Chapter 59

The black old ox looked at Ji Ning, who was drenched in sweat, and praised, "Impressive, impressive, little Ning. You can already deploy the fifth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation at such a young age. Compared to you, Lei Zhan is nothing! I never thought that after waiting for countless years, I would still be able to wait for a piece of unpolished jade like you!"

Ji Ning muttered to himself, unpolished jade? It’s because I have the wisdom accumulated from my previous life, the *Nüwa Chart*, and I have been practicing diligently since childhood without any slack. That’s why I am now being praised as an unpolished jade by the black old ox.

"Senior, I still find it strenuous to deploy the fifth level," Ji Ning shook his head. "I can only do everything at will when deploying the fourth level."

"Being able to do everything at will is more important," the black old ox sighed. "Have you noticed that although the fourth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation only controls over three hundred flying swords, its power is greater than when you clumsily controlled thousands of magical treasures before!"

Ji Ning showed a look of pleasant surprise: "Greater than the combined power of thousands of magical treasures? Although I can sense the condensed sword light and its immense power, I don’t know exactly what level it has reached."

The black old ox said, "The fourth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation can easily kill ordinary innate perfected beings."

Ji Ning was delighted to hear this.

"Senior," Ji Ning asked eagerly, "How strong am I now, and how do I compare to Purple Mansion cultivators?"

"You now have two main combat methods," the black old ox said. "One is through close combat using divine and demonic body tempering and sword techniques. Your sword techniques already contain a thread of the true meaning of the Dao. The realm of ordinary innate beings is not as high, and most innate perfected beings are only at the realm of unity with heaven and earth. Just by this method alone, you might have an edge over ordinary innate perfected beings! I’m speaking generally, of course. If the opponent is also a prodigy with sword techniques no worse than yours, it would be difficult to say."

Ji Ning nodded.

He understood this. For example, his father Ji Yichuan, whose sword techniques were probably still a bit better than his. Father had long been an innate perfected being, and he was naturally no match.

"If you rely on your Lesser Thousand Sword Formation," the black old ox continued, "your divine soul is powerful, and you have hundreds of flying sword treasures. Combined with the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation... the power is indeed great. In terms of power, it far exceeds innate perfected beings and should reach the early stage of a general Purple Mansion cultivator."

"Only the early stage of a Purple Mansion cultivator?" Ji Ning felt he had made great progress.

The black old ox shook his head: "Don’t underestimate Purple Mansion cultivators. Once they open the Purple Mansion, they can cultivate primordial energy within their bodies! Even their casual movements and techniques far surpass innate beings, as they are fundamentally on a different level! Moreover, Purple Mansion cultivators are more important for using rank-entering magical treasures."

"Rank-entering magical treasures have immense power. When Purple Mansion cultivators activate them, the power far exceeds your imagination as innate beings. Comparing innate perfected beings to Purple Mansion cultivators is like comparing infants to adults," the black old ox sighed in admiration.

Ji Ning was enlightened.

Indeed, the leap from innate beings to Purple Mansion is fundamental, allowing the use of true rank-entering magical treasures. Just like how innate beings killing later-stage innate beings is like slicing through melons and cutting through vegetables, Purple Mansion cultivators killing innate beings can also be described as slicing through melons and cutting through vegetables.

"Remember," the black old ox wagged his head, "never underestimate Purple Mansion cultivators. Each cultivator has their own unique methods; some are skilled in formations, some in insects, some in controlling ghosts, some in puppets, some in spells... they cannot be generalized. If you encounter someone who can counter you, you are dead."

"Winning with lesser strength."

"Perfectly countering, a later-stage Purple Mansion cultivator can be defeated by an early-stage Purple Mansion cultivator," the black old ox sighed. "On the path of cultivation, there are myriad possibilities, and there are too many methods... even a weak Purple Mansion cultivator, if he raises millions of terrifying poisonous insects, could even eat a True Man of Myriad Phenomena alive!"

Ji Ning drew a sharp breath.

"Very rare," the black old ox continued, "crossing ranks to defeat is very rare, just like how your divine soul can be so strong, and you have hundreds of flying sword treasures, and the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation... all these reasons allow you to have such combat power. I’m just reminding you not to underestimate any opponent, even innate beings."

Ji Ning nodded gently, "Understood."

Once one becomes a Purple Mansion cultivator, each one is formidable.

...

Ji Ning was actually very pleased. This time coming to the Water Mansion, he had gained a powerful killing move—the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation!

"Little Ning," the black old ox said, "When I saw you challenge the corridor, I noticed that the sword in your hand was of average power. Don’t you know the ‘Divine and Demonic Blood Refinement Technique’?"

"Divine and Demonic Blood Refinement Technique?" Ji Ning blinked, "What is that?"

The black old ox couldn’t help but say, "In the era of divine and demonic beings, almost every slightly powerful figure and larger tribe knew this. Because every divine and demonic being knew it, and it was a secret technique that every divine and demonic being would use. I saw that you clearly learned the first method of divine and demonic body tempering, yet you seemed to not know this blood refinement technique, which naturally made me curious."

"Please, Senior, enlighten me," Ji Ning asked eagerly.

Having an elder at home is like having a treasure.

This old guy who lived through the era of divine and demonic beings knew a lot.

"Divine and demonic beings are different from our human race," the black old ox sighed. "They don’t cultivate qi and can’t use magical treasures, but they still need weapons. As their strength increases, how can they find a suitable weapon? Thus... the powerful among the divine and demonic beings created the Divine and Demonic Blood Refinement Technique!"

"Find a weapon and perform a complex blood refinement ritual! After the blood refinement, the weapon can absorb malevolent, vengeful, and killing auras. The more enemies you kill, the stronger the enemies, the more the weapon will naturally improve, becoming larger or smaller, lighter or heavier, all at will."

"Such weapons are also called ‘divine weapons,’ ‘demonic weapons,’ or ‘killing path weapons,’” the black old ox said. "As the owner’s strength increases and they kill powerful enemies, the weapon’s power will grow, and in the era of divine and demonic beings, some divine and demonic weapons were even more powerful than immortal-grade magical treasures."

Ji Ning’s eyes lit up.

Yes, the heavens are fair. The divine and demonic beings don’t have magical power, but they should have a way to create their own weapons, originally by absorbing malevolent auras and improving through killing.

"Please, Senior, teach me," Ji Ning said eagerly.

"Since I’m telling you, it’s naturally to inform you," the black old ox said. "The blood refinement ritual is very complex, so listen carefully."

The black old ox narrated the detailed blood refinement ritual process, occasionally drawing some diagrams, and Ji Ning listened and took notes.

What is the blood refinement technique?

The main material needed is the blood of divine and demonic beings. For human divine and demonic cultivators, they must naturally form divine patterns and ultimately reach the innate stage to transform their bodies into divine and demonic forms. Only then can they perform the divine and demonic blood refinement technique. Some inferior divine and demonic body tempering methods cannot perform the blood refinement technique.

"Swish, swish, swish~~~" Ji Ning took out a gourd. This gourd was previously used for wine, seemingly small but could hold ten thousand pounds of fine wine. Ji Ning first poured out the remaining wine, not leaving a single drop. Then he placed his finger at the gourd’s mouth.

The blood flowed directly through his finger into the gourd.

After a long time.

"A thousand pounds of blood will do," the black old ox said beside him, "This blood refinement technique can only be used by divine and demonic beings; ordinary cultivators would die from blood loss."

Ji Ning, however, sat cross-legged on one side. After releasing some blood, the powerful vitality within his body naturally restored the blood, consuming the divine power within! When Ji Ning’s divine power was reduced to half, the gourd contained roughly a thousand pounds of blood.

"The ritual has seven steps and must be performed with sincerity," the black old ox reminded.

Ji Ning first respectfully knelt and bowed three times, then stood up and knelt again to bow three more times, bowing in eight different directions eight times!

"Swish~~" Ji Ning poured the gourd, and the large amount of fresh blood that flowed out was immediately enveloped by his divine sense, quickly dispersing to cover an area of about eighty feet. Countless drops of blood formed a huge pattern, the image of a disheveled head.

Once the pattern was formed.

Boom! A visible blood-colored light shot up into the sky.

"Descendants kneel and invite the ancestral deity," Ji Ning shouted loudly.

The first step of the blood refinement technique—inviting the ancestral deity!

...

The complex blood refinement ritual lasted for half a day. The surrounding blood-colored light had gathered into a strange character. According to the black old ox, this kind of character is called a divine and demonic character! It is a character naturally born from the heavens and earth, and even if you have never seen or studied it, you will understand it the first time you see it.

This divine and demonic character is... 'kill'!

"Swish, swish, swish~~" Three Beimeng Swords appeared out of nowhere, floating and dispersing. The weapon Ji Ning used for blood refinement was the Beimeng Sword! According to the black old ox, although the requirements for the weapon used in divine and demonic blood refinement are not strict, the better the base, the better. Those inferior magical treasures are too poor.

The black old ox judged that the Beimeng Sword was likely a heavenly-grade magical treasure before, although the various runes on it were damaged, it was only the material that mattered for blood refinement. The runes were useless.

"Swish!" "Swish!" "Swish!"

The 'kill' character formed by the surrounding blood light repeatedly sent out shadows that merged into the three swords. The large 'kill' character floating in the air gradually dimmed and finally dissipated, and the entire hall returned to calm.

Ji Ning let out a long breath.

"Senior," Ji Ning couldn’t help but say, "It felt more solemn than the Dao itself..." He had comprehended the Dao and experienced the aura of the Dao, but the ancient aura naturally contained in the blood refinement ritual was like touching something even more ancient and great.

The black old ox sighed, "I didn’t dare to speak during the blood refinement ritual, completely awed. Now, take a look at your weapon."

Ji Ning summoned the three Beimeng Swords into his hand, and with his divine sense, he drew one of the divine weapons across his arm. Sss~~ It was like cutting through tough cowhide; sparks flew from his arm, and a wound finally appeared.

"Much sharper," Ji Ning was surprised.

"Your Beimeng Sword has a good base," the black old ox said. "Your close combat strength has greatly improved, and ordinary innate perfected beings are no match for you. It’s only slightly inferior to the fourth level of the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation. However, you must understand that you are cultivating the first method of divine and demonic body tempering, and your close combat strength will improve very rapidly. For example, when you reach the sixth level, your close combat strength will completely surpass the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation! Once you learn close combat techniques, crossing ranks to fight will be easy."

Ji Ning’s eyes lit up, "Does Senior know any techniques?"

"Techniques? Those are closely guarded secrets of powerful divine and demonic beings," the black old ox shook his head. "Ji Hua Immortal knew a technique called ‘Emulating Heaven and Earth,’ but I never asked. Well... with your potential, you will surely learn techniques in the future. Once you learn techniques, crossing ranks to fight will be the norm, that’s the combat power of divine and demonic beings!"

Ji Ning nodded.

He understood that his divine and demonic cultivation base was good, and in a few years, he would reach the sixth level. With his powerful divine soul and talent, the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation would also be strong. The only problem was that the Lesser Thousand Sword Formation had very strict requirements for magical treasures. Once he became a Purple Mansion cultivator and obtained hundreds of rank-entering magical treasures... just thinking about it made his head hurt.

"Alright, you can leave now," the black old ox said.

"Thank you, Senior, for this time," Ji Ning naturally put away the animal skin containing the *Lesser Thousand Sword Formation* and *Inner Contemplation of the Sun and Moon Bright Buddha*. Although he didn’t use the visualization technique, he could leave it for his parents and the Ji Clan.

"Go on," the black old ox said.

Swish!

Ji Ning felt a huge, shadowy bear head appear and swallow him, and the surrounding space completely distorted. He understood that he was returning to the Winged Snake Lake Island.

{Piaotian Literature}