, and the bald old man's right hand, like a chicken claw, was clutching a celestial immortal by the collar.

"Kid, is this your master?" Ninefang pointed at the captured Three Scorpion Celestial Immortal.