Chapter 23: The Trial of the Treasure

Amidst the vast radiance, Ji Ning stepped into it.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning looked in surprise at the scene before him. Before him, layers of light screens protected the central orb of light. There were nine layers in total, and on each layer of light screen flowed fiery red divine runes.

"Pass through the nine layers of restrictions, and you will obtain the treasure." A deep voice echoed in Ji Ning's ears.

Ji Ning was puzzled.

This voice?

Was it left behind by the ancient Lord of All Things, or was it the spirit of some treasure?

"Whatever." Ji Ning knew well that in the ruins of such an extremely powerful lord like the Lord of All Things, it was best to behave obediently!

"Pass through nine layers of restrictions? How?"

Ji Ning looked at the first layer of light screen restriction before him. Fiery red divine runes flowed on the light screen.

"Hmm, it doesn't seem difficult." After a glance, Ji Ning understood. He reached out his palm and placed it on the light screen. As he infused his divine power, he saw through the mysteries of the restriction's divine runes and easily mastered them.

"Disperse." Ji Ning willed it.

Whoosh~~~ This layer of formation restriction dissipated, leaving eight layers of light screens.

Ji Ning continued forward. The eighth layer of light screen also bore divine runes of the Fire Dao, but the complexity had clearly increased. Ji Ning stood there blinking, staring for a moment.

"Is the gap between Su Youji and me really that big?" Ji Ning muttered to himself. He was a Patriarch and an Immortal, so the trial should be the same as Su Youji's. Su Youji had said earlier that she was just a tiny bit short... She had probably already reached the last light screen and was only a little short of refining and mastering it.

"I can't even comprehend the divine runes of the eighth restriction." Ji Ning shook his head. "I'm really too weak in the Fire Dao."

Even so, Ji Ning didn't care.

In cultivation, one must make choices! For what one excels at, one can comprehend with less effort and even break through bottlenecks more easily. At his core, Ji Ning was best at the Sword Dao, as Lü Dongbin, Patriarch Bodhi, and others had seen. Although his heartforce had once broken through quickly, heartforce focuses on the heart. Despite experiencing the tribulation of the Three Realms, his heartforce remained at the fourth level. But his Sword Dao had advanced rapidly, and now he was only one step away from achieving the sixth level, 'Sword World'. Even the first stance of his 'Primordial Sword Intent', the 'Black Mist Stance', was close in power to the third stance of the 'Nameless Sword Art', the 'All-Heaven Stance'.

Its might was even stronger than some weaker 'Sword Worlds'.

Both were sword cultivators!

But no two 'Sword Worlds' were the same. Some were domineering, some were cold. Even the same sword art, when cultivated, carried the cultivator's own insights. The 'All-Heaven Stance' was among the highest levels of Sword Worlds.

"The Sword Dao is my path. The Fire Dao?" Ji Ning smiled.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning suddenly froze.

"The voice earlier said... 'Pass through the nine layers of restrictions.'" Ji Ning looked at the remaining eight layers of restrictions. "The voice only said to pass through, not how to pass through!"

"If you refine the formation restriction and gain control, you can naturally pass through." Ji Ning's eyes blazed. "But if you directly break the restriction by force, you can also pass through."

There were two methods to break formation restrictions.

The first was to comprehend the restriction and then break it, which was what Ji Ning had done with the first layer and was more common.

The second was to break the law with force!

No matter how profound the restriction, one could break it with sheer power!

"Can I break the formation restrictions left by the Lord of All Things?" Ji Ning thought to himself.

After thinking, Ji Ning bowed respectfully and said loudly, "Senior Lord, to pass through the nine layers of restrictions and obtain the treasure, I, this junior, cannot comprehend the restrictions. I will dare to try breaking the law with force."

After speaking, Ji Ning looked at the eight layers of light screens before him.

"Break."

Ji Ning thrust his palm forward. A layer of sword-light power naturally condensed at his fingertip, vaguely forming a sword shape. At this moment, the power of the Greenflower Mist augmented him, and his palms, having reached the seventh revolution of the 'Star Picking Hand', were comparable to Dao artifacts.

"Boom."

The eighth layer of light screen trembled and then shattered directly.

"Shattered?" Ji Ning was overjoyed, but he didn't rush to continue. He paused briefly to see if there was any special reaction.

"It seems breaking the law with force does not violate the Lord's will."

"Continue." Ji Ning stepped forward again, once more executing the fierce Blood Drop Stance with his right hand. His palm thrust forward like a sharp sword, striking the light screen. The light screen shook twice and then shattered.

Ji Ning smiled.

No kidding. With the power of the Greenflower Mist augmenting him, his strength was not inferior to a World God! This strike was equivalent to a normal World God's attack, and this was only the seventh layer.

"I wonder what the origin of the 'Greenflower Space' formed by the nine layers of Chaos Restrictions really is." Ji Ning increasingly felt that this divine ability was heaven-defying. Without the Greenflower Space, his divine body would only be at the half-step World God level. Even with the divine sword Violetjade, he would barely be slightly stronger than an ordinary World God, not even reaching a top-tier World God. But now, with the power of the Greenflower Mist augmenting him, his strength was not inferior to a World God. With a stronger foundation and the power of his divine sword, he could contend with a perfected World-level cultivator.

"I wonder how powerful the Greenflower Space will be when I reach the World level."

After a moment's thought, he put aside his musings.

"Continue."

Ji Ning stepped forward again to break the sixth layer of light screen. But this time, it was clearly harder. His single strike failed to break it; he would need multiple strikes.

"I'll use the divine sword." Ji Ning flipped his hand and brought out the divine sword Violetjade.

"Break."

He thrust the sword, a trace of primal power on it.

Sss~~~

It easily pierced through the light screen.

"Break again."

"Break again."

Ji Ning advanced step by step. With the divine sword Violetjade, his strength increased greatly. These formation restrictions were originally meant to test Patriarchs and Immortals, so Ji Ning broke them with ease. He hadn't even used the Black Mist Stance, and the first seven layers were all broken.

"Eighth layer?" Ji Ning's previous sword thrust had failed.

"Hmph." Ji Ning held the divine sword Violetjade solemnly, then instantly swung it. The divine sword Violetjade turned into a streak of blood shadow, leaving a layer of blood light in the air where the sword light passed, making one's heart tremble. This was the power of the sword's primal source! Now, a layer of blood-colored light flowed on the surface of the divine sword Violetjade, its power astonishing.

First stance of the Primordial Sword Intent—Black Mist Stance.

"Whoosh."

The blood-light sword shadow struck the eighth layer of light screen diagonally. Boom, the eighth layer shattered.

"Only the last layer remains." Ji Ning didn't hesitate to use his ultimate technique again. The power of the Greenflower Mist made his sword speed far exceed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. The power of the sword intent's primal source made the Eternal divine sword even sharper! Unmatched sharpness! With great speed and power, and extreme sharpness, a single sword strike could easily shatter a Chaos World. Even the Sun Star and Moon Star could be pierced through before Ji Ning.

"Pfft."

The sword tip struck the ninth layer of light screen. The light screen trembled violently, producing ripples like water, but it didn't shatter.

"Still a bit short?" Ji Ning was stunned.

How powerful was this strike of his?

Only with such great power and an Eternal divine weapon could he achieve such might.

"Break for me!" Ji Ning once again executed his strongest killing move, but the ninth layer of light screen, though on the verge of collapse, still held.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning frowned.

This strike was already his strongest.

"It seems I need to find a way to increase the power of this strike." Ji Ning willed it and immediately began to retreat, all the way to the edge of the hundred-zhang range.

"Whoosh~~~" Then, behind Ji Ning, a pair of cyan wings spread out, with lightning flowing on them. These were the 'Thunderlight Wings' he had bought at the auction. Using lightning as the source and sword light to tear through obstacles, they allowed his speed to reach an extremely high level.

"Kill."

With a flap of his wings, he tore through layers of air resistance, instantly boosting his speed. Whoosh, he turned into a streak of light charging straight at the ninth layer of light screen.

A cultivator's speed also required distance to build up. Long-distance high-speed flight was naturally different from close-quarters dodging speed, because instantaneous burst speed was hard to achieve. A hundred zhang was too short. With the Thunderlight Wings, Ji Ning could completely surpass the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Without them, his speed over a hundred zhang would probably be only sixty percent of what it was now.

"Break." As Ji Ning charged forward, he once again swung the Eternal divine sword!

The speed of the sword was very important.

Even a small pebble, if it reached the speed of light, would have inconceivable power.

With the same divine sword and the same power drawn from it, increasing the sword speed by thirty percent could more than double its power! Ji Ning couldn't increase the speed of his sword when swinging it from a standstill, so he had to rely on the simplest method—charging at high speed, using his flight speed to the utmost, and then swinging the sword with full force, increasing the sword speed by twenty to thirty percent.

"Pfft~~~~" The sharp, heart-trembling Eternal divine sword turned into a streak of blood light. Though it paused slightly, it still pierced through the light screen.

Boom~~~ The ninth layer of light screen shattered.

The orb of light on the stone coffin was now within reach!