by RWX
This was because this sort of action would only be possible for a freakishly talented person like Ning, who clearly was only a Xiantian level, and yet whose soul was already on the level of having ‘divine will’.
Ning had been visualizing the [Nuwa Painting] since he was an infant. The [Nuwa Painting] was one of the best visualization techniques even in the Celestial Realm or the Netherworld Kingdom, much less in the mortal realms… the likes of the Ji clan had never even heard of ‘visualization techniques’. In fact, Ning believed that even in the entire vast area controlled by the Grand Xia Dynasty, the best visualization techniques couldn’t necessarily compare to the [Nuwa Painting].
“Success.”
“I successfully passed this tribulation.” Ning stared at his surroundings. He saw the corpses and skeletons in the distance on the ground, and felt all the more emotional. “The dead became these skeletons. The survivor, according to what the black-furred creature said…I should be the new master.”
Ning was in no hurry to advance. Instead, he sat down in the lotus position and rested.
It took a full day for the Xiantian ki in his body to return to normal. Only then did Ning rise and continue to advance. When walking through the twisting corridors, Ning didn’t move very quickly. Instead, he carefully inspected this ancient Immortal estate.
After a long time…
“Um?” Ning saw that not far away, there was an exit, outside of which a pillar could faintly be seen.
“I’ve arrived?” Ning quickly walked out of the exit, and as he did, he had to suck in a cold breath. This was an incomparably vast palace, at least thousands of meters high. Compared to this vast palace, the nearby hundreds of meters tall corridors appeared to be extremely small.
In the front of the palace, there was an enormous praying mat, which was also three hundred meters in diameter.
And in the back of the palace…
There were also hundreds of enormous prayer mats scattered about as well.
“Such an enormous prayer mat?” Ning’s heart was filled with many questions. “Prayer mats are meant to be sat on, but this three hundred meter long prayer mat…what sort of a giant would sit atop this? And it seems that in addition to the giant who would sit at the top of the hall, there would also be hundreds of other giants sitting in front of him.
“The Immortal estate of Immortal Juhua?” Ning shook his head.
If the Immortal was a human, his body should be sized like a normal humans.
“This doesn’t make sense.” Ning hurriedly walked about, carefully inspecting this palace. The entire palace was very old and plain. Aside from those hundreds of prayer mats, there were no other decorations at all. One plain stone pillar after another supported the palace hall, and on each of the two sides of the palace hall were corridors, some three hundred meters tall, others three thousand meters tall.
There were three of the corridors that were three thousand meters tall, while only two of the corridors that were three hundred meters tall.
“I can’t go in?” Ning discovered that he wasn’t able to enter any of the corridors, including the one he had just come from. It was as though there was an invisible wall blocking them.
“The palace door!” Ning turned to look at the imposing palace door. Outside the palace door…there was an area completely enveloped in mist that one couldn’t see through at all.
Ning stood there, in this incomparably vast palace. He was as small as an ant. He then walked over to one of the prayer mats and sat down. He himself was only 1.7 meters in height, but he was seated on a three hundred meter long prayer mat. Ning felt that this was quite amusing.
“It really is comfortable.”
While sitting on the prayer mat, Ning could feel his mind growing more alert, and even his thoughts became much more rapid and nimble.
“How strange. I clearly have made it past the three trials and arrived at this palace hall. But right now, I’m not able to enter any of the corridors of the palace halls. I’m trapped here.” Ning said to himself. “The original master of this Aquatic Manor, having left behind those three trials, should have made some preparations for the successor who passed those trials, right?”
For example, the black-furred creature was teleported to him, then teleported away.
He himself had been teleported here as well…clearly, someone should be controlling this Aquatic Manor.
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Right at this moment, as Ning was sitting on the prayer mat and pondering, suddenly, from one of the three thousand meter tall corridors off to the side of the palace hall, an old black bull walked over.
As though sensing it, Ning turned his head to look. As he did, he saw an old black bull that was many meters in length slowly walk in. The old bull’s eyes were filled with curiosity and liveliness as it carefully inspected Ning.
“Senior, might I ask who you are?” Ning immediately spoke out.
Most likely every single creature which appeared within this Aquatic Manor was extraordinary.
“Me?” The old black bull shook its head. “Don’t call me ‘Senior’. I’m nothing more than the spirit of a magic treasure.”
“Spirit of a magic treasure?” Ning was astonished. “Magic treasures have spirits?”
He’d never heard of such a thing.
“I’m the magic treasure which Immortal Juhua always kept by his side.” The old black bull sighed. “Child, don’t think too much about it. Even if I brought my ‘body’ in front of you, given your power, there is no way you would be able to bind me.”
Ning nodded. He understood this. As a Xiantian, he was only capable of binding some unranked magic treasures. Even ranked treasures had high and low level ones. The more powerful the magic treasure, the more difficult binding it was!
“Might I ask about the status of the master of this Immortal estate?” Ning hurriedly asked.
“Dead. All dead.” The old black bull shook its head. “Dead for I don’t even know how many years.”
Ning nodded to himself. It was as he had thought.
“It has been too long, far too long. Over these slow, countless ages, I’ve teleported in quite a few Xiantian-level Fiendgod Body Refiners, as well as Zifu Disciples.” The old black bull sighed. “Unfortunately, not a single one was able to succeed. At most, they would make it to the third trial, where they would all die. I didn’t expect that you, child, who clearly don’t have sufficiently dense divine power, would be able to succeed. This can be considered a miracle.”
“That third trial in particular.”
“Your soul has actually reached such a stage of power. However, the technique which you used is completely impractical.” The old black bull said disdainfully. “Thousands of magic treasures, aimed in a single direction. All the enemy has to do is dodge, and then you would have to immediately control thousands of magic treasures to change direction and aim at him again…it will be very hard for you to actually strike your enemy.”
Ning nodded. “True.”
“However, that golem was driven to nearly the point of insanity by the torment of countless years of loneliness, and so he actively welcomed the attack.” The old black bull said. “And so, you succeeded.”
“Golem?” Ning said in surprise. “It was a golem?”
He had seen golems before. When he had been training with a sword, his father had procured a training golem for him. But that black-furred creature just now…it had blood, had flesh, and was even capable of speech. How could it be a golem?
“Child, how much do you know? There are many different types of golems. That one just now was just a golem which had a soul inserted into it.” The old black bull said. “After implanting a soul into it, it gains intelligence and is even capable of displaying the ‘one with the world’ sage, or even more profound sword techniques, saber techniques, boxing techniques, etc. Naturally, its power would multiply manifold.”
Ning now understood.
“As the soul tra
pped within the golem who is forever incapable of being reincarnated, it will be endlessly tormented.” The old black bull said. “However, your own level of enlightenment is not low. That lotus flower you created earlier was based on the fact that your body has the Divine Solar Tattoo and the Divine Lunar Tattoo. For you to have these two great divine tattoos means that you most likely are training in the most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining technique of the Fiendgod era, the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Given your density of divine power, I expect you have only reached the fourth stage!”
Ning hurriedly said, “Senior, your judgement is wise.”
“The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] is a very powerful technique.” The old black bull sighed. “You were able to break through to the Xiantian level, but you are only at the fourth stage. Most likely, you broke through just recently. You should be only ten or so years old as well.”
“Eleven.” Ning didn’t try to hide it.
“An eleven year old Xiantian who trains in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. And at such a young age, you were able to reach the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’ in swordplay.” The old black bull shook its head. “A genius like this is someone whom even the Grand Xia Dynasty would expend countless efforts in cultivating and training. There’s no way they would be willing to let someone like you take tutelage under the auspices of Immortal Juhua.”
Ning lifted an eyebrows.
“Actually, just by reaching the sixth stage, given the amount of divine power you would have, and your understanding of the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’, you would have been able to succeed in the third trial. However, for you to succeed in the way you have is still quite impressive. Your soul is powerful, and your level of enlightenment is high. Your future accomplishments will be limitless.” The old black bull sighed. “I still have to congratulate you. You have become the fifth master of this place.”
* * *
Book 4, Chapter 3 - To Make a Copy
“The fifth master?” Ji Ning was astonished. “Me?”
The old black bull had a hint of laughter in his eyes. He slowly ambled over, his body seeming vaguely illusory. He wasn’t a material creature, after all; just the spirit of a magic treasure.
“Of course it is you.” The old black bull said.
“That’s not what I meant. What I meant was…I’m only the fifth master?” Ning hurriedly asked. “Can it be that Immortal Juhua wasn’t the first one?”
He had previously discovered the letter on that Godbanian tree bark, and had hypothesized that after Immortal Juhua died, he shouldn’t have given this Immortal estate to anyone else.
“Immortal Juhua was the third master of this Immortal estate.” The old black bull said.
“Who was the fourth?” Ning asked.
The old black bull’s eyes held a hint of wistful memory in them. He slowly said, “In those days, Immortal Juhua’s fame was widespread. He was someone who stood at the very forefront of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty. A Loose Immortal capable of living for millions of years is an absolute miracle. The Three Disasters and Nine Tribulations which everyone who embarks on the Immortal path must endure…each tribulation is fiercer than the last. He had lived for simply too long, and the difficulty of the tribulations had reached an inconceivable level. Even Celestial Immortals probably wouldn’t be able to survive them. The longer he lived, the more the people in the Grand Xia Dynasty became aware of how formidable he was.”
“Immortal Juhua knew that his time was limited, and so he wanted to accept a disciple, and thus he spread the word…that he would only accept a Fiendgod Body Refiner who was at least a Xiantian lifeform but no more than a Zifu Disciple. Of the major clans of the Grand Xia Dynasty, the ones who were in the know all sent their disciples to attempt the trials of that corridor.
“Two corridors. One for Xiantian lifeforms, one for Zifu Disciples.”
“One young person after another died. In the end, finally, a Zifu Disciple named ‘Rampart’ successfully passed the three trials of his corridor, and thus Rampart became the fourth master of this Immortal estate.
Ning nodded.
Immortal Juhua was the third.
Rampart was the fourth.
“Unfortunately.” The old black bull shook his head. “In the face of the endless tribulations, Immortal Juhua died. Not long after Immortal Juhua died…Rampart, who was merely at the ‘Wanxiang Adept’ level died as well. As for how he died and where he died, that’s unclear. Ever since Rampart died, this Immortal estate has not had an owner.”
Ning nodded, then said questioningly, “Rampart didn’t carry the Immortal estate with him?”
“Carry it with him?” The old black bull said in a low voice. “He was unable to even completely bind this Immortal estate. How could he have carried it with him?”
“He, a venerable Wanxiang Adept, was unable to bind it?” Ning asked.
The old black bull said, “Child, don’t underestimate this Immortal estate. This Immortal estate has an extraordinary background and history, and binding it is extremely hard. You should know that the more powerful a magic treasure is, the harder it is to bind it. This Immortal estate is actually a ‘dwelling’ type magic treasure…only by becoming a Primal will one become just barely capable of binding it and carrying it.”
“A Primal can only just barely bind it; he wouldn’t be able to completely control this Immortal estate, which has some secret areas within that he still wouldn’t be able to enter. Only by becoming an Earthly Immortal or a Loose Immortal will one truly be in control of this Immortal estate.”
Ning understood. It made sense. If one was able to easily bind a magic treasure which was capable of teleporting people, that would be bizarre.
“Child, do you now understand how extraordinary this Immortal estate is?” The old black bull said complacently.
“Elder, you can address me as Ji Ning.” Ning said.
“Child Ji Ning.” The old black bull stepped onto one of the giant prayer mats on the ground. “Take a look at this prayer mat. The prayer mats are all hundreds of meters wide. Have you considered why?”
Ning pondered, then said, “Elder, when I first arrived within this palace hall, I was very puzzled as well. There is no need for an Immortal estate to have such enormous prayer mats. I actually wondered…if this Immortal estate was previously lived in by a race of giants or some other races.”
“Although Immortal Juhua was only a Loose Immortal, he survived for millions of years before dying.” The old black bull sighed. “He is the only Loose Immortal I know of who lived for so long! Why was Immortal Juhua so powerful, and why could he last for so long before dying? It was because of this…this Immortal estate!”
“This Immortal estate’s age is beyond reckoning. According to the guesses of Immortal Juhua, this should have been the dwelling of an extremely powerful Fiendgod, which is why such enormous prayer mats, beds, and corridors were built.” The old black bull said. “Immortal Juhua had, when he was young, made it past three trials before becoming the third master of this place.”
“Immortal Juhua had to pass three trials as well?” Ning was stunned.
The old black bull said, “The three trials….was the rule set down by the first master of this Immortal estate! That first master should have been an extremely powerful Fiendgod. Judging from the way the giant prayer mats in this hall are laid out, that Fiendgod should have been sat on the one up front, expounding on the Dao, while below many other Fiendgods would listen. Haha, these are all the affairs of the past. The Fiendgod Era ended long ago.”
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The old black bull and Ning chatted for quite a long while.
Ning finally couldn’t help but ask, “As the fifth master of this Immortal estate, what sort of benefits do I get?”
The old black bull blinked.
“Immortal Juhua was a Loose Immortal who had lived for millions of years. He should have left some things behind.” Ning a
sked.
The old black bull remained silent.
“You…”
“Alas!” The old black bull finally let out a sigh. “The third master and the fourth master both died, and they died too long ago. Immortal Juhua had originally given Rampart some treasures, but Rampart died outside. Countless years have passed, and you can’t possibly get anything from Rampart. Immortal Juhua did indeed leave some magic treasures within this Immortal estate, but you won’t be able to get them.”
“Why not?” Ning asked. “Aren’t I the master of this Immortal estate now?”
The old black bull shook his head. “Imagine that you are the owner of a storage-type magic treasure, but you aren’t able to bind it. Will you be able to take out the treasures within it? This Immortal estate is a dwelling-type magic treasure. If you don’t bind it, there are many areas you cannot enter. Right now, you are only able to be here in the main palace hall. The other areas are off limits to you.”
“I can only enter this main hall?” Ning was astonished.
“You should have discovered that you are only able to be in this main hall and that you are unable to enter the other areas of this Immortal estate.” The old black bull said. “First become a Zifu Disciple; that will allow you to bind the control talisman. When you bind the control talisman, there will be many benefits to you. You will be able to enter many of the areas within the Immortal estate, and you’ll also be able to voluntarily enter the Immortal estate from outside; for example, at Serpentwing Lake, you’ll be able to enter the Immortal estate as you please.”
Pa!
Out of nowhere, a dark gray talisman appeared, landing on the floor with a clattering sound atop a prayer mat.
“This is the control talisman.” The old black bull said. “Only the master is permitted to have the control talisman. Hurry up and take it. Once you reach the Zifu Disciple level, you’ll be able to bind it. After binding it, come back to the Immortal estate. Right now, you aren’t able to enter any place at all, and you won’t be able to get anything.”