Chapter 33: Five Years Later

What did Ji Ning need most urgently now?

Time, urgently!

His talent could not be said to be low; in his youth, he was favored by Patriarch Lu and Bodhi, and after undergoing many trials, he had become even more outstanding. The talent of a cultivator is not fixed forever; it changes with various encounters and tempering. Some may sink, while others may soar to the sky, becoming increasingly dazzling.

Ji Ning was clearly becoming more and more dazzling, but no matter how extraordinary a peerless prodigy was, they still needed time to grow!

Treasures that could alter the flow of time... did exist in the Three Realms.

For instance, the Great Xia Emperor had once used the Moon and Water Landscape Painting to change the flow of time within it. But such changes, even with the aid of a magic treasure, consumed a vast amount of magical power. Although the Xia Emperor was a Pure Yang True Immortal, he could only alter the time flow for weak Wanxiang-level little fellows; he could not allow a Celestial Immortal to enjoy a 'change in time flow.'

As for Ji Ning, who was a Heavenly God and True Immortal, changing the time flow around him... even Bodhi and the Three Pure Daoist would find it a headache.

If Goddess Nuwa were here, she could do it.

When Goddess Nuwa created the Six Paths of Reincarnation, the time flow in the area of the Bridge of Helplessness and the Six Paths of Reincarnation was much faster! A massive number of souls entered, and the terrifying time flow could be maintained continuously without needing immortals or demons to replenish magical power. This was because the Six Paths of Reincarnation itself was very perfect, with low consumption, and the energy absorbed from the outside world was sufficient to sustain it.

But the Six Paths of Reincarnation was a formation!

The 'Kuiyin Taihao Tower' was a magic treasure!

Inside the Kuiyin Taihao Tower, the time flow was a stable ten times that of the outside world. Ten years inside, one year outside. This time flow was very stable and required no magical power to maintain. The treasure itself was a stable spacetime. Even if a True God or Dao Ancestor, or even a World God, entered, the spacetime would still maintain a tenfold time flow.

At the same time...

This magic treasure could also accelerate the time flow further. But if one wanted to accelerate beyond ten times, it would consume magical power. The stronger the cultivator, the more magical power would be consumed to accelerate time flow during cultivation.

"A stable spacetime treasure," Ji Ning was shocked. "Even my master Bodhi, who can open up the Crescent World in another time dimension, cannot refine a stable spacetime treasure."

Stable spacetime treasures were too rare.

This single treasure was already at the Chaos Treasure level.

...

Ji Ning craved time the most.

And the Kuiyin Taihao Tower could make time ten times longer, and even if one was willing to consume a large amount of magical power, it could make the time flow even faster. Most importantly... this treasure was in the World Prison, and on a True God!

"True God Shiyu?" Ji Ning frowned.

The one who possessed the Kuiyin Taihao Tower was precisely True God Shiyu.

But this True God could be said to be the most terrifying True God in the entire World Prison. Almost all the True Gods and True Immortals imprisoned there knew his story, but very few knew he had the 'Kuiyin Taihao Tower.' Ji Ning learned this only because the True God he had soul-scoured was a subordinate of True God Shiyu.

"Very hard to deal with. He is clearly a True God, yet he has fought with Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Including the Kuiyin Taihao Tower, he has three Chaos Treasures on him." Ji Ning muttered to himself. "Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals... in the Three Realms, they should be considered at the leader level. That is to say, his strength is close to the leader level."

"Consuming his power? That won't work either."

"His realm is very high. He is one of the few True God and True Immortal prisoners in the World Prison who can draw power from Chaos." Ji Ning thought.

One must have some comprehension of the Dao of Chaos to draw power from Chaos. Once one could draw power from Chaos, there was no worry about running out of power.

Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals could all do it.

Only very few True Gods and True Immortals could do it, and True God Shiyu was clearly one of them.

"What to do? How can I deal with him?" Ji Ning pondered. "My Zhaixing Mansion magic treasure is placed in the Crescent World. But even if I go back to the Crescent World and bring that group of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals to form the Luohou Formation, it is still far from the leader level."

Ji Ning had fought against the leader level.

Demon Hand Dao Ancestor, with just one hand, had defeated him when he was controlling the All Things Emissary. Of course, Demon Hand Dao Ancestor was also one of the strongest in attack among the leader level.

As for True God Shiyu, he had only fought with Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals and managed to save his life. In terms of strength, he was probably about the same as Ji Ning controlling the All Things Emissary.

"Perhaps when my sword force reaches the fifth level, there will be hope." Ji Ning thought to himself.

...

Ji Ning continued to engage in battles in the World Prison, not only against True Gods but also starting to fight True Immortals.

He constantly comprehended the mysteries of the sword techniques left by 'World God Beixiu,' eager to reach the fifth level of sword force as soon as possible.

But...

Although he was making slow progress, he was still a hair's breadth away. This feeling was enough to drive one mad. But Ji Ning was calm; he understood that as long as he kept progressing, he would eventually break through.

...

Time passed, day by day, month by month...

In the Three Realms.

In the Diqiu Major World of the Zhuanxu Territory, another territory war was underway.

This was the second territory war after the Yellow Emperor Territory. Although its scale was much smaller than the Yellow Emperor Territory war, it was still larger than many previous territories, such as the Chiming Territory.

The Nuwa Camp participating in the war had over eight hundred Heavenly Gods and True Immortals.

The Side-by-Side Gate had over six hundred Heavenly Gods and True Immortals, supplemented by puppets.

"The outcome of this war is hard to predict."碧幽道祖 stood on the city wall, looking into the distance.

Black-robed Divine King laughed, "It's normal for the outcome to be uncertain. The struggle for fortune is precisely about contending for that fortune. As long as no prodigy like Ji Ning appears again, it's fine."

"In ancient times, there was Houyi; in the Three Realms, there was Ji Ning. That's already enough. If the Nuwa Camp produces another such prodigy, we might as well concede the struggle for fortune."碧幽道祖 shook his head.

"Yes, Houyi is terrifying." Black-robed Divine King sighed. "I never heard he was good with an axe. In the past, he always used a bow, which was ranged attack. Using an axe is close combat. The difference is huge. How did he become so powerful with an axe?"

"I heard that Houyi once chopped at the divine tree 'Osmanthus Tree' on the Moon Star."碧幽道祖 smiled. "The Osmanthus Tree is not easy to chop. Being able to chop it down means his strength could probably destroy the entire Moon Star. I also heard long ago that Bodhi's senior disciple had been cutting trees on the mountain as a woodcutter. Now it seems Houyi never gave up cutting trees."

"But I worry..."

碧幽道祖 frowned. "He is so powerful with an axe. After all, Houyi's talent in archery is the highest. I wonder how terrifying his archery has become now."

"Yes, it's a problem. If his archery is truly too powerful, I'm afraid only Uncle-Master Huanmu or Demon Lord will have to deal with him." Black-robed Divine King sighed.

"Yes."碧幽道祖 nodded, then sighed, "Fortunately, the final battle is coming soon. Ji Ning's prodigiousness is no less than Houyi's. In terms of growth, he is even more astonishing. In just a few hundred years, he has mastered sword techniques that surpass the limits of the Heavenly Dao. Such a peerless sword immortal talent... give him ten thousand years, who knows what he will become? Probably another Houyi."

Black-robed Divine King also nodded.

In the past, he had never cared about Ji Ning, but the battle in the Great World of Zhuolu, especially the scene of Ji Ning fighting Demon Hand Dao Ancestor, made Black-robed Divine King truly wary of Ji Ning. He also admitted that Ji Ning's potential was truly terrifying.

...

In the Chaos, within the stele in the Cold Star Canyon.

Inside the World Prison.

Five years had passed in the blink of an eye.

It had been five years since he was assassinated and came to the World Prison to temper himself through battle and comprehend the mysteries of swordsmanship.

On a beautiful grassland stood a magnificent temple carved from emerald jade. Inside the jade temple, a white-robed youth sat cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation.

"Hum~~~"

A power from the source of the sword in the depths of the endless Chaos.

A mysterious aura surrounded Ji Ning, a terrifying aura that made one's heart tremble, the aura belonging to 'the sword.'

Gradually, on Ji Ning's body surface, a seven-colored sword light began to appear, as if Ji Ning himself had become a terrifying divine sword.