Void Returning (Happy January 7th and 8th)

Water and fire are merciless!

In an instant, the environment changed drastically.

The courtyard was half engulfed in flames and half torrential rain.

Ji Ning's left-hand sword stirred up a sea of fire, while his right-hand sword drew in a torrential downpour. The combined power of water and fire, stirred by the two swords, formed a destructive vortex that crashed into the enveloping golden sword net with unparalleled force.

"Bang!!"

A deafening roar erupted.

The vortex of water and fire collided with the golden sword net. This time, the resilient golden net, formed from Ji An's primordial energy, finally shattered under the annihilating power of the intertwined water and fire.

"Indeed, this move has captured the True Meaning of the mutual restraint and generation of water and fire." A hint of approval flashed in Ji An's eyes.

It should be noted that although this golden sword net was not even a casual strike from Ji An's understanding of the Dao was evident. The fact that Ji Ning was able to destroy it shows that Ji Ning's move was extremely powerful even among Myriad Phenomena.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Ji An lightly tapped his finger in the void, and three golden sword lights rushed towards Ji Ning at an extremely fast speed.

Ji Ning's eyes narrowed. He had no doubt that if he were hit by those three sword lights, even with his years of cultivation of the second level of the Blood God Body, he would still have six bloody holes in his body.

"Eternal Fire Wind, Three Talents Grinding Disk!"

Ji Ning's eyes lit up as he unleashed the most powerful secret technique he had ever created.

Ji Ning wielded his twin swords, and a massive phantom of a water and fire millstone appeared around him. The power of water and fire swirled, and in the center of the millstone, a violent collision generated the power of wind.

The three-colored millstones surrounded him, pushing his sword speed to its limit.

Quick.

It's almost at its limit.

"Break! Break! Break!" Ji Ning's twin swords, their sword light merging into the three-colored millstone, hurtled towards the three golden sword lights.

Ji Ning successfully struck the three sword lights; however, this time, unlike when he had just destroyed the golden net, he did not extinguish the three sword lights.

Although the three sword lights paused slightly, the recoil from the sword lights alone made Ji Ning's arms go numb.

The three golden sword lights, undiminished in power, attacked Ji Ning.

"Not good!" Ji Ning was startled. Each of these three sword lights contained a power capable of cleaving through everything and being indestructible.

The terrifying Dao intent made his Three Talents Grinding Disk appear so fragile before it.

Ji Ning knew that these three sword lights were definitely not something his Three Talents Grinding Disk could withstand.

In this moment of crisis, Ji Ning's spirit and will remained united.

"Prick!"

The Beiming Sword in his right hand moved.

This sword strike felt as if it were carrying a weight of ten thousand pounds, or as if it were mired in an endless swamp, making every inch forward incredibly difficult.

However, this was merely a mental illusion; the speed at which the Beiming Sword was thrust out was actually too fast for the naked eye to perceive.

At the same time, the Beiming Sword in his left hand moved.

Whoosh!

A glint of cold light, like the dawn tearing through the darkness, carrying a resolute will to break free from all constraints, pierced towards one of the golden sword lights.

"Puff!"

Finally, this sword strike shattered the golden sword light.

However, the disappearance of a sword light was of no use.

The other two golden sword lights were already within reach!

Ji Ning simply didn't have time to unleash those two sword strikes again.

At this critical moment, Ji An, who had remained motionless, suddenly had a flash of golden light in his eyes.

The two golden sword lights that were about to touch Ji Ning vanished silently.

Ji Ning maintained his sword-drawing posture, slightly panting.

He looked at his elder brother, who remained standing with his hands behind his back, not having moved an inch, and his eyes were filled with helplessness.

He exerted all his strength, even using his most powerful sword techniques, to barely break through one sword light. If his brother hadn't held back, the other two sword lights would probably have been riddled with holes by now.

Ji An looked at his younger brother, a gentle smile on his face, "Xiao Ning, your second move of the 'Three-Foot Sword' is quite powerful."

"Not yet, it can only obliterate one of your sword lights, brother," Ji Ning said helplessly.

Ji An shook his head. "It's already very good. Even a typical Myriad Phenomena Perfection Realm cultivator might not be able to withstand just that one sword light."

His level of understanding is too high. He has already comprehended nine minor Minor Dao of the Metal Minor Dao alone, not to mention the others.

It should be noted that even the Immortal Juhua, who could defeat Heavenly Immortal, had only comprehended nine Daos, but none of them were as pure as Ji An's, not to mention that Ji An had also comprehended two Grand Dao Domains!

"It's all thanks to Master's teachings and Elder Brother's guidance," Ji Ning said, "Otherwise I wouldn't have been able to improve so quickly. Just a few days ago, Master approved my permission to go down the mountain for training."

During these three years, besides Master Immortal Dian Cai, my eldest brother was the most proactive, coming up the mountain to spar with him whenever he had a spare moment.

"Haha, good, it really is time to go out and gain experience. Staying behind closed doors all the time is not the right path." Ji An nodded.

As for why he has been working in isolation and yet has made such great progress?

That's because he's exceptionally talented, not because he has some kind of cheat code.

"But you must also remember! The Heaven and Earth is vast, and opportunities and crises coexist. You must always remember that only by living can you have everything."

As soon as he finished speaking, he flipped his palm, and a jade pendant appeared out of thin air.

The jade pendant is bluish-green, with extremely intricate and mysterious patterns on its surface, and faint spatial fluctuations emanate from it.

"Xiao Ning," Ji An handed him the jade pendant, "Take this."

Ji Ning instinctively took the jade pendant.

He immediately felt the immense power contained within, far exceeding that of the pendant bestowed upon him by the Immortal Dian Cai a few days ago.

He looked up at his elder brother. "Brother, what's this?"

"A protective talisman," Ji An explained. "Refine it and carry it with you. If you encounter an insurmountable danger, simply infuse this jade pendant with divine power or elemental energy."

"As long as the jade pendant senses your power flowing into it, as long as you are still in An Tan Commandery, no matter how far apart we are, no matter where we are—I will immediately know your location and appear by your side in an instant."

Ji Ning knew that, given Ji An's level of understanding and comprehension of the "Grand Dao" of Heaven and Earth, this was not empty talk.

"Big Brother—" Ji Ning nodded, "I understand! I will act cautiously and will never use it lightly unless absolutely necessary."

"There's no need for that. I have as many of these things as I want."

The greatest purpose of this jade pendant is simply to secure Ji An's position.

Ji An reached out and patted Ji Ning on the shoulder.

"Hmm." Ji An simply responded. A mother worries when her son travels a thousand miles, and an elder brother is like a father. Although he knew that Ji Ning was the protagonist of this world, Ji An still couldn't help but worry.

The path to immortality is long and arduous, fraught with countless tribulations. He can impart the Dao and bestow supernatural powers, but he cannot shield his younger brother from all the storms.

Ji Ning suddenly looked up and saw a streak of blue Flowing Light rapidly flying towards Beiming Peak in the distance.

The figure of an Azure Dragon could be vaguely seen; it was Mu Zishuo riding on the Azure Dragon puppet.

"Senior Brother Ji Ning!" Mu Zishuo's voice rang out even before he arrived.

As the Flowing Light streamed down, Mu Zishuo gracefully leaped off the Azure Dragon puppet.

He smiled as he saw the figure standing beside him with his hands behind his back.

Although the figure did not deliberately exude pressure, it possessed an aura of majesty that was awe-inspiring. It was Ji Ning's elder brother, the renowned Primordial Spirit Daoist of An Tan Commandery — the Universe Adept Ji An.

In the past few years, Ji An has not been idle. In addition to carrying out the Yinglong Guard mission and becoming Three-Clawed Yinglong Guard, he has been preaching in the Universe Prefecture, which has made Ji An's reputation spread widely.

Mu Zishuo's relaxed smile vanished.

He immediately stood up straight, bowed deeply to Ji An, and said solemnly, "Disciple Mu Zishuo greets Senior Universe!"

His attitude was extremely humble, for no other reason than that Ji An, although Ji Ning's elder brother, was not a disciple of the academy, and his cultivation was unfathomable, his understanding of the Dao far surpassing that of many elders in the academy. The two were not very familiar with each other, so it was natural for him to be respectful.

Moreover, he was already old enough to go down the mountain to gain experience. Although he had never left Anchan City, he had listened to Ji An's sermons once or twice.

Ji An nodded slightly to him in return, without saying anything more.

Upon seeing his junior brother arrive, Ji Ning asked, "Junior Brother Zishuo, what brings you here?"

Mu Zishuo straightened up, a smile returning to his face, "Senior brother, I just came from Master's. I heard you might be going down the mountain for training soon? I've been feeling restless lately, and I was thinking, if possible, why don't we travel together? That way we can look out for each other!"

After Ji Ning nodded in agreement to Mu Zishuo's suggestion to travel with him, Ji An gently patted his younger brother's shoulder. "Since you've made up your mind, go for it. You need to gain experience, and I'll be going into seclusion for the next few days, so you don't need to tell me when you leave, Xiao Ning."

As he spoke, his figure slowly disappeared above the Beiming Peak.

He had been preparing for the past three years, and had already gathered the necessary Essence Liquid to break through to the Void-Returning Earth Immortal. Naturally, he was ready to challenge his current level.

Upon returning to the Universe Prefecture, Ji An went directly into the Water Manor.

Inside the Water Manor.

Ji An instantly appeared on the Netherworld Water Jade Bed in the core of the Water Manor and sat cross-legged.

"The methods of Qi Refining in these Three Realms are all quite similar, so I should just directly step into the Void Returning."

Logically speaking, the combat power of Qi Refining Immortal and a Body Refining Demon should be roughly equal.

However, the Three Realms have only ever produced World Deity who refine their bodies, and have never produced Chaotic Immortals who Qi Refining their Qi, which has made the Qi Refining a third-rate method.

Even the Legend Qi Refining Qi Refining methods at the Dao Ancestor level are not that different from those at the Immortal Rank.

Currently, besides the Metal Element Dao, Ji An's highest achievement is in the "Heaven and Earth" element, far surpassing the Fire element. Next is the Wind element, and finally the Water and Earth elements.

Yes, in these three years, Ji An has also gained some understanding of the water and earth elements. Although he has not yet reached the Dao Domain, it is already within reach.

Now that you have gathered enough Essence Liquid and your understanding of the Dao has reached a certain level, it is natural to break through.

Moreover, Ji An's current realm is too high. He has already thoroughly understood the entire "Ji An Golden Origin Scripture" and is even somewhat confident in breaking through to the Ji An Heavenly Immortal realm!

"Whoosh."

A jade bottle flew out and landed on the ground in front of them, the stopper popping open with a "snap".

"I really should thank Immortal Juhua," Ji An thought to himself.

Ji An's biggest problem is that he has not cultivated for long enough. Although he has been diligently studying the "Golden Origin Scripture" for the past few years, his cultivation level is still at the Primordial Spirit Early Stage.

Only the path of Qi Refining allows one to rapidly improve their cultivation level by refining Essence Liquid. If the "Crimsonbright Nine Heavens Diagram" could rapidly improve cultivation, given Ji An's comprehension of the Dao, his current combat power would surpass that of a top-tier Heavenly Immortal!

Whoa--!

Thinking this, a surging wave of Essence Liquid flew directly out of the mouth of the jade bottle, instantly transforming into a magnificent torrent ten feet in diameter the moment it left the bottle.

When the torrent surged to within ten feet of Ji An, it formed a huge whirlpool.

These waves of Essence Liquid, containing terrifying energy, were completely absorbed into the vortex and disappeared without any hindrance.

Within Ji An's Violet Palace space, however, a completely different scene unfolded.

The vast and boundless Violet Palace Void.

In the void, a sea of pure elemental energy surged and turbulent. At the center of this ocean of elemental energy, a colossal Tortoise-Snake Primordial Spirit coiled.

The Tortoise-Snake exuded the aura of the Primordial Spirit Early Stage.

At this moment, Primordial Fire was burning fiercely on the shell of the Tortoise-Snake.

"Boom--"

As Ji An refined the massive amount of Essence Liquid, the Yuan energy ocean within his Violet Palace instantly boiled.

The essence of the primordial energy soared upwards, reaching the highest point in the sky.

The Stars in the heavens seemed to be awakened, and thousands of streams of Flowing Light pierced the sky and converged around the Tortoise-Snake.

In an instant, the Primordial Fire surged, hissing incessantly, its flames engulfing the sky and blotting out the sun, and even the Tortoise-Snake let out long hisses.

Ten thousand catties of Essence Liquid, two hundred thousand catties, three hundred thousand catties— Ji An was like a bottomless pit, devouring the Essence Liquid.

The higher one's cultivation level, the faster one can refine the Essence Liquid.

With the continuous replenishment of Essence Liquid and the blessing of Stars, the Primordial Fire burned ever brighter.

After a long time--

"Whoosh--"

Just like a seed sprouting from the soil, on the back of the Tortoise-Snake, amidst the towering, blazing flames, a delicate golden lotus is swaying and growing from the tortoise shell.

The tortoise shell resembles soil, and the Primordial Fire is like sunlight and moisture.

The golden lotus sways and grows slowly.

The golden lotus swayed amidst the terrifying Primordial Fire, powerful enough to Burning Annihilation everything. Instead of being destroyed, it absorbed the power of the flames and the brilliance of the Stars, and began to grow slowly.

Compared to the majestic Tortoise-Snake statue below and the raging Primordial Fire surrounding it, this newly sprouted golden lotus is so small as to be almost negligible.

However, the Yuan energy surrounding its entire body is so pure and refined that it is hundreds or thousands of times more refined than the Yuan energy of the Primordial Spirit Dharma Form!

At the same time, the enormous Tortoise-Snake gradually faded in color, and a massive amount of essence gushed forth towards the golden lotus, supporting the celestial lotus as it swayed and grew ever more luxuriant.

The Tortoise-Snake's shells also lost their former luster and became mottled and dull.

"I've reached the Void Returning Early Stage."

Ji An's soul quietly separated from the Tortoise-Snake Primordial Spirit and merged into the golden lotus.

Whether they Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals, their Primordial Spirits are all transformed from golden lotuses!

To become a carefree immortal, one must first cultivate a golden lotus in fire!

"Continue!"

Ji An's body was like a bottomless vortex, swallowing up whatever amount of Essence Liquid surged in.

It took a long time before it finally stopped.

With Ji An, the jade bottle on the ground flew into Ji An's hand.

Although the Essence Liquid in the jade bottle has been exhausted, the jade bottle cannot be thrown away. After all, this jade bottle is already a Heaven Rank magic treasure, otherwise it would not be able to hold so much Essence Liquid.

"Cultivating the Immortal Rank Qi Refining Method is indeed inferior to the pure Yuan Power of Ji Ning in the original work." Ji An felt this, but he did not regret it.

In the original novel, Ji Ning consumed over five million catties of Essence Liquid from the stage of Primordial Spirit Perfection to the late stage of Void Returning, while Ji An only consumed three million catties of Essence Liquid.

But as mentioned before, the methods in these Three Realms are too weak. Moreover, if he breaks through now, when Ji An refines his Golden Core to the second-grade Golden Core level, there will be no difference at all.

"We should be able to try our luck at the seventh level of the Divine Ability Hall."

The stone door to the quiet room opened.