Chapter 16: Enlightenment in the Star Palace

Still the same lofty, ancient hall, and the enormous prayer mats beneath the hall lay there just as they had millions of years ago.

Ji Ning appeared out of thin air inside the hall. At a glance, he saw a black ox and a yellow-furred bear. He immediately bowed respectfully and said, “Ji Ning pays respects to the two seniors.”

“Late Wanxiang?” The yellow-furred bear nodded slightly. “Your qi-refining progress is quite fast, but your divine-body cultivation is only at the ninth level—a bit slow.”

“Already at Wanxiang?” The black ox was astonished, then looked at Ji Ning. “Little child Ji Ning, it seems you are far stronger than the fourth master of this grotto, Lei Zhan. Lei Zhan died back when he was at the Wanxiang stage.”

Ji Ning smiled.

The yellow-furred bear nodded. “Ji Ning is naturally far stronger than Lei Zhan. Ji Ning’s talent can match that of a reincarnated immortal.”

“You flatter me, seniors,” Ji Ning said cheerfully. A compliment naturally put him in a good mood. “I wonder if I have a chance of passing the third level of the War God Hall now?”

“Less than one in ten.” The yellow-furred bear shook his head.

“What!” Ji Ning was shocked.

Back when he had left Mount Yan for Anchan City, he had already passed the second level of the War God Hall. Now, four years later, his divine-body cultivation was stronger, and he had even stepped through the gate of the ‘Way of the Sword’… Yet the spirit of this grotto, the yellow-furred bear, so flatly declared that his chances of passing the third level were less than one in ten.

“Senior doesn’t even know my current level of the sword,” Ji Ning said.

“Ji Ning, there is something you don’t know.” The yellow-furred bear shook his head and said, “Passing the first and second levels of the War God Hall rewards you with Mortal-grade magic treasures or items of equivalent value. Passing the third and fourth levels rewards you with Earth-grade magic treasures or items of equivalent value… That is to say, every two levels, the difficulty of the War God Hall makes a great leap.”

“A great leap?” Ji Ning frowned.

“Yes. The first and second levels of the War God Hall generally test divine-body cultivation at the Zifu level. The third and fourth levels test divine-body cultivation at the Wanxiang level.” The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning. “Generally, only when one’s divine-body cultivation reaches the Wanxiang level is there hope of passing the third level. You have only reached the ninth level of the ‘Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens’; your foundation is relatively too weak. Even though you have divine abilities, the difficulty of this trial has already taken ‘divine abilities’ into account, after all, this trial is aimed at the successive masters of this grotto.”

“For example, the seventh and eighth levels of the War God Hall test divine-body cultivation at the Return to Void level. Back then, Immortal Suhua’s divine-body cultivation never broke through. Although his qi-refining broke through and even reached the perfection of Return to Void, he still couldn’t pass the seventh level. It was only after he became a loose immortal and cultivated bitterly for many years that he finally passed the seventh level… From this, you can probably understand how difficult it is.”

Ji Ning nodded silently.

Yes.

Immortal Suhua, when he was at the ‘Earth Immortal perfection’ stage in qi-refining, still couldn’t pass the seventh level.

This meant that passing the third level while at the ‘Wanxiang perfection’ stage in qi-refining was also very slim. The best hope was to be a divine-body cultivator, to have inherited the divine ability ‘Star Picking Hand’ or one of the top three divine abilities from the Divine Ability Hall, and to have an extremely high level in the Dao—only then could one pass.

This was the trial left by ‘Daoist San Shou’!

“Of course, you can still try,” the yellow-furred bear said. “As a divine-body cultivator at the Zifu level, you have two chances to challenge the War God Hall. You’ve only used one. There’s still one left!”

Ji Ning smiled. “No rush. Today, I came mainly to go to the Star Palace.”

“I’ll take you there,” the black ox quickly said. “The War God Hall is extremely difficult. Back then, Immortal Suhua was driven almost mad by the War God Hall. The Star Palace is much better. Everywhere in the Star Palace, the mysteries of the Dao are contained; it is a sacred ground for enlightenment.”

The yellow-furred bear followed behind.

Thus, an ox, a man, and a bear walked toward the Star Palace.

…

Inside the Star Palace, there was still that great mountain, lush and vibrant with life, while at the foot of the mountain was a desolate stretch of rocky beach, in the middle of which stood a thatched cottage.

In the sky were brilliant stars.

“Every time I come, it feels different.” Ji Ning looked at the babbling brook on the rocky beach, at the weeds growing among the rocks, at any star in the sky—all felt imbued with the mysteries of the Dao. “That is the Way of Blazing Fire… That is… the Way of the Sword?”

Ji Ning looked up.

“The Way of the Sword?” Ji Ning couldn’t help exclaiming.

“You’ve stepped into the Way of the Sword?” The black ox beside him looked at Ji Ning in surprise.

Ji Ning nodded. “Yes, after I left Mount Yan for Anchan City and entered the Black-White College, I stepped into the Way of the Sword not long after.”

“Suhua also stepped into the Way of the Sword back then. Immortal Suhua was a very famous sword immortal… Unfortunately, he couldn’t comprehend the entire Way of the Sword.” The black ox shook his head and sighed.

“The Way of the Sword is a Grand Dao,” the yellow-furred bear said slowly as he walked over from behind. “If one has a sword immortal’s heart, a sincere heart toward the sword, and a bit higher comprehension, one can generally step into the Way of the Sword.”

Ji Ning muttered to himself.

Easy for him to say. In the Black-White College, aside from his master, only he had stepped into the Way of the Sword. In the mouth of this grotto spirit, it didn’t seem like such a difficult thing. But then again… this grotto spirit had once followed the Chaos Immortal San Shou, so his high standards were not surprising.

“Stepping into the Way of the Sword is easy; making some achievements in the Way of the Sword is not difficult either. But to fully comprehend a complete Way of the Sword is extremely difficult.” The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning. “In your homeland, in this major world ruled by the Grand Xia Dynasty, there is probably not a single person who has comprehended a complete Way of the Sword!”

Ji Ning held his breath.

“A minor Dao is a minor Dao, a Grand Dao is a Grand Dao, and the Heavenly Dao is the Heavenly Dao!” The yellow-furred bear sighed. “The difference between the three is vast. For example, Suhua was able to comprehend nine complete Daos. But even if you gave him ten million years, he couldn’t comprehend a single Grand Dao! My master was a Chaos Immortal, born in chaos with innate knowledge, mastering a Grand Dao from birth. Later, he comprehended many Grand Daos, and ordinary Daos were even more numerous… Unfortunately, until the day he built this grotto, he had not yet mastered a single Heavenly Dao.”

Ji Ning pricked up his ears.

Daoist San Shou?

Born with innate knowledge, mastering a Grand Dao from birth in chaos? Mastering many Grand Daos?

“Enlighten well. Your talent is far higher than Suhua and the others. Only by comprehending a Grand Dao can you hope to become a great power roaming the Three Realms, and only then can you hope to match your master, Daoist San Shou.” The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning. “In this major world ruled by your Grand Xia Dynasty, perhaps you will be the first to master the Grand Dao of the ‘Way of the Sword’.”

Ji Ning’s blood boiled.

Whether it was Senior Beixing or the even stronger Immortal Suhua, though they had gone far on the path of the sword, they were still far from mastering the entire Way of the Sword. Even so, they were already powerful existences that shook the Grand Xia Dynasty, even rivaling Celestial Immortals as loose immortals. If he truly mastered a Way of the Sword, he could be considered a formidable figure in the Three Realms.

“My talent is higher than Immortal Suhua and the others, and I have obtained the divine ability ‘Star Picking Hand,’ so my starting point is much higher,” Ji Ning thought to himself. “With the aid of the Water Mansion… With such conditions, if I still can’t become a sword immortal who masters the Way of the Sword, I can only blame myself.”

Ji Ning was filled with heroic spirit.

Senior Beixing?

Immortal Suhua?

He would become an even more powerful sword immortal, even the strongest sword immortal in the entire Grand Xia Dynasty! And in the future, he would become a famous sword immortal in the Three Realms!

“A nine-story platform begins with a pile of earth. A thousand-mile journey begins with the first step. The road must be walked step by step.” Ji Ning immediately walked into the thatched cottage and brought out a stack of books—the Star Scroll, Volume One, the Star Scroll, Volume Two…

He placed the stack of books directly on the stone table outside the thatched cottage and sat down on a stone stool.

Opening Volume One, Ji Ning began to read aloud.

“Today, Chang came to see me and asked me to help him…” Ji Ning read. The syllables of each word were ordinary, but when these syllables were strung together, they became the most exquisite ‘sounds of the Grand Dao,’ naturally guiding Ji Ning’s heart into an increasingly empty, deep, and profound state of enlightenment…

Ji Ning’s eyes were deep and distant as he gazed at a star in the high sky.

Whoosh.

The wind rose.

A gentle breeze began to blow around him. Ji Ning stood up and took a step; his entire being became a part of the wind, merging directly into it. Like a roc spreading its wings and soaring, he whistled through the wind, flashing like a teleportation technique, disappearing from one place and appearing in another patch of wind.

This was the true ‘Windwing Evasion.’

“The Way of Gusty Wind.” The yellow-furred bear nodded slightly. “Another Dao has reached the Dao Domain level. It seems that in these four years, Ji Ning has made no small progress.”

Over the four years, Ji Ning had accumulated many insights and experiences, and these, triggered by the Star Palace, naturally erupted.

…

While Ji Ning was reciting the Star Scroll in the Star Palace of the Water Mansion and gaining enlightenment, far away in Anchan City.

At the Black-White College.

“Junior Brother Ji Ning and I both completed the Yinglong Guard mission. Junior Brother Ji Ning returned to his hometown, Mount Yan, while I went to Mount Yan… but it didn’t help much with my enlightenment on the Way of Puppets, so I came back.” Mu Zishuo smiled. Across from him sat Senior Apprentice Sister Jiuyou, dressed in a sky-blue Daoist robe.

Senior Apprentice Sister Jiuyou smiled and nodded. “You two junior brothers are indeed formidable, having become Yinglong Guards so quickly. I still haven’t become one.”

“Senior Apprentice Sister has also reached the Wanxiang stage now; I’m sure you’ll become a Yinglong Guard soon,” Mu Zishuo said.

“No rush. I’ll wait until my strength is a bit higher before joining the Yinglong Guard.” Senior Apprentice Sister Jiuyou hesitated, then asked, “By the way, your Junior Brother Ji Ning returned to his hometown, Mount Yan. Do you know where in Mount Yan he went?”

Mu Zishuo said, “Mount Yan, Serpentwing Lake! Senior Brother said he would live there for a long time!”

“Oh, Serpentwing Lake!”

Senior Apprentice Sister Jiuyou nodded gently, silently memorizing the name. Then she stood up with a smile. “I won’t disturb you, Junior Brother. I’ll be going back now.”

Jiuyou then stepped onto a snow-white lotus flower magic treasure and soared into the air, flying into the distant sky.

…

Flying high in the sky, a hint of a smile appeared in Jiuyou’s eyes. “Mount Yan, Serpentwing Lake? My master also said I’ve been in the sect long enough and should go out and gain more experience. Well, I’ll go to this Serpentwing Lake first.”

The next day.

Jiuyou and her junior apprentice sister left the Black-White College to travel and gain experience. Their first destination was Serpentwing Lake on Mount Yan.