Chapter 14: Predicament

After chatting for a long time, the wine was finished, and they all needed to rest. Ji Ning earnestly instructed the celestial deity Xiuke: "Brother Xiuke, at the entrance to this volcanic island, there is a stone tablet. It contains the detailed mysteries of the Snow Demon's staff technique. You can go take a look."

"Oh?" Xiuke's eyes lit up.

"Xiuke, you haven't seen it yet?"

"Go quickly and see; that stone tablet is indeed quite marvelous."

"Hurry, hurry."

The dragon deities all urged him with smiles.

"Alright, I'll go take a look now." Xiuke immediately headed alone toward the stone tablet.

"Brother Beiming, there are plenty of palaces here. Just pick one. You've just arrived; at least for a thousand years, no one will attack you." said the withered dragon deity.

"Alright." Ji Ning nodded, then chose a palace to temporarily reside in.

...

Two days later.

Xiuke returned from studying the stone tablet and gathered again with the seven dragon deities.

"How did it feel? That stone tablet is quite good, isn't it?" laughed the owl dragon deity.

"It's quite impressive, but I don't follow the path of Taiji... Alas, I've been trapped on that Snow Island for a hundred million years because my offense is too weak." Xiuke sighed. "My movement technique is so good that even the Snow Demon himself couldn't kill me, but it's useless. My attacks are too weak; I could never gain the Snow Demon's approval. He wouldn't let me through. Fortunately, I had Junior Brother Beiming."

"Where is Brother Beiming?" asked the withered dragon deity.

"He's still cultivating," said the void dragon deity. "I saw him cultivating, so I didn't disturb him."

"Brother Beiming is truly dedicated." The profound dragon deity asked, "Xiuke, how strong is Brother Beiming? The seven of us have been trapped here for far too long—from the ancient era until now. We can't endure it any longer. If Brother Beiming is strong enough, we'd like to ask him to help us move forward. We've given up hope on the treasures of the Moon Under the Abyss."

"His strength?"

Xiuke shook his head. "I've seen him fight. He's skilled in swordsmanship, quite remarkable, but only at the third level of sword force. His divine abilities should be strong... From Snow Island to Volcanic Island, it took him several days. He probably fought fiercely for a long time before the Snow Demon acknowledged him and let him in."

"Third level of sword force?" The withered dragon deity shook his head. "Pity. Though he can be considered a sword expert, it's not enough to deal with the Infernal Deity."

"A pity."

"Alas, let's wait."

Each of them was somewhat disappointed.

"I'm already satisfied to have come from Snow Island to Volcanic Island. Actually, when I followed Junior Brother Beiming, I was gambling. When I saw him draw his sword, I wasn't very confident. But the gamble paid off. There's no need to be disheartened. Perhaps after tens of thousands or millions of years, Junior Brother Beiming's strength will greatly improve, and we can take another gamble." said Xiuke.

"Hopefully." The seven dragon deities all sighed.

They had hoped someone could help this time, but Xiuke had been brought by Ji Ning and was of no help. As for Ji Ning... he had barely made it to Volcanic Island; the hope of going further was slim.

...

In a quiet palace.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged in silence. His other true body clone was in his immortal mansion, also studying the "Five Treasures Sword Art."

Having just broken through and mastered the third chapter of the Five Treasures Sword Art, he could now begin cultivating the final chapter, the fourth. This last chapter made Ji Ning marvel even more at the profound and unfathomable mysteries of the Five Treasures Sword Art. As he cultivated, his insights grew. He understood clearly...

The Moon Under the Abyss was not easy to traverse. He had only reached Volcanic Island, and he could imagine how difficult the rest would be. So he should focus on improving his strength.

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, half a year went by. In that time, Ji Ning's two true body clones had comprehended nearly half of the fourth chapter of the Five Treasures Sword Art, but then progress stalled. Ji Ning stopped and instead turned to perfecting his own "Moonbright Sword Art." Since stepping into the fourth level of sword force, he hadn't truly perfected the Moonbright Sword Art.

Perfecting the Moonbright Sword Art was relatively easier. Occasionally, during the process, insights would strike him, allowing him to ponder the fourth chapter of the Five Treasures Sword Art again.

...

Ji Ning had been on Volcanic Island for a year and three months.

Ji Ning finally opened his eyes.

"For now, my Moonbright Sword Art has reached the limit of what I can perfect." Ji Ning stood up, smiling. "If I were to face the Snow Demon now, I could probably defeat him easily with just one true body clone."

The power of the sword was inherently suited for offense.

Ji Ning's Moonbright Sword Art, drawing essence from the transcendent Five Treasures Sword Art, was naturally astonishingly powerful. In offense, it could completely suppress the Snow Demon. With his three heads and six arms, six hands against two, he could overwhelm and win directly.

"It's been so long, and I haven't visited Brother Xiuke or the seven dragon deities." Ji Ning felt a bit ashamed. He had been cultivating for over a year since arriving. He immediately left the palace to visit the seven dragon deities.

A moment later.

The seven dragon deities, Xiuke, and Ji Ning gathered together.

"The eight of us have little hope of improving, so we often gather. But you, Junior Brother Beiming, cultivate for over a year at a stretch. It reminds me of when I first entered the Moon Under the Abyss." Xiuke laughed.

"I'm ashamed." Ji Ning said.

"By the way." Ji Ning looked at the eight before him. "I plan to try and see if I can reach the next island."

"You?"

The seven dragon deities and Xiuke exchanged glances.

The withered dragon deity said, "Brother Beiming, do you know that on the third island there are treasures? Those who reach it can claim them."

"Treasures?" Ji Ning's eyes lit up.

"The Sea Clan Yaksha, the Snow Demon, and the Infernal Deity—these are the three obstacles left by the creator of the Moon Under the Abyss world. Overcome these three obstacles, and you can obtain treasures. Of course, reaching the fourth and fifth islands also yields treasures." The withered dragon deity looked at Ji Ning. "But are treasures so easy to get? You can guess how formidable the Infernal Deity is."

Ji Ning listened carefully.

Know yourself and know your enemy, and you will never be defeated.

"From the other exit of Volcanic Island, you can also see a floating wooden bridge. This bridge spans an endless sea of fire... In that sea of fire, there is a demon god called the Infernal Deity." The withered dragon deity said, "The Infernal Deity is entirely formed from condensed flames, wielding twin halberds. He has immense strength, nearly that of a true god. Though his flying speed is slow, his twin halberd attacks are extremely fast and fierce. His 'Infinite Force' has reached the fourth level... Compared to the Snow Demon, he is better at offense, stronger, and faster. With his twin halberds attacking wildly... it's a nightmare."

Ji Ning was secretly alarmed.

Greater strength and speed meant the Infernal Deity's foundation was stronger than the Snow Demon's.

"The seven of us know very well how formidable he is. We also wish you could get through, so we could follow you." The withered dragon deity shook his head. "But he's too strong. If you're not strong enough, you might die."

"The seven dragon deities entered back in the ancient era," Ji Ning said, puzzled. "If you wanted to follow other powerful deities to the next island, you should have encountered some long ago, right?"

"Hmm."

The only woman, the void dragon deity, nodded, her voice clear. "You're right. From the ancient era to now, we've met over ten who were absolutely sure to get through. But that was a long time ago. The seven of us support each other. Even if the Infernal Deity attacks Volcanic Island, he can't do anything to us. We have enough patience and endurance. We wanted to cultivate slowly until we could get through on our own."

"But thirty million years ago, the Infernal Deity told us that we had been in the Moon Under the Abyss for nearly a chaos cycle. After a hundred million years, he would go all out to kill us." The void dragon deity's eyes dimmed. "Only then did we realize that the time given to us by the Moon Under the Abyss was not infinite."

"If the Infernal Deity truly goes all out, constantly attacking us, our divine power will be consumed. When it's gone, we're dead. We've never heard of a 'chaos cycle,' but we understand it must be a time limit set by that great being."

"A chaos cycle?" Ji Ning was startled.

Had it been a chaos cycle from the ancient era to now?

Ji Ning had long felt...

The Moon Under the Abyss used a cruel method to train deities, but a chaos cycle was about right. If one hadn't truly broken through in a chaos cycle, they generally never would.

"We only have seventy million years left." The violent dragon deity's voice was deep. "We refuse to give up easily. We want to live, so we can only hope for a powerful deity to take us along. But where are such deities now?"

Ji Ning nodded.

In the past ten million years, he was the only one to enter.

"Though we want to get out and don't want to die like this, Ji Ning, your strength is indeed insufficient." The violent dragon deity said, "Don't take this the wrong way. The Infernal Deity's power is astonishing. With your third-level sword force... you're still far off. There's little hope of getting through. To succeed, one generally needs the fourth level of lightning force, Taiji force, Infinite force, heart force, Netherworld force, etc.—only by reaching the fourth level is there hope."

"Of course, if you excel in combat-type forces like sword force, blade force, explosive force, etc., then there's a sure chance."

The violent dragon deity looked at Ji Ning. "Brother Beiming, at least wait until there's some hope before trying. Otherwise, you're gambling with your life. If you're lucky, you can escape; if not, you'll die there."

"Junior Brother Beiming, take it slow. You're different from us; your path is still long." Xiuke said. "Actually, I'm already satisfied to have reached Volcanic Island."

Ji Ning was stunned.

Third level of sword force?

Why did they think he was at the third level of sword force?