Chapter 18: Cultivation

With a thought from Ji Ning, a barely visible bolt of lightning flew out from the gray gourd. It seemed unremarkable, but its power was terrifying. Under Ji Ning's control, it directly enveloped his divine body, and the lightning naturally permeated his form. For a weak divine body, this would be suicide—this was a 'Dao Lightning.' If his divine body were weak, he would have instantly turned to ash.

Back when Ji Ning was still a Celestial Immortal, his divine body couldn't withstand the nine-cornered lightning serpent. To tame it, he first let lightning of the Ancestral Thunder level touch his body repeatedly to transform it into a lightning attribute. At that time, Ji Ning had to die many times through his avatars before finally succeeding, allowing him to coexist with the nine-cornered lightning serpent and guide it into the 'Lightning Serpent Egg' divine rune nest within his body.

And now?

Now, Ji Ning's 'Golden Statue Divine Ability' was fully mastered, and his divine body rivaled a top-grade Dao treasure. This 'Dao Lightning' couldn't harm his divine body at all.

Whoosh~~~

The barely visible lightning, upon entering Ji Ning's body, seemed to be drawn by a great attraction. It swiftly burrowed toward one of the nine lightning sources within his 'Golden Core Chaos World.' That lightning source was also barely visible, as if from the same origin. This Dao Lightning actively surged in, quickly merging into this lightning source, absorbing the power of the previous Chaos Lightning.

'One Dao Lightning, done.' Ji Ning nodded slightly.

Back then, when Lord Wan Shen created the 'Nine Sources Divine Lightning' and divided it into an upper and lower volume, he was already a Dao Lord. He specifically crafted the upper volume to build the 'Lightning Source.' The 'Lightning Source' was like the 'Lightning Serpent Egg' divine rune space where Ji Ning had refined the nine-cornered lightning serpent—it was where lightning dwelled, its home.

The 'Lightning Source,' created by Lord Wan Shen, was tens of thousands of times more advanced than the 'Lightning Serpent Egg.' It had a great attraction for Dao Lightning, making it want to stay there.

'Again.' Ji Ning thought.

Four Dao Lightnings shot out from the four ears of the green cauldron before him. Under Ji Ning's control, they permeated his divine body. These four Dao Lightnings were also attracted by four other lightning sources and were quickly drawn in, settling into their respective sources.

'And the Primordial Water-Fire Gourd.' Ji Ning finally took out the Primordial Water-Fire Gourd he had used for a long time. With the same method, he guided the two Dao Lightnings inside into the lightning sources within his body.

There were nine lightning sources in total!

Nine Chaos Lightnings and nine Dao Lightnings were of the same lineage. Ji Ning now had seven Dao Lightnings! These seven were the cheapest, costing him 2.1 million cubes of chaos nectar. As for the seven types of Dao Water, they cost him 1.5 million cubes of chaos nectar, of which 1 million cubes were gifted by the Sword Palace.

Lightning, being more powerful and favored by cultivators, was indeed more expensive than divine water.

...

Shortly after arriving at the Sword Palace, Ji Ning had purchased the nine great Chaos Waters, establishing nine divine water sources within his body. Using the same method as absorbing Dao Lightning, he transferred the seven Dao Waters into seven divine water sources within him.

'Transferred in.' Ji Ning was excited. 'I wonder if I can cultivate the secret arts of the lower volume.'

Transferring them in was nothing special.

After all, even when these Dao Lightnings and Dao Waters were in treasures, Ji Ning could control and use them for attacks. It was no different from having them inside his body.

According to the 'Nine Sources Divine Lightning' secret art, the lower volume could only be cultivated after becoming a Samsara Dao Lord.

'Because Dao Lightning is a thousand or ten thousand times more violent and harder to control than Chaos Lightning. With the power of a World-level cultivator's mana, it's impossible to cultivate the second-stage divine lightning.' Ji Ning's eyes lit up. Yes, back when he tried to cultivate the Nine Sources Divine Lightning by simultaneously controlling nine Chaos Lightnings to form a secret art, he failed many times. He only succeeded with the help of the azureflower mist energy.

The azureflower mist energy, when used to control Chaos Lightning, was a hundred or a thousand times easier than using mana.

'The reason the lower volume requires a Dao Lord is that a World-level cultivator's mana is too weak. But I have the azureflower mist energy, which should rival the power of a First Step Dao Lord. According to the Nine Sources Divine Lightning method, a First Step Dao Lord has hope of cultivating the second-stage divine lightning, and even the third-stage.' Ji Ning was hopeful.

Second-stage divine lightning was a secret art that perfectly combined two Dao Lightnings, greatly enhancing their power!

The power of second-stage divine lightning alone might match the combined power of Ji Ning's current seven Dao Lightnings and seven Dao Waters! Ji Ning was now relying on quantity to win, but the combined power of all these was only equivalent to second-stage divine lightning.

'If I can cultivate second-stage divine lightning and second-stage divine water, and then combine them with other divine lightnings and waters... the power would be extraordinary.' Ji Ning was full of anticipation.

'Let's begin.'

Using azureflower mist energy to enhance his divine body in battle was the most direct method.

Using it to cultivate secret arts was even more remarkable, as it was power rivaling a Dao Lord's mana.

Whoosh~~~ Whoosh~~~

The azureflower mist energy, following the secret art of the 'Nine Sources Divine Lightning' lower volume, acted like invisible hands, quickly wrapping around the Water Smoke Divine Lightning and Fire Cloud Divine Lightning—the two easiest Dao Lightnings to control.

'Haha...'

'I can control them completely!'

'My guess was right! My azureflower mist energy can indeed control Dao Lightning like a Dao Lord's mana.' Ji Ning was thrilled. This meant his idea was entirely possible. The two Dao Lightnings, inherently violent, were still under control when guided by the azureflower mist energy.

Following Ji Ning's will, they began to change constantly, intertwining and altering, as he performed the secret art.

The further he went, the more complex it became. The 'Nine Sources Divine Lightning' and 'Nine Sources Divine Water' secret arts were essentially like alchemy—mixing and adjusting these divine lightnings to produce a qualitative change in power. Just as alchemy required extremely precise control, Ji Ning now needed the same.

The further he went, the harder it got.

'Boom~~~' With just a slight mistake, the entire secret art failed. The two Dao Lightnings immediately scattered and returned to their respective lightning sources.

'My azureflower mist energy is clearly much stronger than World-level mana and should be no worse than a Dao Lord's mana. My divine soul also rivals a Dao Lord's divine soul. I don't believe it!' Ji Ning tried again.

Once.

Twice.

Three times...

He tried twenty times in a row, failing each time.

Ji Ning was stunned.

'Let me try with Dao Water. Maybe I can cultivate second-stage divine water.' Ji Ning tried again. Dao Water was noticeably easier to handle, not as violent as lightning, but as the refinement progressed, even in the final stages, he still failed. After repeated failures, Ji Ning finally gave up.

'Why do I keep failing?' Ji Ning carefully recalled the contents of the two methods.

The introductions to the two methods...

The Nine Sources Divine Lightning and Nine Sources Divine Water were secret arts created by Lord Wan Shen based on his experience in alchemy and artifact refining. They involved extremely precise control and combination of divine lightning and water, forming terrifying secret arts. A Fourth Step Dao Lord had hope of cultivating the ninth-stage divine lightning and ninth-stage divine water. A First Step Dao Lord could generally cultivate second-stage divine lightning and second-stage divine water, and might even cultivate third-stage.

'Why can't I even cultivate second-stage divine lightning?'

'It seems very difficult to control them.' Ji Ning suddenly paused.

'I understand!'

'Lord Wan Shen was a Dao Lord on the verge of the Dao. He cultivated the final ninth-stage divine lightning and ninth-stage divine water. But who was he? He was a true grandmaster in alchemy, artifact refining, and puppet making. He was extremely proficient in these areas. As for me, I know nothing about alchemy or artifact refining. I'm relying solely on the control of my azureflower mist energy to force it. It's only natural that I fail with such brute force.' Ji Ning understood.

Alchemy and artifact refining were not simple.

They were profound skills. For example, Danbao World God was a very skilled alchemy master, but how many other World-level cultivators achieved success in alchemy? This showed that alchemy had many mysteries. Ji Ning knew nothing about it and relied on brute force with his azureflower mist energy...

'Alas—' Ji Ning shook his head.

If he could cultivate second-stage divine lightning and second-stage divine water, and then combine them with other divine lightnings and waters, using formations to attack a single opponent simultaneously, an ordinary First Step Dao Lord might be killed in one blow! Even if not killed, they would be severely injured, and after several severe injuries, they might not be able to withstand it.

This was the special and powerful aspect of the azureflower mist energy, allowing a World-level cultivator to have hope of success. Unfortunately, Ji Ning didn't understand alchemy or artifact refining.

'It's too late to learn alchemy and artifact refining now. I have to go challenge the Dao Lord Cloud Realm.' Ji Ning thought to himself. 'I have a great alchemy master by my side. After this matter, I'll consult Danbao World God! If I learn some alchemy and artifact refining techniques, I might be able to cultivate second-stage divine lightning and second-stage divine water.'

...