Chapter 18 Leaving the Da Mo Territory

In the Da Mo Courtyard, petals fluttered, falling in profusion.

The Da Mo Dao Lord and his wife sat opposite an alien man with a single eye and a single horn.

"I didn't expect Brother Fusu to personally escort this shipment," said the Da Mo Dao Lord with a smile.

"I was heading to the 'Three-Eyed Thunder Marsh' anyway, so the Dao Alliance asked me to help deliver the treasures," Fusu Dao Lord said with a faint smile. "These treasures you bought—the Golden Statue Divine Ability, some merely mid-grade Eternal Divine Weapons, and the Snow Mirror Diagram Scrolls... they must be for one of your disciples, right? In the end, one must rely on oneself to seek opportunities. No matter how highly you think of a disciple, you can't spoil them like this."

"Brother Fusu overestimates me. Would I spend so many treasures just for one disciple?" The Da Mo Dao Lord shook his head. "I'm afraid I can't disclose the reason."

"Oh..."

Fusu Dao Lord didn't press further. He smiled and said, "By the way, I heard that old man Tian Yi of the Tiancang Palace has started desperately searching for treasures, preparing to attempt the Dao Harmony. I heard he's even come to your Da Mo Territory—probably heading to the Yi Bo Realm."

"Mm." The Da Mo Dao Lord nodded. This was no secret; many Life-and-Death Dao Lords could guess it, and with a little deduction, they'd be almost certain.

"That old fellow has finally agreed to attempt the Dao Harmony," Fusu Dao Lord sighed. "That's right. Their Tiancang Palace has a newly advanced Life-and-Death Dao Lord, and Yu Dou has also reached the fourth step... Even if Tian Yi fails the Dao Harmony and perishes, he can still protect the Tiancang Palace for a period, enough for its strength to grow considerably."

The Da Mo Dao Lord nodded slightly. After failing the Dao Harmony, the true spirit begins to slowly dissipate. Given the abilities of a great power on the verge of Dao Harmony, even if the true spirit starts to fade, they can generally endure for a long time. Even Bei Xiu, the World God, lasted nearly a chaos cycle after his true spirit began to dissipate before truly dying, let alone a great power at the edge of Dao Harmony.

Of course, if they engage in frenzied slaughter, they die faster. But great powers doomed by failed Dao Harmony are extremely intimidating. Some go on mad killing sprees, doing things they once wanted to do but dared not for various reasons. Who would dare provoke such madmen?

"I envy them. When will I be able to attempt the Dao Harmony without any worries?" Fusu Dao Lord lamented. "The rise and fall of my entire race rests on me alone. Although there is a Life-and-Death Dao Lord among my people, after an entire chaos cycle, he's still at the first step, unable to take the second... His potential is likely limited, and he cannot protect our race."

"Brother Fusu, perhaps one day your strength will advance further, and you'll naturally succeed in the Dao Harmony, achieving eternity," said the Da Mo Dao Lord.

"Achieve eternity? The Eternal Emperors in the entire Dao Alliance can be counted on one hand." Fusu Dao Lord shook his head. "Alright, I'll give you the treasures I escorted this time. The Dao Alliance's price totals one hundred and eighty-one thousand cubes."

"One hundred and eighty-one thousand cubes?" The Da Mo Dao Lord nodded. Instantly, he divided the chaotic spiritual liquid in his cave, setting aside one hundred and eighty-one thousand cubes and handing them to Fusu Dao Lord.

...

That same day, Fusu Dao Lord departed for the distant Three-Eyed Thunder Marsh.

...

Night.

The Da Mo Dao Lord personally came to the Waterfront Residence to see Ji Ning.

"Dao Lord." Ji Ning was surprised. "If you have orders, you need only summon me."

"I've gathered most of the techniques and treasures you asked me to buy," said the Da Mo Dao Lord. "The Golden Statue Divine Ability, the Primordial One Water-Fire Gourd, and the five Violetlight Divine Swords have all been acquired. The Snow Mirror Diagram Scrolls were more troublesome—few are willing to sell. I only managed to buy one, the second scroll."

"That's more than enough, more than enough," Ji Ning said quickly.

Ji Ning had long guessed that most of the Violetlight Divine Swords were in the hands of some Life-and-Death Dao Lords. For a Dao Lord, selling a mid-grade Eternal Divine Weapon for nearly twenty thousand cubes was a huge profit. They could easily exchange it for another sword and buy other needed treasures. That he could buy five swords was within his expectations.

But the Snow Mirror Diagram Scrolls were different. They were usually held by World-level cultivators. For them, the scrolls were a chance to become a personal disciple of an Emperor. Few were willing to sell. Even the Dao Alliance found it hard to trace who held the scrolls, as the World-level cultivators kept them secret.

"I'll forget the odd change. The total is one hundred and eighty thousand cubes." The Da Mo Dao Lord said, "I gave you one hundred thousand cubes before, so I'll give you another two hundred thousand cubes of chaotic spiritual liquid... along with these treasures."

With that, the Da Mo Dao Lord handed Ji Ning a smooth jade stone, which actually contained a cave space.

"Thank you, Senior," Ji Ning said gratefully.

The Golden Statue Divine Ability cost twenty thousand cubes, and the Primordial One Water-Fire Gourd cost fifty thousand cubes—these were the clear prices the Da Mo Dao Lord had mentioned earlier, totaling seventy thousand cubes.

That meant the Snow Mirror Diagram Scroll and the five Violetlight Divine Swords together cost one hundred and ten thousand cubes. Ji Ning was quite satisfied with this price. In truth, even if the Da Mo Dao Lord had asked for more, Ji Ning wouldn't have known.

...

In the meditation room.

Six divine swords lay on the long table, their sharp auras identical.

"Six Violetlight Divine Swords." Ji Ning nodded slightly. This was the greatest boost to his strength. "With these six swords, my power has increased severalfold. Against a first-step Life-and-Death Dao Lord, I at least have the strength to fight head-on. Even if I can't win, I can escape."

In the third cave of the Snow Mirror Diagram, when he fought the fisherman, he ultimately couldn't defend against the opponent's fishing rod.

But Ji Ning knew clearly that it was because both he and his opponent had only one sword. If he had six swords... even if the opponent had six, or even sixteen, it would be hard to strike him.

With one sword, Ji Ning could make his surroundings nearly watertight. With six swords combined, it was like a massive shield surrounding him. With his absolute control over the 'Heartsword Style,' there was no flaw at all.

"Primordial One Water-Fire Gourd." A gourd appeared before Ji Ning—a black-red one with interwoven black and red patterns, mysterious and beautiful.

After refining this treasure, Ji Ning sensed the violent Dao Divine Thunder within: the Water Smoke Divine Thunder and the Fire Cloud Divine Thunder. Both were extremely狂暴, and as thunder, they were inherently aggressive and hard to control.

"The difficulty of refining them is indeed thousands or tens of thousands of times greater than refining Chaotic Divine Thunder," Ji Ning sighed inwardly.

"The 'Golden Statue Divine Ability,' lower volume."

Ji Ning took out a jade slip and infused his divine power into it. Immediately, he sensed a lifeblood oath, with detailed rules set by the Dao Alliance. After reading through and finding no issues, he took the oath.

Instantly, the techniques of the lower volume of the Golden Statue Divine Ability flooded into Ji Ning's mind...

...

Three days after obtaining these treasures.

"You're leaving?" The Da Mo Dao Lord looked at Ji Ning, who had come to pay his respects.

"I must return to the Tiancang Palace," Ji Ning said. "I've troubled you these past days, Dao Lord. I will remember your help."

"Mm. You're ultimately going to the Tiancang Palace. From my Da Mo Territory to the Tiancang Territory... the journey is extremely long, with many dangers and many great powers. That's why I find it hard to deduce what you'll encounter on the way." The Da Mo Dao Lord said, "Remember to be cautious above all."

"I understand," Ji Ning nodded.

The Tiancang Palace was very, very far from the Da Mo Territory, and the journey was extremely dangerous. Even for a World-level cultivator, it was fraught with peril. But Ji Ning believed his strength was not far from that of a first-step Life-and-Death Dao Lord, and he at least had the ability to protect himself, so he should be able to make it through safely.

"Go, go." The Da Mo Dao Lord nodded.

Ji Ning then left.

Watching Ji Ning's retreating figure, the Da Mo Dao Lord mused, "According to Fu Long, this Ji Ning could match a perfected World-level cultivator as a Primeval God—a true prodigy... But the path of cultivation is full of danger. Who knows how far he'll go?"

Prodigy?

The Da Mo Dao Lord didn't care, for he himself was a prodigy. In his long years, he had seen many other prodigies on the path of cultivation, but many had died along the way.

If Ji Ning were his disciple, he might spare no expense, even at the cost of severe injury, to deduce in detail. But since he was a disciple of the Tiancang Palace, he wouldn't be so selfless.

...

The spacetime teleportation array of the Da Mo Eternal Realm.

"First to the Tianqing Territory." Ji Ning, accompanied by Su Youji, stepped into the array.

"A personal spacetime teleportation?" The Primeval Gods and Ancestral Immortals maintaining the array were secretly astonished. The distance from here to the Tianqing Territory was vast; a single personal teleportation cost not a hundred bottles, but a full cube of chaotic spiritual liquid.

But Ji Ning truly didn't care. From the Da Mo Territory to the Tiancang Territory, it would cost at most a thousand or so cubes. And many places couldn't be traversed by teleportation arrays; one had to fly through dangerous regions.

"The Da Mo Territory..." Su Youji looked outside. "I, Su Youji, can finally see other territories." Being able to roam territories itself demonstrated one's strength.

"The Da Mo Territory!"

Ji Ning also glanced at the distant sky. This was where he had started after leaving the Three Realms.

"Hum~~~"

Spacetime twisted.

The entire array blazed with light, tearing spacetime and sending the beings within to another distant time and space. When all was calm, the teleportation array was empty.

...