Chapter 1 The Four Halls of the Water Mansion

The vast and ancient main hall was as it had been for eons. The enormous prayer mats still lay in their places, and the black ox had already appeared, its eyes smiling as it looked at the suddenly appearing Ji Ning.

"The main hall," Ji Ning said, gazing at the hall.

"Congratulations." The black ox walked over, full of joy. "Only a few years have passed, and you've already entered the Zifu. Much faster than I expected."

Ji Ning's heart was still preoccupied with the impending arrival of the large group of experts from Snowdragon Mountain, and he felt little joy. "Just luck."

"Passing the three trials of the corridor was no matter of luck," the black ox sighed. "Now that you've refined the talisman... you can go to the most important places in this Water Mansion. With these places, you'll have the capital to truly rise. Ji Ning, I can already see the day when you'll become a top figure of the Grand Xia Dynasty."

Ji Ning was startled, not expecting that the artifact spirit, the black ox, could be so persuasive.

"I'm not lying to you," the black ox said. "When the Immortal Ju Hua took on disciples, it drove countless people in the Grand Xia Dynasty wild with frenzy. If they knew that Immortal Ju Hua was merely the third master of this Water Mansion, it would probably stir up an even greater storm."

"What's so special about this Water Mansion?" Ji Ning pressed.

What he cared about most now was whether this Water Mansion could improve his strength and give him a better chance in the upcoming battle.

"The Water Mansion is very mysterious," the black ox said. "Immortal Ju Hua and I stayed here for a very, very long time. If my guess is correct, this Water Mansion should be for training the descendants of Fiendgods."

"Training the descendants of Fiendgods?" Ji Ning was taken aback.

"Mm." The black ox nodded its large head. "The first master of this Water Mansion should have been an extremely powerful Fiendgod! Looking at the prayer mats in the main hall, you can imagine... that back then, many Fiendgods must have sat here, listening to his commands and receiving his teachings on cultivation methods."

Ji Ning looked at the enormous prayer mats around him and the solitary one at the head of the hall, and nodded slightly.

"The first master established methods for taking disciples, with two corridors: one for先天生灵 Fiendgod Body Refiners, and one for Zifu Fiendgod Body Refiners," the black ox said. "Ordinary Fiendgod Body Refining wouldn't do; one had to have naturally undergone a transformation and possess a Fiendgod body. Isn't that equivalent to being a true Fiendgod?"

Ji Ning nodded.

His own body was born from water and fire descending from the heavens, and was indeed a先天 Fiendgod body.

"And the various side halls in this Water Mansion are clearly meant to train the descendants of Fiendgods," the black ox said. "Unfortunately, the path of Fiendgods is too difficult. Although Immortal Ju Hua also practiced Fiendgod Body Refining in the beginning, gradually, the Fiendgod path became harder and harder. He progressed faster in Qi Refining instead, and eventually failed his tribulation and became a loose immortal."

Ji Ning understood. For instance, although he had devoted almost all his effort to Fiendgod Body Refining, it was in Qi Refining that he had first opened his Zifu!

Qi Refining was simpler; Body Refining was harder.

Perhaps in the future, he might become an Earth Immortal in Qi Refining while his Fiendgod Body Refining was still at the Daoist priest level, or even just at the Wanxiang level. It was entirely possible that he would fail his tribulation in Qi Refining first and become a loose immortal, following the same path as Immortal Ju Hua.

"Let me give you a warning." The black ox looked at Ji Ning. "This is what Immortal Ju Hua said to his disciple Lei Zhan back then."

"Please, speak." Ji Ning urged.

"This Water Mansion should be for training the descendants of Fiendgods, so you should try to walk the Fiendgod path as much as possible," the black ox said. "Even if you later reach the Return to Void stage and become an Earth Immortal, it would be better to stop cultivating in Qi Refining and absolutely never undergo the tribulation! Instead, focus on cultivating Fiendgod Body Refining and let your Fiendgod body undergo the tribulation first."

Ji Ning frowned.

"According to Immortal Ju Hua's speculation, the further you go on the Fiendgod path, the greater the help this Water Mansion will be to you. Immortal Ju Hua felt that this Water Mansion still had some secrets! Probably secrets hidden by the first master. Unfortunately, Immortal Ju Hua was unable to uncover them." The black ox said.

"Thank you for the advice, senior. Ji Ning will remember it." Ji Ning said hastily.

"The first master was immensely powerful, far surpassing Immortal Ju Hua," the black ox said. "When you go to the Star Hall, you will understand."

"Star Hall?" Ji Ning was puzzled.

Suddenly—

A phantom began to coalesce out of thin air, and soon it solidified into a tall, upright bear. The bear had yellow fur, and its gaze fell upon Ji Ning... it even gave Ji Ning a feeling of eternity and antiquity. It was like the feeling he got when he contemplated the Nüwa painting internally, the feeling Nüwa gave him.

An existence that remained eternal despite the passage of time! This bear gave Ji Ning the same feeling, though more vague and not as strong as the Nüwa painting.

"Big brother." The black ox immediately put on a fawning face and called out. Ji Ning could sense the ox's flattery and sycophancy. The black ox then said to Ji Ning, "This is the spirit of this Water Mansion."

"The spirit of the mansion?" Ji Ning also felt that the head of this one-zhang-tall yellow bear... resembled the phantom of the bear's head that had teleported him in.

"Ji Ning pays respects to senior." Ji Ning said respectfully.

The yellow bear glanced at him. "Qi Refining entering the Zifu first again. You cultivate the 'Redmoon Diagram of Nine Heavens,' the foremost Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Your Fiendgod bloodline is so rich; focus more on Fiendgod Body Refining. Do not waste your talent and opportunities."

"Yes." Ji Ning felt the intangible aura of the yellow bear.

The mere sense of ancient eternity... Ji Ning felt that ordinary cultivators could not possess it. The mansion spirit's ability to teleport people through space was also a mysterious technique.

Immortal Ju Hua was a powerful figure from the late Fiendgod Era.

This mansion spirit? It had followed the first master. How ancient was it? How powerful? He had to be humble.

"Follow me." The yellow bear walked ahead.

"Hurry up and follow." The black ox urged from the side, also quickly following.

Ji Ning followed behind, led by the yellow bear into the entrance of a thousand-zhang-tall corridor on the right side of the main hall.

The yellow bear said as it walked, "Now that you've refined the talisman, you are considered a预备 master. Besides the main hall, you can enter this corridor. This corridor has four side halls. You can enter all four... of course, for now you can only enter these four. To enter more side halls, you must become a Daoist priest of the Primordial Soul."

Ji Ning understood.

Becoming a Zifu cultivator and refining the talisman was only the first step.

Becoming a Primordial Soul Daoist and refining the mansion was the second step. Even then, it was probably only a simple refinement, allowing him to carry it with him. He feared he still wouldn't be able to fully control the Water Mansion. Otherwise, Immortal Ju Hua wouldn't have said he suspected there were many more mysteries.

"Look." The yellow bear pointed to a nearby ancient bronze door, which was open.

Ji Ning quickly walked over and looked through the bronze door...

Wow.

Ji Ning's eyes widened. Inside the door was a huge hall. High in the air of the hall floated various strange treasures, ancient artifacts emanating powerful auras. Ji Ning saw a large hammer surrounded by three-colored light. Just looking at it made his heart pound wildly, as if it were about to explode.

There were also four banner flags of different colors. When he looked at them, he felt as if he were falling into an endless world.

"This is the Treasure Hall, one of the four side halls you can enter," the yellow bear said. "The Treasure Hall contains countless treasures collected by the master, from some strange mundane objects to chaotic things from when Pangu created the world. The master set rules for all these treasures. As long as you meet the conditions set by the master, you can obtain the treasures."

Ji Ning held his breath.

Chaotic things from when Pangu created the world? What kind of things? But Ji Ning also knew that Fiendgods were born from heaven and earth, and many Fiendgods appeared after Pangu created the world.

Now it seemed that this Water Mansion might indeed have been left by a very powerful and ancient Fiendgod.

"How can I obtain these treasures? What conditions?" Ji Ning pressed.

"When you enter the Treasure Hall later, you can look for yourself. The rules left by the master are all written there." The yellow bear said.

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

The two corridors for taking disciples were set by the first master, and the rules of the Treasure Hall were also set by the first master... The first master had the greatest influence on this Water Mansion. Immortal Ju Hua was just a passerby.

"Keep walking." The yellow bear said as it walked, "The next side hall... is the Divine Abilities Hall, one of the four side halls you can enter."

"Divine Abilities Hall?" Ji Ning was startled.

Divine abilities?

He only knew one divine ability, the "Windwing Evasion." He was well aware of how precious divine abilities were; they weren't something you could obtain casually.

"We're here." After walking for a while, the yellow bear pointed to a nearby bronze door. On the ancient bronze door was a hand, which seemed to cover the sky and the sun, possessing infinite might.

"This is the Divine Abilities Hall," the yellow bear said. "Only descendants of Fiendgods who meet two conditions can enter. First, Fiendgod Body Refining must reach the level of Drip Blood Rebirth. Second, they must be within ten years of age. At most ten."

Ji Ning was taken aback.

Drip Blood Rebirth? That was the Zifu level of Fiendgod Body Refining. He hadn't reached it yet.

Ten years old?

He was already past ten.

"Back then, Ju Hua was past ten, so he couldn't enter the Divine Abilities Hall," the yellow bear said. "If he could have entered, Ju Hua might have walked a longer path and become stronger. Perhaps... he wouldn't have become a loose immortal." The yellow bear clearly had some affection for Ju Hua, who had controlled this immortal mansion for millions of years.

The black ox also sighed from the side, "My master always regretted not being able to enter the Divine Abilities Hall. Each of the four side halls was important. My master entered the other three, but not this one. He was already past ten when he passed the corridor."

Ji Ning's heart sank.

Even counting by full years, he was past ten! Did that mean he had no chance to enter the Divine Abilities Hall either?

"You're fine. You're only five now." The yellow bear looked at Ji Ning.

"Five?" Ji Ning's eyes widened.

The black ox, understanding Ji Ning's thoughts, said, "Fiendgods are born as先天生灵. You are indeed only five."