by RWX
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Book 27, Chapter 19 - Challenging the Daolord Cloudworld
Ji Ning tested out using the seven types of Dao water and Dao lightning in the privacy of his study, using them to form a Heptastar Duality Formation. Cultivators would often use lightning and water in joint formations. The treasures which Ning had purchased previously all had formations built into them, such as the Godwater Flagon of the Seven Flags which held a Seven Flags Formation.
After familiarizing himself with the formation, Ning calmed himself down and started to think back to the insights regarding the sword which he had gained in recent years. Slowly, his heart grew peaceful, calm, and empty.
A full day passed in the blink of an eye.
Ning opened his eyes, a hint of eagerness in them. “Time to try out the Daolord Cloudworld.”
Ning left the study, then glanced at World God Pillsaint and Flamefairy Su Youji. The two were seated outside, drinking some wine, but when they saw Ning they immediately rose to their feet. Su Youji immediately said, “Master, are you going to the Daolord Cloudworld?”
“Yes.” Ning nodded.
“Master.” Pillsaint hurriedly said, “I’ve heard that quite a few of the acknowledged World-level cultivators of the Twelve Palaces went to the Daolord Cloudworld on the very first day. It seems the competition will be quite fierce… but I know that you will definitely succeed.”
“You both know about it?” Ning was surprised. It seemed as though everyone knew about the Daolord Cloudworld trials.
“Although you didn’t tell us about it, even an idiot would be able to figure it out. The Twelve Palaces don’t exactly have that many acknowledged World-level cultivators! For so many of them to enter the Daolord Cloudworld on the exact same day is far too bizarre.” World God Pillsaint looked towards Ning. “As I see it… you’ll definitely succeed, Master. In fact, you might be number one. Those other fellows are nothing more than ‘dirt chickens and clay dogs’, of no worth whatsoever.”
Pillsaint was such an adorable-looking figure that these words didn’t seem offensive at all. Instead, he made them sound amusing.
“I hope you are right.” Ning laughed. “Alright, time for me to go to the Daolord Cloudworld.”
Su Youji and Pillsaint watched as Ning flew into the air towards the distant Daolord Cloudworld.
The Daolord Cloudworld was the tallest building in the entire Palace of the Sword, and its outer surface was that of four enormous layers of clouds.
“I’ll do everything I can. Let’s see how far I’ll be able to make it.” Ning craned his neck, staring upwards at the Daolord Cloudworld. Even though he had tried it out several times in recent years, those had all been merely for the sake of testing out some new sword-arts. He had never really gone all out.
Whoosh.
Ning took a single step forwards, moving deep into the layer of black mist and inside the Daolord Cloudworld.
“Swordlord Darknorth just went in.”
“Now, all of our qualified Swordlords have entered.”
“I wonder what’s going on? All of the geniuses of the Twelve Palaces have gone inside recently.” The black-armored Daolords patrolling off in the distance were all watching. News spread quite quickly within the Twelve Palaces.
The Daolord Cloudworld was split up into four levels. These levels were known as the Blackcloud World, the Azurecloud World, the Silvercloud World, and the Goldcloud World.
Cultivators of the Sword Palace would have to start from the Blackcloud World each time, because the main point of the Daolord Cloudworld was to help cultivators find suitable opponents.
……
The Azurecloud World. The white-robed Ji Ning was striding atop a long path formed from azure clouds, wielding a longsword in one hand. Right in front of him was a golem barring a path. The golem was shaped like a strange beast with four legs and was roughly as strong as a Daolord of the First Step.
Boom.
Sword-light swept against the golem’s chest in a seemingly casual manner, but the golem was knocked flying backwards off its feet. This was Ning’s ‘Heavenbreaker stance’ of the [Brightmoon] sword-art.
Swish.
Sword-light flashed again in a mysterious manner, causing many sword-shadows to appear in the air. There was no way to tell which attack was real and which attack was illusory. The edge of the sword sheared against the neck of a spider-shaped golem, and it couldn’t help but crumple as it was sent flying backwards by Ning’s sword-light.
Ning defeated opponent after opponent on the azure cloud path, but the more he defeated the stronger the new opponents became. In fact, even the total number of opponents began to increase as well. Ning, however, continued to merely use a single sword, and the only sword-art he used was his own [Brightmoon] sword-art.
“I’ve never finished going through the entire second level before.” Ning’s sword-arts had truly reached a profound level.
Each of the five stances of [Brightmoon] were actually stronger than the seventh stances of the [Heartsword] or the [Heartseal] sword-arts.
“It seems that at my current level of sword-arts, a single sword is enough to easily overcome this level.” Ning was already able to see the distant end to this azure cloud path. He had distilled some of the essence of [Heartseal] and [Heartsword] sword-arts, then raised them to a higher level. When he used his own sword-arts, they carried an aura of cyclical reincarnation as well, making the five stances of [Brightmoon] naturally become illusory.
Slash!
A dazzling streak of sword-light split the air.
Ning’s sword was like a comet that sped through the skies. It was the most beautiful thing in this world, and it seemed almost dreamlike. Ning’s sword had reached an incredible level of speed! With a slash, it cut deep into the body of a golem. Generally speaking, most people would stay far away from golems and fight them from ad istance, but this was the final opponent which Ning had to deal with.
Swish! The sword-light stabbed through the golem’s throat.
“Eh?” Ning was rather surprised. “It went through? I usually wasn’t able to cut or pierce through the other golems.”
Whoosh. The stabbed golem quickly retreated backwards, and a strange liquid began to flow out of its throat. The wound quickly disappeared, and the golem left the azure cloud path.
“I’ve finally reached the end of the path.” Ning flew out of the azure cloud path. In front of him was a small island that was only a few square kilometers in size, and there was a suit of azure armor placed on the island.
Ning chuckled when he saw the suit of azure armor.
“Azure armor? It seems as though it is time for me to upgrade my outfit.”
The first time one passed the Blackcloud World, a suit of black armor would be awarded. The first time a person overcame the Azurecloud World, a suit of azure cloud would be awarded. Ning had acquired his black armor long ago, which was a top-grade Dao armor. It wasn’t even as useful as the aquaflect armor he had purchased during the treasure auction. The azure armor, however, was an Eternal-level treasure.
“C’mere.” Ning stepped forward and accepted the azure armor, then sat down in the lotus position and began to slowly bind it while mentally preparing himself for the third level, the Silvercloud World.
The Silvercloud World…
World-level cultivators had absolutely no chance of making it to the end of this level! To make it past this level meant that you had reached the threshold of power of a Daolord of the Third Step. This was completely impossible. Even if Ning reached the third stage in the [Novessence Thunder] and [Novessence Water] and was thus able to slay a Daolord of the First Step, he would merely be equivalent to a fairly formidable Daolord of the Second Step. There was no way he’d be able to overcome the Silvercloud World.
Bertulu… Eastcult… none of them, not even the most talented of geniuses, could accomplish this task!
However, more than 90% of the geniuses acknowledged by the ancient pagodas w
ere able to reach the threshold of Daolords of the Second Step. Ning, for example, was already equivalent to a Daolord of the First Step with his azureflower mist energy alone. Given that his sword-arts were even more profound than the Reincarnation stance and the Cosmic Heart stance, his skill in this area was actually somewhat higher than that of many actual Daolords of the Second Step! This was why he had been able to make it through the Azurecloud World with just a single sword.
“The azure armor is a low-grade Eternal treasure. It has no special properties other than its ability to absorb some degree of energy.” Ning couldn’t help but shake his head. At least his aquaflect armor was able to reflect damage. “Still, the more powerful my future opponents are, the less useful my current armor will be. As for my opponents on the Silvercloud World, they will all be at least at the threshold of the Daolord of the Second Step level.”
Ning switched armors, but he still elected to make it look like a set of white clothes.
Ning then sat down in the lotus position again and began to breathe quietly as he started to work on replenishing the azurelower mist energy he had used up during the first two levels. At the same time, he also thought back to some of the mistakes he had made in his earlier battle. This was the first time in the hundred years he been trying out in the Cloudworld that he had made it all the way through the second level. He had gained quite a few insights from this.
He thought back to the previous battles he had fought as he pondered on his sword-arts.
“On the final day, I will test myself against the Silvercloud World.” Ning came to a decision.
Ning was actually one of the slowest ones, as most of the World-level cultivators acknowledged by the ancient pagodas had already finished.
……
The imperial palace. The thirteen thrones levitating within the void of space.
“Ahaha, Heartforce Cultivators truly are impressive. Solewind’s heartforce is becoming more and more frightening.” Daolord Yinwind laughed merrily. “Our Saber Palace won’t say a single begrudging word if he is ranked number one.”
At present, aside from Heartlord Solewind of the Heartforce Palace being ranked as number one, the rest of the top four had been completely dominated by the Palace of the Saber!
“Hmph.” The nearby Lord Woodflower just let out a cold snort.
The Sword Palace and the Saber Palace had always been somewhat at loggerheads, because the Dao of the Sword and the Dao of the Saber had always been the two most offensive, combative Daos in the Endless Territories. Generally speaking, more cultivators trained in the Dao of the Sword! Slightly fewer trained in the Dao of the Saber.
“Woodflower.” Daolord Yinwind glanced sideways at Lord Woodflower, then let out an odd chuckle. “Five members of your Sword Palace have already finished their attempts, yes? The highest ranking member is merely ranked seventh. You have no chance at all.”
“Hmph.” Lord Woodflower had an ugly look on his face. He did not, however, try to argue. The Saber Palace’s performance truly had been dominating, while the Sword Palace’s performance truly had been lackluster.
These Palace Lords and Vice Palace Lords had all reached the end of the line. If they succeeded in their Daomerge, they would gain eternity. If they failed, they would die and their Dao would vanish. At their level, face mattered more than almost anything else.
“We’ll see about that,” Lord Woodflower said flatly.
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Book 27, Chapter 20 - The Altar
Time passed quickly, and the final day of the three days the almighty Hegemon had allotted the challengers had arrived. Ji Ning and quite a few others had spent the previous day recuperating in the Azurecloud World, so as to be in peak condition when they challenged the Silvercloud World. Only a few people like Ning were able to fight for so long, after all; the majority relied on highly exhausting divine abilities that could allow them to unleash obliterating levels of power for brief moments.
On the third day, all of the remaining geniuses of the Twelve Palaces began to challenge the Silvercloud World.
“Greatjoy has come out.”
“That’s Greatjoy.”
Every person seated on the thirteen thrones, the almighty Hegemon included, was staring at one particular scene. This was the image displaying Prince Greatjoy challenging the Silvercloud World.
“So fast.”
“He’s blowing through them like rotted wood.”
“Hegemon, I feel upset each time I see Greatjoy. I really feel regretful that I wasn’t able to recruit him into our Skymetal Palace.” A handsome youth dressed in beautiful golden robes let out a sigh. “I could tell all those years ago that he had excellent potential, even though he was very weak starting off. In the end, the Spacetime Palace managed to lure him in… and then he somehow became one of your honorary disciples, Hegemon! Judging from how he is blasting through the Silvercloud World, he’s clearly become much more powerful once again.”
“Ahaha, Severtrip, jealousy won’t get you anything. Greatjoy is now a member of our Spacetime Palace.” A jade-eyed man with tousled hair let out a loud laugh.
“It is true that Greatjoy has improved quite rapidly.” The almighty Hegemon stroked his pristine white beard.
The almighty Hegemon’s accomplishments in the Dao of Spacetime allowed him to look down upon all others in the Endless Territories. In the Twelve Palaces, he was particularly close to the Spacetime Palace, and some of its dazzling geniuses would be given a chance to earn one of his legacies and become an honorary disciples! Prince Greatjoy was one of them.
The Hegemon and the twelve golden-armored lords continued to stare at the many scenes playing out in midair. Prince Greatjoy was moving farther and farther up the stairs to the altar, defeating one golem after another along the way.
Rumble…
Prince Greatjoy’s body shone with golden light as he manifested six arms and began to sweep forward with even greater power.
His palm-arts, fist-arts, finger-arts… they were all unfathomably profound and ridiculously powerful. Sometimes he moved quickly, sometimes he moved slowly, but the region of spacetime surrounding him was in a perpetual state of flux. It was extremely difficult for the golems attacking him to unleash their true power, but every single strike of Prince Greatjoy’s contained tremendous might.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
He devastated his way through the golems, his entire body have transformed into a golden color. He looked like a golden god of war, but a look of absolute, glacial calm was in his eyes.
“He’s already reached six hundred!” Daolord Thousand Waves let out a startled cry. “Given how he’s cruised his way to the six hundredth level, he might have a shot at giving Solewind a run for his money.”
The Silvercloud World was actually one enormous altar that had nine hundred levels that served as the ‘steps’ to the top of the altar. The farther up you went, the more powerful your foes would be. The distance you were able to travel was a testament to your strength!
Right now, Heartlord Solewind was ranked number one. He had made it to the 692nd step.
Ranked in second place was Saberlord Redsnow of the Saber Palace. He had made it to the 680th step.
Ranked third and fourth were members of the Saber Palace who had made it past the 600th step as well.
600 steps… this represented a certain level of power. Most of the acknowledged cultivators had already completed their attempts, but only eight had made it past the 600th step!
“Given how easy it was for him to make it past the six hundredth level, he does indeed have a shot at matching Solewind.” Lord Woodflower nodded slowly as he gave his appraisal.
“Hard to say. He makes it look easy, but he might’ve already unleashed his full power,” the nearby Daolord Yinwind retorted coldly.
“Just keep watching.” Lord Woodflower glanced sideways at him.
“Hmph.” Daolord Yinwind stared hard at the scene playing out before him. Prince Greatjoy was still steadily
advancing. Starting from the six hundredth level, the golems became much more powerful and and much more numerous. In fact, there could be as many as twenty or thirty of them attacking you at the same time. However, Prince Greatjoy’s mastery over spacetime allowed him to tower over almost all World-level cultivators of the Twelve Palaces. He was able find unconceivable openings and positions, allowing him to never have to face more than three golems at one time.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Six hundred fifty.”
“Six hundred sixty. Six hundred seventy.”
Daolord Yinwind’s face grew uglier and uglier to behold, because Prince Greatjoy had just caused a member of the Saber Palace to be eliminated from this competition.
“Six hundred eighty! He’s still advancing.”
“Six hundred ninety!”
Prince Greatjoy’s face was starting to turn solemn, but a look of madness was in his eyes. His entire body radiated that blinding golden light, and each of his attacks contained utterly earth-shaking power. The golems were able to land an occasional attack against him, but were completely unable to harm him.
“He must have reached at least the eighth stage in the [Illusory Jade] secret art.” The youth dressed in the beautiful golden robes, Daolord Severtrip, let out a sigh when he saw this. “This secret art isn’t all that profound, but he still was able to reach the level of near-perfection in it. This is a secret art of our Dao of Metal… he really should’ve entered our Skymetal Palace.”
“He beat him.”
“He moved past Solewind.”
The farther one advanced, the more difficult each level became. Prince Greatjoy’s face was extremely solemn now. He was finding it extremely difficult to advance, with the golems doing everything they could to oppose him!
“Six hundred ninety-nine… seven hundred! He made it to level seven hundred.”