Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

……

Ning was completely submerged in the sea of swords. As he walked through the corridor, his heart and soul was completely filled with all sorts of sword-arts, and the increasingly unfathomable sword-arts brushed past his heart. Although he didn’t understand them, this baptism by countless sword-arts caused Ning to become extremely familiar with the profound mysteries.

A long, long time passed.

It felt as though thousands of years had passed. Ning finally saw the end of this corridor. The end was an enormous, glowing streak of sword-light.

Ning didn’t know why he was walking towards it. He didn’t know whether or not he should stop. And so, just like that…he walked to the end of the corridor. His body became submerged into that giant sword-light.

Rumble…

A vast flood of mysteries flooded his soul.

The vastness of the Dao of the Sword…all of its mysteries…Ning was touching it all right now. The countless sword-arts he had interacted with earlier in the corridor also flashed through Ning’s mind, causing his heart to become even closer to the Dao of the Sword.

“Eh?”

Ning suddenly opened his eyes.

He was still seated on the dais. Before him, seated on a prayer mat, was the loose-robed Patriarch. The Patriarch opened his eyes, smiling as he looked at Ning.

“I…this…” Ning stared at his surroundings. Everything felt so fake and illusory.

Only after a long period of time did his three decades of memories completely recover. The marvelous sword-arts that he had seen were now suppressed and hidden deep in Ning’s soul.

“Master, I, I…” Ning nervously looked at the Patriarch. He felt as though thousands of years had passed. It had taken him so long to recover his decades of memories.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you just doze off?” The Patriarch laughed.

“Master, how long did I sleep for?” Ning asked.

“Not too long. The amount of time for a stick of incense to burn down,” the Patriarch said.

“But I…I feel as though thousands of years passed,” Ning said.

The Patriarch said, “All I did was apply the [Thousand Year Dream] technique to let you truly experience the complete Dao of the Sword for once. From the very start of the Dao of the Sword…to the very end, the completion of the Dao of the Sword.

Right. The [Thousand Year Dream]. It truly did feel as though he had been in a dream. He had lost almost all of his cognitive abilities; all he could do was walk forward along the corridor in a daze.

“All I did was let you sense the complete Dao of the Sword for once. Your own Dao of the Sword hasn’t risen in level that much,” the Patriarch said. Ning, however, knew very well that this [Thousand Year Dream] had been tremendously beneficial to him.

Although he was still only able to execute the seventh stance of the [Three-Foot Sword], his understanding of the sword was now far more stable and solid than it had been before. And as he continued to move forward on the Dao of the Sword…he would feel a vague sense of recognition of what to do next. In fact, he would even have a vague sense of what it felt like to completely master the Dao of the Sword.

The path of Immortal cultivation was akin to a blind man using his sense of touch to search for rocks which would allow him to ford a river. Now that he had vague understanding of the path forward…he would be able to move through it much more quickly.

“Thank you, Master.” Ning immediately fell to his knees.

“I just gave you a single helping hand. How much you can make of it is up to you.” The Patriarch pointed gently, and a streak of light flew directly into Ning’s mind.

Ning could sense a large amount of information pouring into his brain. Only after a long period of time did he become clear-minded again.

“The [Darknorth Sutra]? The four scrolls of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]?” Ning could sense the cultivation techniques that were now within his soul.

The first scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was divided into the Houtian, Xiantian, and Zifu levels.

The second scroll of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was divided into the Wanxiang, Primal, and Void levels.

The third scroll was the Empyrean God scroll!

The fourth scroll was the True God scroll!

“The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was created by Crimsonbright. Even Nuwa praised this technique, and it truly is an exquisite specimen that allows you to train all the way to the True God level,” the Patriarch said. “As for the [Darknorth Sutra], it is a water-element Ki Refining method that was created by Daofather Carefree; it will allow you to train all the way to the level of Daofathers of the Great Firmament.”

“One is Body Refining, the other is Ki Refining. In the future, they shall serve as your foundation,” the Patriarch said.

“Yes.” Ning was absolutely delighted. [Darknorth Sutra]? Something which Daofather Carefree had created? Just from this alone, he could tell that this was one of the most supreme Ki Refining techniques of the Three Realms.

“In the Three Realms, Ki Refining Techniques and Body Refining Techniques aren’t that valuable,” the Patriarch said calmly. “Divine abilities and secret arts are much more valuable.”

However, not even the Grand Xia Emperor possessed techniques like the [Darknorth Sutra]. Only someone on Patriarch Subhuti’s level would dare describe it as ‘not that valuable’.

“My Mount Innerheart has two Dao-Palaces which contain all things within them. Formation techniques, construct techniques, the Dao of the Sword, the Dao of the Saber, Taiji, lightning arts, lotus arts…it includes all types of techniques, as well as many divine abilities and secret arts. It will be up to you to acquire them, if you can,” the Patriarch said calmly. “The Dao cannot be casually transmitted. If you wish to learn, then you must show the ability to learn.”

“Your disciple understands,” Ning said respectfully.

“Go, then. Calmly focus on studying the Dao, here in my Mount Innerheart. Only when your power is sufficient shall you be permitted to leave the mountain and return to your world of the Grand Xia,” the Daofather said. “And when you leave my tutelage and leave the mountain, I shall give you two great gifts.”

“Master…at what level will my power be ‘enough’?” Ning asked.

“When you reach it, I will tell you,” the Patriarch said.

Ning was instantly speechless. He was being told to study the Dao…but he didn’t even know when he would be allowed to leave his master’s tutelage.

“Go now,” the Patriarch said, calmly closing his eyes. “Without my permission, you are not to come here and disturb me.”

“Understood.” Ning immediately left obediently.

Only after Ning left did the Patriarch open his eyes again. He gently shook his head. “How long has it been? This is the first time I’ve ever been so talkative in front of a disciple. When I thought of Threelives, of that tremendous calamity we faced…my heart ended up being disturbed.”





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Book 13, Chapter 4 - Divinity Palace, Three Realms Palace


Ji Ning walked out of the Daoist monastery. Outside of it was the white-robed Lord Jiang, Little Qing, and Uncle White.

“Master.” Little Qing had already transformed into an azure-robed maiden. She immediately called out in delight upon seeing him.

The white-robed Lord Jiang smiled as he looked at Ning. “I should now address you as junior apprentice-brother.”

“Senior apprentice-brother,” Ning called out in response.

The two novitiates outside the Daoist monastery all revealed looks of surprise. The white-robed Lord Jiang said with a laugh, “Clearwater and Whiteriver, Master has just accepted junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning as his disciple. The two of you need to remember this.”