Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

“It truly is unfathomably profound.” Ning suddenly let out a surprised sigh, and the sword-ki around him instantly, completely vanished.

“Finished?” The old black bull called to him. Ning turned to look, only to see the old black bull and the giant yellow bear within the thatched hut. He immediately nodded and sighed in amazement, “To be able to easily view and analyze the complete Dao of the Sword is the dream of any Sword Immortal. This time, when I viewed the entirety of the Grand Dao of the Sword, I finally understood…that even our Black-White College’s Immortal Northwalker’s [Three-Foot Sword] only contained a small portion of the complete Grand Dao of the Sword. The path of Immortal cultivators truly is a long, winding one.

“Ji Ning.” The giant yellow bear had a hint of a smile on his face. “What level has your swordplay reached? Show it to me.”

“Please provide me with some guidance.” Ning manifested a longsword of elemental ki in his hands. Calmly, he struck out with the sword, almost as though he were painting something. The sword danced in his hands, just like the brush of a master painter on a canvas; it was a very natural, relaxed movement of the sword.

“Swish!” The sword of elemental ki flashed outwards, and a faint sword tip suddenly appeared, leaving behind a sword-scar in the skies that could be seen with the visible eye, as though a painter’s brush had left behind visible markings.

The third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword] – Sudden Sword Light!

“What a reserved sword. What a shocking sword.” The giant yellow bear’s eyes lit up, and he couldn’t help but saying in praise, “The person who was able to develop this sword technique was truly a genius, most likely superior to even Juhua.”

The old black bull instantly said, angry, “Big Brother, how can you say that he’s superior to Juhua? My master was an extremely powerful Loose Immortal whose fame was well known throughout the lands under the control of the Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ning explained, “This sword technique is known as the [Three-Foot Sword], and it has a total of nine stances. Just now, I displayed the third stance, ‘Sudden Sword Light’, the most powerful sword technique I am currently capable of using. This sword technique was developed by the most powerful Sword Immortal in the history of the Black-White College, ‘Immortal Northwalker’. He was a Loose Immortal who lived for more than a million years…but of course, in terms of longevity, he couldn’t compare to senior Juhua.”

“More than a million years?” The giant yellow bear stared at the old black bull. “Black bull, this Immortal Northwalker was merely an Immortal of Stillwater Commandery, but he still became so accomplished. I wasn’t wrong in saying that he was more talented than Juhua, was I?”

“Hmph. Maybe he had even more monstrous luck than Juhua did,” the old black bull snorted. The giant yellow bear stared at him. “You black bull…you are going to be pig-headed with me? So I have to lock you up for a few thousand years before you shape up?”

“Big Brother, we’re just debating with words, not violence!” The old black bull hurriedly took two steps back. Ning, seeing this, couldn’t help but secretly laugh. These two…

One was the spirit of Immortal Juhua’s Immortal-ranked magic treasure, while the other was the spirit of the estate which Daoist Threelives had forged. The two were both magic treasure spirits, and yet they could actually end up bickering like this?

“Big Brother, let’s not make a fool out of ourselves in front of Ji Ning. Am I right?” The old black bull hung its head. The giant yellow bear couldn’t even be bothered to look at the old black bull. He said directly to Ning, “Ji Ning, you have finished comprehending the Dao in the Stellar Hall…even if you spend more time here, it will be useless. You will need more normal, everyday experiences in the real world before you can gain more insights here! What do you plan to do next?”

“Senior,” Ning said. “If I were to go challenge the third level of the Stellar Hall, how are my chances now?”

“Now?” The giant yellow bear hesitated. “Your insights into the Dao of the Sword truly are at a higher level than I had anticipated. That that sword technique of yours, that…what was it…the ‘[Three-Foot Sword]’? It is quite formidable! Mm, and given that you have my master’s most powerful divine ability…you should have a 30% chance of overcoming the third level of the Wargod Hall.”

“Thirty percent?” Ning was secretly startled. The Dao of Rainwater, the Dao of the Inferno, the Dao of the Gale…he had improved significantly in all three Daos. He had also made significant gains in the Dao of the Sword, and had comprehended the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]! Ning could sense that his power had increased dramatically! But he still only had a thirty percent chance?

“Are you going to challenge it?” The giant yellow bear asked. “Yes!” Ning nodded, not hesitating at all. “Eh?” The giant yellow bear was puzzled. “Why’ve you decided to challenge it? Aren’t you going to wait until you are a bit stronger and have a better shot?”

Ning shook his head. “I can sense that I will soon break through to the tenth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Once I make the breakthrough, I will be at the Wanxiang level as a Fiendgod Body Refiner. By then, I’ll have two new chances to challenge the Wargod Hall, and the previous chance will have been wasted.”

As a Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiner, Ning had two chances. He used the first to pass the first level of the Wargod Hall, and the second in a failed attempt at the second level.

As a Zifu-level Fiendgod Body Refiner, Ning had gained two additional options. He had only used one, to pass the second level of the Wargod Hall. If he didn’t use this second option…he would soon break through to the Wanxiang level, at which point it would be wasted.

“Let’s go,” the giant yellow bear said. “Follow me to the Wargod Hall.”

……

As they exited the Stellar Hall, they moved through the winding corridor, soon arriving in front of the Wargod Hall. Ning pressed hand directly against the giant bronze door that was covered with a layer of bloody light . With a whoosh, that layer of bloody light devoured Ning, teleporting him away.

He was in a vast, endless world. The ground here seemed to be stained red with blood, and in the distance, a massive, towering edifice could be seen.

“Senior.” Ning saw that the giant yellow bear had appeared out of nowhere, next to him. “The third level?” The giant yellow bear looked towards Ning. “Yes.” Ning nodded.

“Go, then!” The giant yellow bear pointed towards the distant tower. “Go in through the gates to that tower. You’ll be transported directly to the third level. Remember; if you realize that you have no hopes of winning, immediately use the talisman to teleport out. Your opponent won’t show any mercy; if you aren’t careful, you might die. That really wouldn’t be worth it.”

Ning nodded. Swoosh! Moving like a flash, he crossed the three hundred meters and arrived at the gates to the tower, glowing with a hazy white light. He took a step inside…and space twisted.

“The third level?” Ning stared at his surroundings. This was a blurry white room that was three thousand meters high and many thousands of meters in circumference. “What’s the trial here on the third floor?” The Darknorth swords materialized into Ning’s hands as he carefully stared around.

Suddenly…

A ray of golden light shot out. It began to coalesce, quickly shaping into a golden-armored general. This golden-armored general had a cold, cruel look on his face, but his armor was incomparably beautiful. He had a pair of warhammers in his hands.

“Eh?” The golden-armored general looked around, then a hint of delight appeared on his face. Soon, his gaze fell upon Ning. Ning…felt his heart tremble.

Danger!