Chapter 22: Drifting Away

Yu Wei and Palace Immortal only felt the space and time around them shift, and when everything around them became clear, they were already on a corridor. On the corridor, Qiuye was walking. Seeing the sudden appearance of Palace Immortal and Yu Wei, she was also startled, then quickly said, "Madam, Palace Immortal."

"It seems they don't want us to watch," Palace Immortal said helplessly with a smile.

"I wonder who Junior Brother's master really is," Yu Wei said curiously.

Just now, they only heard 'His master is me,' and they were directly teleported away, not seeing anything, let alone knowing who Ji Ning's Dao Ancestor master was.

"What's wrong?" Qiuye asked curiously. "Are you talking about the young master's master?"

"Nothing," Yu Wei shook her head with a smile. "It's a good thing, but not something we need to know."

"Oh," Qiuye nodded and didn't ask further.

…

By the lake on Mingxin Island.

"Master," Ji Ning said in surprise, then respectfully called out. The thin old man in a Daoist robe with white hair and beard smiled at Ji Ning and nodded, then looked at Source Elder.

"It's you!" Source Elder's eyes widened. "Big Gourd Skin, oh Big Gourd Skin, such a good disciple has been snatched away by you again."

"This is the third time," Bodhi Patriarch sighed. "The disciples I take in, the disciples I teach, why do you always come to snatch them away?"

Ji Ning blinked beside them.

The third time?

It seemed there had been two senior brothers or sisters before who were also snatched away by Source Elder.

"Haha, it just shows that Bodhi, you're good at teaching disciples," Source Elder said with a laugh. "Since it's you, Bodhi, then everything is easy to discuss. Didn't we succeed in a negotiation last time? Speak, what conditions do you have? Just say them. I have many treasures and am willing to spend, so I'm not afraid of you asking for a lot."

"Ji Ning, are you willing?" Bodhi looked at Ji Ning.

"I will follow Master's orders in everything," Ji Ning said respectfully. As long as his master didn't make things difficult, everything would be fine. Moreover, his master Bodhi surely knew something about Source Elder's background. Whether to take him as a master, Ji Ning believed his master Bodhi wouldn't harm him.

Bodhi nodded slightly.

"Taking you as a disciple also counts as being under my tutelage," Bodhi said calmly. "I have no other conditions, just one… you stand on our side."

"This…" Source Elder's face immediately turned ugly.

Bodhi frowned. "What, you still don't want to make a choice?"

"Isn't it just taking a disciple from you? And it's not about making him switch allegiance; he would be a shared disciple between us. You can ask for divine abilities, innate spirit treasures, anything. Why do you have to force me like this?" Source Elder scratched his head. "Back then, Little Peacock took me as her master, and it was fine. She called you master and also called me master."

Ji Ning's heart stirred.

Could it be Senior Sister Peacock?

"Little Peacock?" Bodhi shook his head. "At that time, the great calamity had not yet arisen, and I didn't know there would be such a catastrophe. Now that the calamity has arisen, you naturally have to make a choice. Otherwise, I cannot let my disciple take you as his master."

"How can you, how can you… you old blockhead!" Source Elder was furious.

"Hmph," Bodhi said coldly. "Then let me ask you, if Ji Ning takes you as his master, and you later defect to the side of the Netherworld Sect, what do you think Ji Ning should choose? Should he stand with me, or should he stand with you? If he also stands with the Netherworld Sect, then I will certainly take action and eliminate this wicked disciple! If he stands with me, you will surely kill him, because at that time it will be a life-and-death struggle, and no one can escape."

Source Elder's face was grim.

Ji Ning, standing by, now fully understood.

Indeed.

Having two masters, if the two masters were from opposing camps, then no matter which side he stood on, he would have to become enemies with one of his masters!

"You want to take Ji Ning as your disciple, and I believe you don't want to make things difficult for him, or have him killed by his own master in the future. So only if you stand on our side will Ji Ning have no worries," Bodhi said. "As long as you nod, Ji Ning will take you as his master."

"You…" Source Elder's expression was complicated.

Ji Ning watched silently from the side.

The Four Ancestors of the Source River were a considerable force in the Three Realms. If Source Elder stood on one side, the Dao Ancestors who followed him would probably have to stand on that side as well.

"Why do you have to force me? This isn't just about me alone. Behind me, there are a group of friends and a host of disciples and descendants," Source Elder said anxiously.

"There's no room for negotiation on this matter," Bodhi shook his head. "Don't make things difficult for Ji Ning."

"But wasn't it fine when we took in Little Peacock before?" Source Elder urged.

"You haven't made a choice yet. When you do make a choice in the future, if you defect to the Netherworld Sect, Little Peacock will also have to make a choice: to follow you or to follow me," Bodhi sighed. "I have already wronged Little Peacock, and I don't want Ji Ning to face the same situation in the future."

Source Elder suddenly grew angry: "I just don't understand why you all are so stubborn!"

"I also don't understand. We were all born from chaos together, like blood brothers. We all stand on one side, yet you remain aloof! All you Four Ancestors of the Source River are like this, completely disregarding old ties." Bodhi was no longer calm; his brows trembled with anger as he pointed at Source Elder.

"You received Nuwa's grace, but we did not," Source Elder retorted angrily. "Moreover, the ancient Pangu World has long been shattered. Now it's the era of the Three Realms. If that old immortal wants to unify the Three Realms, let him rule. Do any of you Dao Ancestors care about ruling the Three Realms? You have to fight to the death! If I didn't care about brotherly ties, I would have defected to the Netherworld Sect long ago!"

Bodhi was extremely angry: "You think so…"

His voice suddenly became silent.

Bodhi Patriarch and Source Elder became blurry in the distance, both angrily rebuking, cursing, and arguing with each other.

But Ji Ning could no longer hear their voices.

"It seems they don't want me to hear," Ji Ning muttered. "What did they say about an old immortal wanting to unify the Three Realms? Which old immortal? It seems to be some terrifyingly powerful figure in the Three Realms."

Ji Ning could only watch silently from the side. The two Dao Ancestors in the distance were both renowned figures in the Three Realms, standing at the very top among Dao Ancestors. Among their disciples were several Dao Ancestors, and they also had other Dao Ancestors as steadfast allies. Their strength was equally formidable.

Moreover, both were born from chaos.

At this moment, they were both arguing, trying to convince the other side.

…

After a long time…

The two Dao Ancestors actually argued for over an hour. As the argument progressed, Ji Ning noticed that Bodhi Patriarch became more and more imposing, while Source Elder seemed to be losing confidence.

"Bang." There was a sudden tremor around them, and Ji Ning could once again hear the voices of the two Dao Ancestors in the distance.

"Ji Ning."

Source Elder rushed over directly, his face grim, and said angrily, "Your master is a blockhead, impossible to reason with! Those who follow different paths cannot work together. I won't say more. Your talent is remarkable, and that rotten wood has some impressive skills, but he is truly lacking in the aspect of heartforce. Since we are fated not to be master and disciple, so be it. This is the method of using heartforce that I have comprehended. Though it is not systematic, it can serve as a reference for you. I give it to you."

With that, he pointed at Ji Ning.

Immediately, a stream of light shot into Ji Ning's brow.

A vast amount of information instantly filled Ji Ning's mind.

"Bodhi!" Source Elder turned and pointed at Bodhi, cursing, "When it comes to escape and concealment, you are number one in the Three Realms! You can escape and survive, but how many of the old brothers will survive? Back then, Sanshou and the others died one by one. How many more must die now?"

"If we retreat, more will die, even all of us will die!" Bodhi retorted angrily.

"Fine, fine, fine. Let's just wait and see."

Source Elder was furious and turned to leave.

After taking two steps, the ordinary old craftsman collapsed to the ground, while a stream of light shot into the sky and disappeared.

Bodhi waved his hand, and the old craftsman was teleported away. After all, he was just an ordinary old man; Source Elder had only possessed him.

Bodhi walked toward Ji Ning, who was now completely filled with the vast methods of using heartforce.

…

Vast.

Profound.

Ji Ning looked at the vast information and felt admiration for Source Elder. Too impressive! Source Elder's true strongest skill was probably not in heartforce, as Ji Ning could see that Source Elder was not as strong as Houyi in heartforce.

But Source Elder was different from Houyi.

Houyi specialized—specializing in the art of archery, and his use of heartforce in archery was systematic, with terrifying power and profundity.

Source Elder was miscellaneous. He seemed to enjoy studying heartforce, so he had researched various methods of using heartforce: on legs, body, fingers, hair, swords, other treasures… all kinds of methods existed, but they were not systematic, just bits and pieces recorded by Source Elder after his own insights.

The most profound was that heartforce could be used on the 'soul'! This allowed the soul to control more treasures. For example, if Ji Ning could normally only control the third level of the Grand Thousand Sword Formation, by using heartforce to coordinate the soul, he could control the sixth or seventh level. This method was what Ji Ning most anticipated.

Heartforce acted like a commander, the soul like soldiers. Through coordination and circulation, the number of controlled treasures could increase dramatically, and the consumption of heartforce could even be ignored, as it was merely a guiding command with little consumption. But the increase in strength was astonishing. It was an absolute trump card for the qi-refining path.

However, all of this was not systematic. Not being systematic meant that others who obtained it would find it difficult to learn step by step.

But—

Ji Ning was not an ordinary person.

He had used the heartforce application method from Houyi's archery technique to figure out the finger-sword application method, and then comprehended the heartforce application method for immortal swords! Ji Ning himself could create, so after obtaining the more profound methods of Source Elder, he would naturally be inspired and gain insights, allowing him to create his own heartforce application methods for legs, the whole body, the soul, and many other aspects.

Besides Source Elder's methods, there were also a few heartforce application methods from other great figures.

The collection of various unsystematic methods was named the "Heart Sutra."

"Heart Sutra? With this Heart Sutra, whether it's dodging and moving in close combat, escape techniques, or other methods, their power can increase as much as my attacks. My second soul can also become stronger." Ji Ning was extremely excited. Previously, he was only strong in offense, weak in other aspects, so even a Celestial Immortal or True Immortal could capture him.

But as long as Ji Ning could improve in all aspects and eliminate his weaknesses, capturing him would become difficult.

"Whoosh." Ji Ning opened his eyes, a joyful expression on his face.

As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw his master Bodhi standing not far away. Ji Ning's expression froze.

"Master," Ji Ning quickly said.

…