Chapter 7 Refining the Water Residence

In the quiet hall.

Ji Ning in black robes sat cross-legged, before him a jade bottle. The primal liquid from the bottle flew directly into Ji Ning's mouth.

“Tsk tsk.” The black ox watched excitedly from the side, for it had been lonely for far too long.

The yellow-furred bear waved a claw, and the two large pouches untied themselves. Qiongqi puppets roared out one after another—thirty-six in total, along with a puppet in black armor. Once out, they struggled wildly, trying to resist.

“Be good, all of you, and obey.” The yellow-furred bear smiled. The thirty-six qiongqi puppets and the black-armored man hung in midair, struggling but unable to move, which made them all show looks of terror.

“Who are you?” The black-armored man stared at the yellow-furred bear and shouted, “Why do you imprison us?”

“Oh, so they implanted souls?” The yellow-furred bear shook his head. “Who made these puppets? The technique is really crude.”

Crackle crackle~~~

The thirty-six qiongqi puppets and the black-armored man in midair all disassembled into tens of thousands of parts.

“Let me put them away first and work on them slowly.” The yellow-furred bear’s eyes held anticipation. He waved a claw, and whoosh, the tens of thousands of puppet parts vanished, moved away.

“Little kid Ji Ning.” The yellow-furred bear spoke, “I’ll study these puppets first, erase some marks left by the previous maker, and give them to you when they’re ready.”

“No rush.” Ji Ning smiled.

Ji Ning himself was not cultivating; it was his second soul, the ‘Ji Ning in black robes,’ that was cultivating now.

…

Time passed.

Finally, the hundred thousand catties of primal liquid in the jade bottle were all consumed. Ji Ning in black robes opened his eyes, a look of joy in them.

“Ji Ning, how is it?” The black ox asked expectantly.

“When the primal liquid was used up, I finally reached the late stage of the Primordial Soul.” Ji Ning in black robes said, “Let me first try the Small Thousand Sword Formation.”

Swish.

Around him, over seven hundred flying swords appeared once more. The many Earth-ranked flying swords, led by the Cold Abyss Sword Formation, began to stir. Ji Ning struggled for a long time but still couldn't control them all perfectly, only managing to execute the eighth layer of the Lesser Thousand Swords Formation: "My elemental energy is much purer than before, yet I'm only at the eighth layer?"

"Ji Ning, you have already cultivated a second true body. With this second true body, you can now refine and take control of this estate," said the yellow-haired bear.

"Refine the estate?" Ji Ning's mind stirred, and his second true body instantly transformed into a pearl that flew into his bosom.

"Follow me," the yellow-haired bear said, walking ahead.

Ji Ning was filled with anticipation. He had been waiting for this day for a very long time. Back when he became a Zifu Disciple, he had only refined a single token. Now that he had cultivated a second true body, he could finally refine the estate itself. Then, like the Immortal Ju Hua, he could carry the estate with him wherever he went.

They walked along another wide corridor, one Ji Ning had been unable to enter before.

"From today on, you will be able to enter over ninety percent of the estate," said the yellow-haired bear. "Once you refine it, you can even carry it with you."

"Over ninety percent? Senior, do you mean there are still some places I cannot enter?" Ji Ning asked.

"Yes, for example, the Divine Abilities Hall. You can no longer enter that. And some other places as well." The yellow-haired bear glanced at Ji Ning. "I imagine you've already guessed... reaching the level of a Primal Daoist only allows you to perform a simple refinement and carry the estate with you. To truly master the many mysteries of this immortal estate, you must wait until you become a Celestial Immortal and formally become the disciple of the master."

Ji Ning nodded.

He had expected this. Earlier, he had seen the yellow-haired bear easily immobilize the 'black-armored man' puppet, which was comparable to an ordinary loose immortal, midair, unable to break free. Ji Ning also sensed an eternal, ancient aura from the yellow-haired bear—an aura that made him feel more wary than even the divine demon he had encountered in Yanshan's Great Wasteland. To think that a mere Primal Daoist could master everything in the estate? Ji Ning himself knew he still had a long way to go.

"Celestial Immortal?" Ji Ning thought to himself. "San Tao Daoist, what exactly have you left behind that requires one to become a Celestial Immortal to fully inherit?"

They walked along corridors and branching paths.

Soon they arrived at a simple, ancient meditation chamber. As soon as Ji Ning entered, he felt an unprecedented tranquility in his heart.

"This is the meditation chamber. The master personally laid down the Buddhist 'Bodhi Heart-Calming Grand Formation' here. Among the formations used for calming the heart in the Three Realms, the Bodhi Heart-Calming Formation ranks among the top. The name is ordinary, but its power is extraordinary." The yellow-haired bear pointed at the wide, spacious chamber. As its claw pointed, the walls revealed an extremely complex golden formation that made Ji Ning dizzy just looking at it. "This formation is beyond your comprehension. A single glance is enough; don't stare at it foolishly."

The complex golden formation covering all four walls faded away.

"Look." The yellow-haired bear pointed to the center of the chamber, where there were layers of steps. Atop the steps was a simple ink-colored jade bed, emitting a cold, chilling aura. "This is 'Netherwater Jade' taken from the depths of the Nine Nether. It is extremely cold. When you first sit on it, you'll feel very cold, but soon you'll feel very comfortable, and it also has a heart-calming effect. This single jade bed is worth a Pure Yang magic treasure."

Ji Ning's heart twitched violently.

A Pure Yang magic treasure?

The handiwork of the Three Longevity Daoist was truly grand.

"But don't think about selling it—it's already one with the entire Water Mansion and can't be removed." The yellow-furred bear curled his lips, a hint of smugness in his smile. "Ha ha, no more teasing. This meditation chamber is the very core of the Water Mansion. Once you refine it, you'll gain basic control over the entire mansion. Go ahead, start refining."

Ji Ning nodded and walked directly to the ink-colored jade bed.

As soon as he sat down, a bone-piercing chill instantly coursed through his entire body, freezing even his soul, but then an unprecedented tranquility followed.

Ethereal!

His soul achieved an absolute transcendence. Ji Ning clearly recalled and analyzed everything he had encountered during this period. In this process of recollection and reflection, his Dao-heart gradually grew firm.

"So this is a true meditation chamber. The Buddhist grand formation 'Bodhi Calming Heart Formation' and the 'Netherwater Jade' are indeed extraordinary." Ji Ning hesitated no longer. With a thought, a black-robed Ji Ning appeared beside him. The black-robed Ji Ning also sat on the Netherwater Jade, and then powerful elemental energy directly permeated the chamber, beginning the refinement.

This meditation chamber was gradually refined.

Time flowed on...

The refinement lasted a full six days! And this was merely a simple refinement of the Water Mansion.

...

"This feeling is wonderful." It seemed every part of the Water Mansion was under his control, but strangely, although he felt he could sense every corner, the Divine Abilities Hall seemed to have vanished, beyond his perception.

"Strange." Ji Ning returned to the main hall.

Inside the main hall.

The yellow-furred bear and the black ox were both there.

"Senior, haven't you forgotten something?" Ji Ning asked.

"What?" The yellow-furred bear looked at Ji Ning.

"The treasures left by Immortal Ju Hua," Ji Ning couldn't help saying. "I've already refined the Water Mansion, so where are Immortal Ju Hua's treasures?" Whether it was Immortal Ju Hua's treasures or the dismantled puppets, although Ji Ning could sense the entire Water Mansion, he couldn't find any trace of them. Moreover, he now felt no sense of control over the 'yellow-furred bear.'

"Oh, almost forgot." The yellow-furred bear waved his hand.

Whoosh!

Instantly, a mountain of treasures appeared in the hall—a true mountain, hundreds of feet high. Ji Ning's eyes lit up.

"Having lived for millions of years, one accumulates quite a collection of treasures." The yellow-furred bear shook his head. "Immortal Ju Hua left behind three Immortal-ranked magic treasures, each of them top-grade among Immortal treasures."

Ji Ning's eyes gleamed.

Three?

And all top-grade?

No wonder he was a loose immortal who had lived millions of years, even stronger than the Northwalker Immortal. Even a Celestial Immortal's collection of Immortal treasures might only match his.

"But now only one remains." The yellow-furred bear added, then pointed at the black ox. "It's this one."

"Only one?" Ji Ning was stunned. "Weren't there three? Didn't Immortal Ju Hua leave three? The fourth master of the Water Mansion died at only the Wanxiang level; he couldn't have taken the Immortal treasures away. Where are the other two?"

Come on, all top-grade Immortal treasures, and two were missing?

"Don't rush. Losing two is good for you." The black ox said smugly, "Aren't I still here? Little Ji Ning, I'll stick with you from now on. Having me is your great fortune."

Ji Ning was full of doubts. Where had the other two Immortal treasures gone? The spirit of the Water Mansion wouldn't embezzle them, would it?

The yellow-furred bear said, "Immortal Ju Hua's three Immortal treasures were the 'Thousand Ox Sword,' the 'Su River Scroll,' and the 'Nine Realms Seal.'"

"The Su River Scroll was a top-grade Immortal treasure Immortal Ju Hua obtained after clearing the seventh level of the War God Hall. It contains an ancient river called the 'Su River,' which existed before the birth of the Three Thousand Great Worlds. If you trap an enemy inside, they enter your domain. Within the scroll, the enemy's strength is greatly reduced, while the owner can wield the power of the entire Su River. Immortal Ju Hua's great reputation was largely due to this treasure."

Ji Ning was awestruck.

What a treasure!

Compared to the Su River Scroll, the Green Silk Divine Flame Lamp was far inferior—after all, the Su River was an ancient river from before the Three Thousand Great Worlds were born.

"The Nine Realms Seal was forged by Immortal Ju Hua after traveling through nine great worlds, gathering vast amounts of rare materials to create a single seal. This seal, of course, was used for smashing. It consumed countless precious materials, all piled together to form this top-grade Immortal seal. In his later years, Immortal Ju Hua loved using the seal to smash people."

"The Thousand Ox Sword was made after Immortal Ju Hua encountered the Thousand Swords Immortal. They were evenly matched, but Immortal Ju Hua killed him, obtained several hundred precious flying swords, exchanged them for rare materials, and combined them with his own accumulated treasures to forge this single flying sword. Immortal Ju Hua was also a sword immortal, and the most important thing for a sword immortal is the flying sword. This Thousand Ox Sword was his mainstay for dominating the world."

Ji Ning listened, dazzled and entranced, and couldn't help asking, "Where did the Su River Scroll and the Nine Realms Seal go?"