Chapter 7 Sudden Change

After a thorough search, Ji Ning felt both pleasantly surprised and somewhat disappointed.

The pleasant surprise was that this World God Dongming, as a personal disciple of Daolist Sushui, possessed treasures besides the 'Sword-Energy Painting' that together were worth over a thousand cubes of chaos nectar. What disappointed him slightly was that among the World God Dongming's treasures, aside from the 'Ever-Snow Banner' which was of some use to him, the rest were useless.

For instance, the most precious set of treasures belonging to World God Dongming—a set of six top-grade Dao weapons in the form of curved blades—was worth over five hundred cubes, but unfortunately Ji Ning used swords.

As for the armor, it was also a high-grade Dao weapon, similar to what the Blood Marsh Immortal had. Ji Ning already had one, so this second piece was useless for now.

"Once I get out, I'll sell them all."

Ji Ning stopped thinking about it. With a flip of his hand, a scroll painting appeared in his grasp.

This was the most precious treasure on the entire island, a treasure whose value was no less than that of an Eternal weapon.

"What secrets does this painting hold?" Ji Ning pulled the painting open with both hands and stared at it intently. Since it had already been refined, the Sword-Energy Painting's sword energy was now restrained, making it look ordinary at first glance.

"No divine runes either."

"And no method to activate it."

"Just a picture..." Ji Ning looked at the Sword-Energy Painting in confusion.

The Sword-Energy Painting depicted a very ordinary landscape: mountains, a waterfall, a stream. Even the painting technique was merely average—Ji Ning himself could paint just as well. Yet this seemingly ordinary landscape, upon a brief contemplation, contained a sword-intent that startled Ji Ning. That lofty sword-intent felt no less than the essence of the divine sword Ziguang Qiong.

"The one who painted this must be an incredibly terrifying sword cultivator," Ji Ning mused. "But so what? With the essence of the divine sword, I can at least immerse my consciousness into it and comprehend it. But this painting—I can only look at it!"

A painting with extremely lofty sword-intent.

What use was it to him?

In terms of sword-intent, the 'divine sword essence' of Ziguang Qiong was equally lofty and could also be used in battle!

"Wasn't it said that this painting is no less than an Eternal weapon?"

"Well, right. Daolist Sushui told World God Dongming to comprehend this painting, and World God Dongming died without understanding it. It seems my realm is too low to discover the true mystery of the Sword-Energy Painting." Ji Ning could only console himself like this, but he still unwillingly stared at it for a long time. He had a feeling...

This painting vaguely held a special secret, but there was a barrier preventing him from truly glimpsing it.

"What is it?"

...

After staring unwillingly for over three hours, Ji Ning had no choice but to put away the Sword-Energy Painting for now.

"Master," the rock giant beside him asked curiously, "how did you get here? I heard only Daolists of Life and Death could pass through the Sushui Hundred Streams Formation."

"I came with my big brother," Ji Ning said with a smile.

"Master's big brother?" The rock giant's deep yellow eyes lit up. "Is your big brother a Daolist? Where is he?"

"He went to that central island," Ji Ning pointed. "We'll wait slowly. Once he comes out, we can leave the Sushui Ruins."

If Daolist Tianyi didn't come out, Ji Ning couldn't leave on his own.

"That was where Daolist Sushui lived—the most dangerous place," the rock giant said.

"Huummm~~~"

Suddenly, the large central island in the distance emitted a golden ripple in all directions. The terrifying ripple swept across every direction in an instant. Ji Ning's face turned pale with fright. The moment he saw the golden light, he knew that if it touched him, he would surely die. He didn't even have time to dodge.

The golden light spread across the entire core area but avoided each island.

"What's happening?" Ji Ning felt a bit panicked.

"Maybe some restriction was triggered," the rock giant said.

"I know it's a triggered restriction, but nothing was triggered for so long before," Ji Ning said worriedly. He had been sitting here looking at the Sword-Energy Painting for over three hours without any disturbance. Now, suddenly there was activity, and Ji Ning felt something was wrong.

...

Inside the central island.

The ragged, barefoot old man let out a breath. The buildings around him had long since been reduced to ruins, and only a towering main hall stood at the very core of the distant island.

"That Su Feng died, and yet he left behind so many formations and restrictions," Heavenly Unity Dao Lord muttered curses. "Afraid later comers wouldn't know how formidable you were?"

He had expected this trip wouldn't be easy, but after several hours on the island, he still hadn't gotten his hands on the treasure. The myriad dangers here made Heavenly Unity Dao Lord seethe with anger.

"No one can obstruct my path!"

"Even if you were alive, you couldn't stop me, let alone now that you're dead."

Heavenly Unity Dao Lord lacked his usual abandon; his eyes held a terrifying sharpness.

"Whoosh!"

Heavenly Unity Dao Lord suddenly split into two, then into four figures, then into eight... In the blink of an eye, he had turned into tens of thousands of figures. Tens of thousands of Heavenly Unity Dao Lords advanced from different angles toward the still-intact main hall at the island's center. Around the main hall, countless divine runes formed a massive protective circle that flowed continuously.

"Pop." "Pop." "Pop." "Pop." "Pop." "Pop." The tens of thousands of Heavenly Unity Dao Lords advanced; some were attacked and shattered like bubbles, but they immediately reformed, causing the entire grand formation to fluctuate. Following the fluctuations, some Heavenly Unity Dao Lord figures immediately stepped into the formation.

Thus, with apparent ease, the tens of thousands of Heavenly Unity Dao Lords strolled forward and passed through the protective circle formed by countless divine runes.

"If the Su Feng Hundred Streams Grand Formation were fully activated, I'd have a headache."

"But these formations can't stop me at all."

"Like Illusion."

"Like Shadow."

"Space-Time."

"Only I."

The tens of thousands of Heavenly Unity Dao Lord figures all dissipated, leaving only the single figure standing before the main hall's door.

Heavenly Unity Dao Lord stood at the threshold of the main hall, looking at the silver-haired figure sitting cross-legged inside. The silver-haired man had a rather handsome face, wore a loose white robe, and smiled as his whole body radiated light. He said with a laugh, "I wonder which fellow Daoist has arrived. After painstakingly breaking the thirteen major formations on my island, you must be after that 'Eternal Token.' The Eternal Token is right here with me. Back then, I risked my life to obtain this single Eternal Token before attempting the Dao of Harmony. If you, fellow Daoist, kneel and kowtow three times to me, I'll give you the Eternal Token. But if you try to take it by force, hmph..."

"Kneel and kowtow to you?" Heavenly Unity Dao Lord glared.

"You're dead, and you're still messing with me? Even if I fail the Dao of Harmony, I won't kowtow to you." Heavenly Unity Dao Lord was furious.

He could tell at a glance that this was an image left behind by Dao Lord Su Feng after his death.

"The Su Feng Hundred Streams Grand Formation covers too large an area and can't be activated instantly. Apart from that formation, let's see what other tricks you have..." Heavenly Unity Dao Lord sneered. "I wasn't afraid of you when you were alive; now that you're dead, why would I fear a ghost!"

With that, Heavenly Unity Dao Lord reached out.

Whoosh~~~~

A huge phantom hand appeared and directly grabbed the robe, magic treasures, and other items at the center of the hall. Dao Lord Su Feng had died after failing the Dao of Harmony. After failing, when he finally perished, his body completely disintegrated, and even his true spirit disintegrated without a trace. Only some magic treasures, robes, and the like remained.

"Whoosh." The huge phantom hand grabbed those robes and magic treasures. Although there were Eternal magic treasures among them, Heavenly Unity Dao Lord didn't care; what he cared about most was that Eternal Token.

"I obtained the Eternal Token with great difficulty, and you think you can just take it like that? Hahaha..."

Suddenly, cold laughter echoed through the main hall.

"Boom~~~~~~~~~~~"

Countless divine runes emerged on every surface of the main hall, shining with dazzling light. In an instant, the entire main hall exploded. The terrifying shockwave swept through the hall, causing Heavenly Unity Dao Lord's face to change drastically. He didn't even have time to curse and could only flee in panic. Rumble~~~~ The entire core island split apart.

The violent might radiated in all directions.

...

Ji Ning and the rock giant had been waiting, waiting for Heavenly Unity Dao Lord to arrive, when they suddenly saw the distant giant island shatter entirely. At the same time, a might far more intense than before wildly spread in all directions.

"Master, be careful." The rock giant instantly swelled in size and, like a huge ball, wrapped around Ji Ning.

"Boom~~~"

The island where Ji Ning stood also trembled violently, then with a rumbling sound, it completely shattered and broke apart. Fragments of the island began to sink into the lake water. The immortal mansion palace on the original island was sent tumbling and flying, instantly crossing thousands of li before flying into the distant gray gale.

The 'rock giant' that had turned into a huge rock enveloping Ji Ning was also sent flying by the impact of the might, swept into the distant gray gale, and vanished in an instant.