Abyssal Abyss (Happy January 9th)

Ji An pushed open the stone door of the quiet room and walked slowly along the corridor toward the main hall of the Water Manor.

Inside the main hall, two figures, Yellow-Haired Giant Bear and Black Old Ox, were already waiting.

The Yellow-Haired Giant Bear was the spirit of the Water Manor, and naturally, it could not hide the aura of Ji An's breakthrough in cultivation from its senses.

The Black Old Ox had kept the Thousand Ox Sword in the Water Manor ever since Ji An took out the treasure left behind by the Immortal Juhua.

After all, Ji An Qi Refining cultivation had not yet reached the Earth Immortal level at that time, so he was unable to truly control Immortal Rank magic treasures. He could only temporarily let the old ox keep the big bear company here.

Upon seeing Ji An appear at the entrance of the main hall, the Black Old Ox's eyes lit up. It strode forward, circling Ji An again and again, clicking its tongue in amazement. "Impressive, impressive! Tsk tsk tsk, that powerful and majestic aura, it seems you've become a— Void-Returning Earth Immortal! Hehe, if I hadn't known beforehand that you weren't some reincarnated immortal, judging by your cultivation speed of a thousand miles a day, I would have suspected you were some old monster reincarnated and starting over!"

Old Ox stopped in front of Ji An, his eyes filled with anticipation, his voice brimming with barely suppressed excitement. "Good, good! We've finally waited for this day! Now that you're Void-Returning Earth Immortal, wielding immortal -Immortal Rank magic treasures is naturally a piece of cake. From now on, I, Old Ox, can follow you, and together we can roam the Three Realms!"

Clearly, even an Immortal Rank weapon with sentience, sitting in one place for hundreds of millions of years, would have long since become restless and yearning for movement.

"Yes, Void-Returning Earth Immortal." Ji An nodded slightly, his tone calm and even.

The Yellow-Haired Giant Bear beside him nodded in agreement, then added with a hint of regret, "If you could cultivate the 'Crimsonbright Nine Heavens Diagram' to the seventeenth level, your strength alone, based on this Godfiend Body Refinement cultivation, would rival that of a top-tier Heavenly Immortal."

"Hahaha, senior, you underestimate me greatly." Ji An laughed heartily. In recent years, he had not revealed his level of enlightenment, so these two people before him still did not know how formidable his true combat strength was. "Moreover, how can you be so certain that I am not comparable to a top-tier Heavenly Immortal?"

The strength of Heavenly Immortal varies greatly, after all, transcending tribulations to become Heavenly Immortal is always a matter of great difficulty and near death.

Some Void-Returning Earth Immortals have a smooth and uneventful tribulation, while others have to endure hundreds or thousands of times more hardships and face near-death experiences before they can ascend to the Immortal Realm.

Some Void-Returning Earth Immortals have their Heavenly Tribulation dissipate on its own, never even descending. Such good fortune is truly the envy of others, especially for the weak.

In addition, the Heavenly Immortal beings have cultivated for varying lengths of time, and their backgrounds are vastly different. Some are independent cultivators who explore on their own without any sect, while others are Personal Disciple powerful figures who have received guidance from renowned masters. As a result, their strengths are naturally vastly different, like heaven and earth.

The strength of Heavenly Immortal can be roughly divided into four levels.

The first level consists of the most ordinary Heavenly Immortals, those who have lived for millions of years and ordinary Xiantian Void Returning Loose Immortal and Demons, whose strength is roughly at this level.

The second tier consists of slightly more powerful Heavenly Immortals, such as the once-famous Immortal Juhua, who remained at this level.

Layers, both vertical and horizontal.

The third level is what the Yellow-Haired Giant Bear called the top Heavenly Immortals. Most celestial Heavenly Immortals who can reach this level have a level of enlightenment that far surpasses that of the Heavenly Immortals in the first two levels, and they also have Pure Yang Treasures by their side, making their combat power astonishing.

The fourth level is the level of the Tonghe Heavenly Immortal in the Anchan Marquisate in the original work. He has already stepped one foot into the threshold of the Heavenly God True Immortal, and his combat power is infinitely close to that of the Heavenly God True Immortal.

There are even some exceptionally talented Heavenly Immortal who have mastered an entire Grand Dao, and whose combat power is comparable to that of true Heavenly Gods True Immortals. However, such beings usually break through the shackles of Heavenly Immortal and ascend to a higher realm before long, so they are not included in this classification of strength.

"In the past three years, I have devoted myself to comprehending the Dao. I have comprehended as many as five minor paths of the Metal Minor Dao alone. Even the senior Ju Hua of that time could only achieve this level of attainment," Ji An. "Moreover, because of these five minor Metal Minor Dao, through analogy and cross-referencing, my understanding of the Geng Metal Grand Dao has been greatly enhanced, and I am only one step away from comprehending the entire Grand Dao."

That's true.

Although he has only cultivated the "Crimsonbright Nine Heavens Diagram" to the Thirteenth Floor in his Godfiend Body Refining Refinement, his Qi Refining realm is already that of Void-Returning Earth Immortal.

In addition to his Transcendent understanding of the Grand Dao and the Universe Three Swords he has comprehended from the "Universe" classic in recent years, Ji An's true combat strength is already no less than that of a top-tier Heavenly Immortal!

This is only because his magical power is one level weaker than that of ordinary Heavenly Immortals. If he were to truly advance to become Heavenly Immortal in the future, he would immediately possess the strength of a top-tier Heavenly Immortal, comparable to a Tonghe Heavenly Immortal.

By then, in this vast and boundless Great Xia World, his strength will be enough to rank him among the top twenty, making him a powerful figure!

Upon hearing Ji An's words, the Black Old Ox was immediately shocked, its voice trembling slightly. "Your Geng Metal Grand Dao —it's only one step away from completion!"

Ji An nodded calmly, his expression serene and composed.

"Sigh, if only you hadn't given up back then." The Yellow-Haired Giant Bear sighed softly, his tone full of regret.

In recent years, Ji Ning has made remarkable progress, almost leaping forward by leaps and bounds. But what people fear most is comparison.

Compared to Ji An, Ji Ning's cultivation speed was ultimately a step slower.

If Ji An had chosen to inherit the Star Seizing Hand and carry on the Star-Seizing Manor lineage, it probably wouldn't have been long before the Star-Seizing Manor could have reappeared in the Three Realms and continued its former glory.

Upon hearing this, Ji An merely smiled faintly and said nothing more.

Inheriting the Star-Seizing Manor?

He had considered it, but he was self-aware. His current cultivation speed, seemingly astonishing, was actually due to the assistance of external cheat codes, allowing him to advance so rapidly.

He couldn't even guarantee that he could maintain such an incredible cultivation speed after he had fully comprehended the entire "Universe" manual.

But Ji Ning is different. He became a supreme True Immortal in just a hundred years without any external assistance, relying solely on his unparalleled talent!

"If I were to travel back to the era of the Immortal Juhua, without the worry of the chaos in the Three Realms, I would have inherited the Star-Seizing Manor," Ji An thought to himself. "But there are still only about thirty years until the chaos in the Three Realms. Even if I could resolve the crisis, I have absolutely no strength to deal with an existence at the level of the Old Man Origin. I'll wait for my good younger brother to grow up and let him handle it."

"Senior, please rest assured." Ji An raised his eyes to look at the Yellow-Haired Giant Bear, his tone confident, "My younger brother Ji Ning, is absolutely the most suitable person to inherit the Star-Seizing Manor."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "Senior, I'm preparing to challenge the War God Hall again."

"Oh? Could it be that you intend to challenge the ninth level?" A hint of surprise flashed in the Yellow-Haired Giant Bear's eyes as he asked.

The reason it asked this question was because Ji An had just said that his strength was comparable to that of a top-tier Heavenly Immortal.

It should be noted that even though the difficulty of the ninth level is greatly increased because one can choose a Pure Yang Treasure after passing through it, in its estimation, the guardian of the ninth level is only at the level of a top-tier Heavenly Immortal.

Ji An gently shook his head and explained, "Senior, I still plan to attempt the seventh and eighth levels first."

He's currently at the Primordial Spirit -Demon realm, and has two more chances to challenge the War God Hall. Once he reaches the Void Returning God-Demon realm, he'll get two more chances. The War God Hall only has ten levels; if he could pass the ninth level now...

If he chooses a higher-level magic weapon, wouldn't that mean he's missing out on an opportunity to select Immortal Rank magic weapon?

And even if we obtained Pure Yang Treasure now, what good would it do?

His current cultivation level is only at the Void-Returning Earth Immortal, which is completely insufficient to unleash the true power of the Pure Yang Treasure. In the end, it will just be a waste.

Upon hearing this, the Yellow-Haired Giant Bear suddenly realized what was going on and nodded with a smile, "In that case, my Immortal Rank treasure vault will be missing another treasure."

Ji An smiled slightly, said nothing more, but with a thought, he beckoned to the Black Old Ox.

The Black Old Ox immediately understood, transforming into a dazzling black Flowing Light that flew straight into Ji An's hand, reverting to the original form of the Thousand Ox Sword.

As Ji An refined the Thousand Ox Sword with his own magical power, he walked towards the corridor leading to the War God Hall.

The seventh floor of the War God Hall.

The moment Ji An appeared, a terrifying pressure as heavy as a mountain descended, as if to crush the entire space.

In the void ahead, countless Dao patterns flickered, and a towering figure, thousands of feet tall, slowly condensed into form.

It was a rock giant, its entire body covered with dense, earth-yellow Dao patterns, and the aura it emitted had reached the level of Void Returning God-Demon!

"As expected, it's the strength of Void Returning God-Demon—" Ji An's eyes narrowed slightly as he thought to himself.

The difficulty of the seventh level is indeed far greater than that of the Sixth Layer.

If it were three years ago, when he was still in the Primordial Spirit Early Stage, he probably wouldn't have even had a chance to escape from such a being.

But now, things are different; his strength is vastly different from what it used to be!

"Ho Yi!"

The rock giant let out a deafening roar, the sound waves rolling and shaking the entire space violently. It raised its fist, which was as big as a mountain, and with earth-shattering power, smashed it straight at Ji An.

The power of this punch was enough to instantly turn an ordinary Void-Returning Earth Immortal into dust. However, facing this earth-shattering attack, Ji An's expression remained calm and composed.

He simply stood there quietly, and the Thousand Ox Sword in his hand trembled slightly before flying out on its own.

"Buzz!"

With a long, drawn-out sword cry, an ancient river phantom appeared out of thin air, instantly spreading out and enveloping a space of tens of thousands of miles!

It is the power of the ancient Suhé River that has been integrated into the Thousand Ox Sword!

"Suhé River, get out!"

Ji An gave a soft shout and gently pointed his finger forward.

Boom!

The Wanli Suhé River instantly boiled, its surging waters transforming into countless water dragons that roared outwards, instantly engulfing the rocky demon god within them.

The massive body of the rock demon was completely swallowed up by the omnipresent waters of the Suhé River, unable to put up even the slightest resistance. It didn't even have time to utter a scream before it vanished into the Suhé River.

The reason Ji An was able to defeat this Void Returning God-Demon so easily was simply by activating the power of the Suhé River within the Thousand Ox Sword, combined with his understanding of the Heaven and Earth Great Dao. The two complemented each other, allowing him to achieve victory in one strike.

Of course, this is also because this rock god-demon only had the cultivation level of the Void Returning Early Stage; otherwise, he could not have won so easily.

Ji An sheathed the Thousand Ox Sword, and the illusory image of the Ten Thousand Suhé River also disappeared into the sword. Without pausing, he moved straight towards the eighth floor.

The eighth floor of the War God Hall.

A powerful late-stage Void Returning God-Demon, standing sixteen feet tall, was already standing in the center of the space, his large, copper-bell-sized eyes fixed on Ji An, who had just stepped into the eighth level.

"An Earth Immortal? He dares to challenge my eighth level? Interesting, truly interesting!" The guardian of the divine and demonic gate blazed with rage.

Zhuo Di stared intently at Ji An.

Ji An remained calm, too lazy to waste words with him. With a thought, the Thousand Ox Sword in his hand emitted a long cry!

In an instant, the phantom of the ancient Suhé River, stretching for thousands of miles, once again unfolded with a thunderous roar. The mighty river water surged endlessly, instantly transforming the entire space of the eighth level into his domain— the Su River Sword Domain!

"Roar!"

Upon seeing this, the guardian of the gates, both gods and demons, flew into a rage and let out a deafening roar.

A blinding divine light erupted from his body, tearing a vacuum zone open within the Su River Sword Domain.

He swung his fists, the wind howling as each punch contained terrifying power that could shatter the void, sending the surging waves of the Suhé River crashing back.

Ji An remained expressionless. With another thought, the Thousand Ox Sword in his hand transformed into a black streak of Flowing Light, carrying immense force as it slashed towards the guardian of the divine and demonic pass.

Wherever the sword light passed, the space was annihilated layer by layer, leaving behind a pitch-black trace.

Although the guardian god and demon were forced to retreat repeatedly by the terrifying power contained in the sword light, and even had some deep wounds that exposed the bone on their bodies, the divine power within them surged, and those wounds healed rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if they had never been injured at all.

"It's no use! This injury is nothing more than a tickle to me! I can heal a thousand times, ten thousand times, can you withstand it?"

"How long?" The guardian of the gods and demons laughed wildly, his tone full of arrogance.

Ji An frowned slightly, thinking to himself that the power of this god-demon was indeed not bad.

It seems that the Yellow-Haired Giant Bear is still a bit petty and holds a grudge against him for not choosing to inherit the Star Seizing Hand. So, the guardian deity of the eighth level actually chose a Void Returning Deity with the strength of a second-level Heavenly Immortal.

It's important to understand that when Ji Ning entered this level in the original story, the guardian was merely an ordinary Void Returning God-Demon, and even among ordinary Void Returning God-Demons, he was relatively weak. In comparison, the pressure he faced was undoubtedly several times greater.

Thinking this, a cold glint flashed in Ji An's eyes, and his mind stirred again.

The Thousand Ox Sword in the air instantly split into thousands of golden sword lights, crisscrossing the Suhé River and weaving a sword net that covered the Heaven and Earth. This was the Geng Metal Sword Formation that he had comprehended after studying the Geng Metal Grand Dao, and its power was boundless.

However, facing this Gengjin sword net, which was powerful enough to Strangulation ordinary Heavenly Immortals, the guardian of the gods and demons did not dodge or evade, but instead revealed a ferocious smile on his face!

"I've already said, these methods won't work on me!"

With a roar, the void on both sides of his body fluctuated violently, instantly condensing into two divine and demonic clones that were exactly the same as his original body!

Three late-stage Void Returning Gods and Demons, each possessing equally formidable auras, surrounded Ji An in a triangular formation.

The three-headed demon god roared simultaneously, and six fists containing terrifying power, carrying the force to tear apart the Heaven and Earth, shot forth...

Three different directions tore through the Su River Sword Domain, fiercely blasting towards Ji An!

Thousands of golden sword lights slashed at the three gods and demons, leaving only shallow marks. The divine power within the gods and demons surged endlessly, and the flesh at the wounds writhed wildly, recovering completely in the blink of an eye, as if they had never been injured.

"Such incredible vitality!" Ji An to himself, "This god-demon has probably comprehended the Grand Dao of Life, or perhaps the Grand Dao of Wood, otherwise its regenerative ability couldn't be so heaven-defying."

Relying on the already heaven-defying regenerative power of his divine and demonic body, coupled with the enhancement of the Grand Dao of Life and the Grand Dao of Wood, he was invincible even against ordinary top-tier Heavenly Immortals.

If the battle drags on, even with the Thousand Ox Sword, an Immortal Rank magic weapon, I fear my spiritual energy will be depleted and I won't be able to sustain it.

Just as the three-headed demon's fist was about to strike him, a blinding divine light suddenly burst forth in Ji An's eyes.

"Since that's the case, then let me show you this sword!"

With Ji An, the myriad sword lights in the Heaven and Earth instantly receded, transforming back into the black longsword, which flew back into Ji An's hand.

Ji An gripped the Thousand Ox Sword, and with a slight flick of his wrist, the longsword lost all its brilliance, becoming dark and profound, like a cosmic Abyss about to vanish.

A terrifying aura that seemed to freeze Space-Time and space emanated from the sword, making the entire eighth floor feel incredibly oppressive.

"Universe - Abyssal Abyss!"

Ji An let out a low shout and swung his wrist forward sharply. A black-gold sword light shot out from the tip of the Thousand Ox Sword and slashed towards the three-headed demon god.

This sword light had no imposing power whatsoever; wherever it passed, even space itself fell silent, turning into nothingness!

Laugh!

With a soft sound, the black and gold sword light pierced directly through the chest of the three-headed demon god.

"Roar!" The three demon gods simultaneously let out a shrill scream, their voices filled with pain and disbelief.

The powerful body that had previously withstood the Thousand Ox Sword's strikes was pierced through the moment it came into contact with the black sword light, leaving three deep, bone-revealing holes.

None of the three demonic gods escaped; they were all struck by the sword light.

For the first time, horror and fear showed in the eyes of the guardian of the gods and demons.

He could clearly feel that the divine power within his body was being violently consumed by the power contained in the sword light. The power of Geng Metal Grand Dao and Heaven and Earth Great Dao fused in the sword light was causing the damage caused by the sword light to be like maggots clinging to his bones, constantly eroding his divine power and making it impossible for him to recover!

Just one sword strike!

The three-headed demon god who had originally surrounded Ji An was forcibly broken apart.

The two clones instantly disintegrated, leaving only the main body staggering backward, its aura Extreme Point weak.

His once-proud and terrifying vitality became extremely slow under the erosion of this strange sword intent; the flesh and blood at the wound moved so slowly that it was almost invisible.

He stared intently at the tall figure standing with a sword in hand, his eyes devoid of any fighting spirit, filled only with the relief of surviving a calamity and a deep sense of dread.

The power of this sword strike had already exceeded his comprehension.

Moreover, judging solely by the power of this sword strike, it has probably reached the pinnacle of strength among top-tier Heavenly Immortals!

"Stop! I surrender—I surrender!" The guardian of the gods and demons' voice trembled, all traces of his previous arrogance gone, and he decisively admitted defeat.

If the fight continued, he had no doubt that he would be killed by this seemingly insignificant Earth Immortal. Just a few more strikes from that sword light would probably have him dead.

Upon hearing this, Ji An slowly sheathed his sword.

He looked at the wounded and battered guardian of the gods and demons and nodded slightly.

Conquered the eighth level of the War God Hall!

"Whoosh."

A soft light flashed, and Ji An's figure emerged from the War God Hall.

"Ji An, congratulations! You've passed the eighth level of the War God Hall." The Yellow-Haired Giant Bear suddenly appeared out of thin air, laughing as he spoke, "Even the Immortal Juhua only managed to pass the seventh level back then."

When Immortal Juhua was about to become Loose Immortal, he barely managed to pass the seventh level.

After a long period of time, he finally gained the ability to challenge the eighth level, but unfortunately, he had long since lost the opportunity to step into the eighth level.

Upon seeing the Yellow-Haired Giant Bear, Ji An couldn't help but laugh and tease, "Senior is really petty. The guardian demon of the eighth level is probably comparable to a powerful Heavenly Immortal, isn't he?"

"Hahaha, I just wanted to see your true strength, to see if you're bragging!" The Yellow-Haired Giant Bear scratched his head and laughed heartily.

It would never admit that it just wanted to teach this kid a lesson, since he had given up such a supreme divine power as the Star Seizing Hand in the first place!