Chapter 34: Departure? The Void Stairway

Ji Ning suddenly realized that the Nine Directions Chaos Country was stronger than the Three Realms, had closer contact with the Endless Chaos, and it was natural that they used the same script and language as the common tongue of the Endless Chaos. The Three Realms, in comparison, were relatively isolated; it was only through occasional invasions by chaotic alien races that they learned some news of them.

"Whatever. What do I care about the Heavenly Cang Palace, the Nine Directions Chaos Country, the Northern Abyss World God, or the Black Flood Dragon Three Divine Beasts? They're too far from me. Even according to my lifeblood oath, I only need to leave the Three Realms after becoming a True God." Ji Ning was very calm.

Regardless, he had gained great benefits from the Moon Under the Abyss.

Now the Three Realms were in calamity.

His home, everything he cared about most, was in the Three Realms; everything else could be set aside.

Becoming a True God was no easy feat. First, becoming a True God was a major hurdle; becoming a True God would probably be even harder and would certainly take a very long time.

"In all the long years until now, only two have obtained these two techniques in the Moon Under the Abyss: one is Jue Ming, and the other is you." The silver-haired man looked at Ji Ning. "Don't disappoint the master."

"For the sake of my own life, I wouldn't dare." Ji Ning smiled.

"Come, I'll send you out of the Moon Under the Abyss."

The silver-haired man led the way, and Ji Ning breathed a sigh of relief. He had feared that the deceased Northern Abyss World God might have other arrangements; after all, his strength was too great, his methods too inconceivable. Even Nuwa, who had just broken through to become a World God back then, might not have been a match for this Northern Abyss World God. Ji Ning was completely at his mercy, but fortunately everything was settled.

Of course, Nuwa had long since ventured into the Endless Chaos, and her strength might now be even more astonishing.

...

The Moonfall Island was magnificent. Under the silver-haired man's guidance, they arrived at the center of a grassland. In the center of the grassland was a calm lake, still like a huge piece of jade. When Ji Ning and the silver-haired man flew down from the sky, the breeze they stirred caused ripples on the small lake, a breathtakingly beautiful sight.

"Enter this small lake, and you will leave the Moon Under the Abyss directly." The silver-haired man instructed.

"I go in? And I'm out?" Ji Ning pointed at the lake.

Back then, he had plunged headfirst into the waters of the Moon Under the Abyss and then arrived in the world of the Moon Under the Abyss.

"Yes. After you leave, you will appear above the waters of the great Moon Under the Abyss." The silver-haired man nodded, then stared at Ji Ning. "Don't forget your lifeblood oath."

"Of course." Ji Ning smiled and nodded.

Looking at this lake, Ji Ning was overjoyed. Finally, finally he was going out!

Senior apprentice-sister!

Wait for me!

"Plop." Ji Ning plunged directly into the beautiful lake. The water rippled in circles, time and space shifted, and Ji Ning was teleported away.

...

Ji Ning felt the shift in time and space; everything around was hazy and unclear, clearly in rapid teleportation. Suddenly, there was a faint tremor around him, which puzzled Ji Ning, because when he first arrived in the world of the Moon Under the Abyss, everything had been smooth and natural. After only a moment, everything around solidified, and Ji Ning could see the scenery clearly.

"Huh?" Ji Ning was stunned.

He looked around. All around was a hazy void, and in the void were layers of stairs, seemingly endless, leading to a distant height.

"This, this, where is this?" Ji Ning was completely bewildered.

According to what the silver-haired man had said, he should have been teleported back to above the waters of the Moon Under the Abyss in the Endless Chaos. But here, there was not a trace of the Moon Under the Abyss's water. Instead, there was endless void and endless stairs.

"What place is this? Why was I teleported here?" Ji Ning was cautious. In an unknown place, he couldn't be careless; he might lose his life. "There's no reason for the silver-haired man to deceive me. After all, I was completely powerless in the world of the Moon Under the Abyss; he could have killed me easily."

"If he had said he was sending me to some special place, I couldn't have resisted. So there's no need for lies."

"That means the silver-haired man probably didn't know about this either."

Ji Ning was startled. "Could it be... that the Northern Abyss World God died so long ago that the teleportation channel he left behind has developed a flaw, causing a deviation during my teleportation?"

Nothing lasts forever.

Even chaos worlds have a day of destruction; even beings at the level of the Northern Abyss World God can be killed. It's not impossible that the teleportation禁制 he left behind has a flaw.

"If it's not going back, then where has it sent me?" Ji Ning calmed down. He first probed with his heartforce, then with his mind sense—all useless!

"A void stairway? Since there are stairs, they must have been specially built." Ji Ning carefully advanced step by step along the stairs, which led continuously upward.

Ji Ning walked quickly.

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, beside the stairs floated a huge stone tablet, engraved with countless sword techniques. The sword intent that rushed at him made Ji Ning's heart tremble; its intensity far surpassed the "Five Treasure Sword Art."

"Such terrifying sword intent... This is definitely beyond the level of a True God or Dao Ancestor. Could it be a World God? Or perhaps the Northern Abyss World God himself?" Ji Ning thought to himself.

Ji Ning did not rush forward but instead focused on studying this nameless sword art.

If he left this place, who knew if he could return? Naturally, he had to seize the opportunity to study the sword art. Now that he had learned the "Five Treasure Sword Art," he stood at the very pinnacle of the Three Realms. But the 'Dao' contained in this sword art was too profound and unfathomable, probably something that only Chaos Immortals and World Gods could comprehend.

Ji Ning pondered before the stone tablet for three full months.

"Hmph."

Ji Ning's face turned pale, and there was a faint trace of blood in his nostrils.

Inside his body, his blood was boiling.

"I can't study it anymore; it's beyond what I can bear." Ji Ning was secretly horrified. "I wonder who left this sword art, whether it was the Northern Abyss World God. In any case, this sword art... absolutely surpasses anyone in the Three Realms."

In fact, the only World God in the Three Realms was Nuwa.

Nuwa did not use a sword, so in terms of sword art, no one in the Three Realms could compare to what was on this stone tablet.

"Let's go." Since he could no longer study it, Ji Ning could only continue along the void stairway. After only a short while, he saw another stone tablet, also engraved with some sword techniques, and also without a name for the sword art. This was a completely different set of sword techniques from the previous one, but its power was no less.

Ji Ning also spent nearly three months carefully studying it, and his insights into swordsmanship continued to improve.

"There are always people better than you; there is always a sky beyond the sky."

"If you think the great powers of the Three Realms are the strongest, that's like sitting in a well and looking at the sky. In the Endless Chaos... there are far too many powerful beings." Ji Ning's swordsmanship improved, but he became more humble, realizing that there were many stronger than him. The creator of the sword art on the stone tablet alone could kill him with a single strike.

...

The void stairway was endlessly long.

Ji Ning observed along the way, and there were actually ninety-eight stone tablets. The various profound and mysterious sword techniques broadened his horizons greatly, and his swordsmanship improved immensely, even giving him some insights and inferences about the 'fifth level of sword force.'

The fifth level of sword force, the 'Sword God Realm,' Ji Ning had previously thought it meant infusing the sword technique with extremely rich emotion; when it reached a certain level, the sword technique would contain 'spirit.' That was Ji Ning's previous belief, and also what many great powers in the Three Realms believed.

But now, after studying the sword techniques of ninety-eight profound chaos great powers,

Ji Ning understood.

Whether the sword technique contains emotion is secondary! Just like his own "Brightmoon Sword Art," in the early days it had no emotion, yet it still reached the fourth level of sword force, didn't it?

Emotion only makes the swordsman more immersed in the sword and allows for extraordinary performance.

The most important thing is still to comprehend the sword! To perceive the 'origin of the sword,' elevating sword force from the level of possessing spirituality to the level of possessing 'spirit.' Of course, strong emotion... can allow for extraordinary performance, but that is only an auxiliary effect. The key is still to comprehend the sword; improving swordsmanship is fundamental.

"If I had focused solely on infusing the sword technique with strong emotion, I would have gone down the wrong path." Ji Ning shuddered at the thought. It was only by seeing more advanced sword techniques that he understood his own path.

Clearly, the sword techniques on the ninety-eight stone tablets had probably already surpassed the fifth level of sword force, reaching a higher, more profound and unfathomable level.

"Finally, the end."

After studying the ninety-eighth stone tablet, Ji Ning saw at the end of the void stairway an ancient temple that seemed to be made entirely of jade, emitting a faint pressure.