Chapter 56

The sound of thousands of magical treasures shooting out sword beams, blade beams, and spear beams was like the combined attack of thousands of innate qi cultivators! Yet, Ji Ning accomplished it alone. If Ji Ning had not reached the 'divine consciousness' level of soul, he would not have been able to control so many magical treasures with such precision.

If Ji Ning were not a divine beast with an innate body and astonishing recovery ability, such a frenzied moment of expelling all his true essence would have only torn his meridians completely, turning him into a cripple.

*Peng~~~*

The black-haired monster did not block at all, nor did it dodge. Instead, it spread its arms and closed its eyes. He was looking forward to, yearning for...

The corridor was filled with a loud rumble.

The black-haired monster, like a collapsed mountain, fell with a *thud*!

"Is he injured?" Ji Ning looked at the distance with intense longing.

At this moment, his body was battered, his meridians torn, and his innate true essence completely drained.

"Must, must..." Ji Ning hoped and yearned. He saw the black-haired monster, who had fallen to the ground, suddenly sit up, lowering his head to look at his chest. The black hair on his chest had torn open, revealing muscles faintly tinged with red and deep green blood. The blood trickled along the wound, and the wound quickly healed, leaving only deep green bloodstains on the black hair.

Ji Ning's eyes bulged, staring intently at the deep green bloodstains on the black-haired monster's chest.

Success!

Made it!

I'm alive!

"Father, Mother, I'm alive." Ji Ning's divine beast-like body was rapidly recovering. Although he could not move, he forgot the pain, filled with the joy of surviving a great calamity.

"Injured, you injured me." The black-haired monster, who was sitting in the distance, was initially dazed, then raised his head and let out a疯狂的嚎叫，“嗷——”

The howl contained boundless madness, sorrow, and relief.

Ji Ning also managed to sit up, looking at the black-haired monster that was howling... This was a howl after suppressing boundless loneliness and pain for billions of years. Even Ji Ning felt a tinge of bitterness in his heart.

After a long time, the sound ceased.

The black-haired monster stood up and looked at Ji Ning, saying in a low, hoarse voice, "Thank you, my new master! When you refine this immortal palace, we will meet again."

*Whoosh!*

The black-haired monster then vanished into thin air.

...

Ji Ning quickly stood up as well. The injuries to his body and meridians had all recovered. Ji Ning also collected the thousands of magical treasures that had fallen to the ground into his storage treasure.

"I never thought I would pass the third trial with these low-grade magical treasures," Ji Ning sighed. A divine beast with an innate body actually using thousands of magical treasures for a combined attack... He had never heard of such a thing, so he had never considered it before.

Because only someone like Ji Ning, who was clearly just at the innate stage but whose soul had already reached the 'divine consciousness' level, could do this.

Ji Ning had been practicing the *Nüwa Diagram* since he was an infant. The *Nüwa Diagram* was one of the top visualization techniques in the Heavenly Realm and the Underworld, let alone in the human world... Tribes like the Ji Clan had no concept of visualization techniques. Ji Ning even believed that the top visualization techniques in the vast land ruled by the Xia Dynasty might not be as good as the *Nüwa Diagram*.

"Made it."

"I successfully passed this trial." Ji Ning looked around, seeing the corpses on the ground in the distance, and sighed, "Those who died became corpses, and those who lived, according to the black-haired monster, became the new masters."

Ji Ning did not rush forward but sat down to rest.

It took nearly a day for his innate true essence to fully recover. Only then did Ji Ning stand up and continue forward, walking slowly along the winding corridor, carefully observing this ancient immortal palace.

After a long time...

"Hmm?" Ji Ning looked at the exit not far away, where there were faint pillars outside.

"Is this it?" Ji Ning quickly walked out of the exit, involuntarily drawing a deep breath. This was an incredibly vast hall, perhaps thousands of feet high. Compared to such a hall, the hundred-foot-high corridor beside it seemed very small.

On the hall, there was a huge cushion, about a hundred feet in diameter.

Below the hall...

There were also hundreds of huge cushions scattered around.

"Such large cushions?" Ji Ning had many questions. "Cushions are for people to sit on, but a hundred-foot-diameter cushion would require what kind of giant to sit on it. And it looks like a giant sits on the hall, and a group of giants sit below."

"Ji Hua Immortal's immortal palace?" Ji Ning shook his head.

If the immortal was a human, their height would be similar to a normal person.

"Something's not right." Ji Ning walked around the hall, carefully examining it. The entire hall was very ancient, with no decorations except for the hundreds of cushions. Ancient stone pillars supported the hall, and on both sides of the hall, there were corridors, some a hundred feet high and some a thousand feet high.

There were three corridors a thousand feet high and only two a hundred feet high.

"Can't enter?" Ji Ning found that he could not enter any of the corridors, including the one he came in from, as if there were an invisible barrier.

"The hall door!" Ji Ning looked at the most magnificent hall door, beyond which was a vast expanse of mist, completely obscured, making it impossible to see.

Standing in this towering hall, Ji Ning felt as small as an ant. He then walked directly to a cushion and sat down. At just 1.7 meters tall, he found it amusing to sit on a hundred-foot-diameter cushion.

"Really comfortable."

On this cushion, Ji Ning felt his mind become clear, and his thoughts became much quicker and more agile.

"This is strange. I've already passed the three trials and come to this hall. Now I can't leave through the corridors or the hall door. I'm trapped here," Ji Ning thought. "The original owner of this water palace must have left some preparations for future successors since they left the three trials."

Being able to instantly move the black-haired monster and then instantly move it away...

He himself was also moved in... Clearly, someone was controlling this water palace.

...

While Ji Ning was sitting on the huge cushion, a black old ox suddenly walked out from a thousand-foot-high corridor on one side of the hall.

Ji Ning sensed something and turned to look. Seeing the black old ox, about a dozen feet long, slowly walking over, with lively and curious eyes, carefully observing him.

"Who are you, senior?" Ji Ning asked immediately.

Any creature appearing in this ancient water palace was likely extraordinary.

"Me?" The black old ox shook its head. "Don't call me senior, I'm just a spirit of a magical treasure."

"A spirit of a magical treasure?" Ji Ning was surprised. "Can magical treasures have spirits?"

He had never heard of it.

"I am Ji Hua Immortal's personal magical treasure," the black old ox sighed. "Little boy, don't think too much. Even if my true form were in front of you, you wouldn't be able to refine me with your current strength."

Ji Ning nodded, understanding this. Innate qi cultivators could only refine some low-grade magical treasures. And even among the graded magical treasures, there were different levels, and the more powerful the magical treasure, the harder it was to refine!

"May I ask who the previous owner of this immortal palace was?" Ji Ning asked.

"Dead, all dead." The black old ox shook its head. "Dead for a long time."

Ji Ning nodded inwardly, as expected.

"Too long, too long. Over such a long time, many divine beasts with innate bodies and Purple Mansion cultivators have been moved in here." The black old ox sighed. "Unfortunately, none of them could pass through. They all died at the third trial. I didn't expect you, a little boy with not enough powerful divine force, to pass through. It's a miracle."

"Especially the third trial."

"Your divine soul is so powerful, but your method is not practical," the black old ox said indifferently. "Aiming thousands of magical treasures at one direction, if the enemy dodges, you need to immediately control thousands of magical treasures to change the aiming direction... It's very hard to really hit the enemy."

Ji Ning nodded, "Yes."

"But that puppet was almost driven mad by endless loneliness, so it welcomed you," the black old ox said. "That's why you passed."

"Puppet?" Ji Ning was surprised. "It's a puppet?"

He had seen puppets before. When he practiced sword techniques, his father even got a puppet for him to practice with. But the black monster before, with muscles, blood, and the ability to speak, didn't seem like a puppet at all.

"You, little boy, know so little. Puppets come in many types. The previous one just had a soul implanted in it," the black old ox said. "With a soul implanted, it gained intelligence and could even perform techniques like unity with heaven and earth, as well as more intricate sword techniques, blade techniques, and fist techniques. Its strength naturally increased."

Ji Ning pondered.

"Of course, the soul trapped in the puppet can never enter the cycle of rebirth and will suffer endless loneliness," the black old ox said. "But your realm is not low. The lotus leaf you used earlier was based on the Yin and Yang divine patterns on your body. With these two divine patterns, you are likely practicing the strongest divine beast cultivation technique from the divine beast era, the *Chi Ming Nine Heavens Diagram*. Given the thickness of your divine force, you are probably only at the fourth level!"

Ji Ning replied, "Senior has keen eyes."

"The *Chi Ming Nine Heavens Diagram*, that's a powerful technique," the black old ox sighed. "To reach the innate stage, you are only at the fourth level, which means you must have just broken through recently. You are probably only in your teens."

"Eleven years old," Ji Ning did not hide it.

"An eleven-year-old innate being, practicing the *Chi Ming Nine Heavens Diagram*, and already grasping the true meaning of sword techniques at such a young age." The black old ox shook its head. "Such a genius, the Xia Dynasty would carefully cultivate. They wouldn't let you join Ji Hua Immortal's disciples."

Ji Ning's eyebrows twitched.

"Actually, if you reach the sixth level, with your powerful and pure divine force, and with the true meaning of the Dao, you could pass the third trial. But it's also good that you have a powerful divine soul and a high realm. Your future achievements are boundless," the black old ox sighed. "But congratulations, you are now the fifth master here."