Chapter Forty: The Seven Chapters of Dan Leaf

There was a long silence.

Only then did Venerable Dan speak: "Borrowing your armor for half a month, I cannot owe you. I can grant you one request. Think it over carefully. As long as it is not too excessive, even if you ask for a puppet with the strength of a Fourth Step Dao Lord, I can agree. When you have decided, tell me what you truly want."

Ji Ning was overjoyed inside. Just borrowing the armor for half a month brought such a great benefit? Senior, why not just borrow it for eight or ten years?

"This opportunity comes only once. Think carefully," Venerable Dan added.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded, pondering.

What should he ask for?

Treasures?

He already had the Sovereign's armor, fifty million square of liquid chaos, and the Sovereign's talisman... Asking for some treasures would be of limited help. Only something that truly had a great influence on his growth was most important.

"Senior." Ji Ning glanced at the massive cauldron nearby and suddenly his eyes lit up. He spoke, "This huge cauldron is here, and you have specially created such a vast lake of chaos liquid. It seems you are extremely skilled in alchemy?"

"Yes," Venerable Dan nodded. "In alchemy, there is none in this universe who can compare to me. Even in artifact forging and puppet crafting, I rank among the top three in this universe."

Ji Ning was startled.

Such bold words! What kind of confidence was needed to claim that no one in the universe could match him in alchemy?

"Senior excels in alchemy," Ji Ning said. "Could you impart some alchemy techniques to this junior?"

"Alchemy techniques?" Venerable Dan looked at Ji Ning. "These are secrets not passed on in alchemy. Do you wish to learn alchemy?"

Ji Ning shook his head, and with a thought, divine lightning and divine water flew out from his body: "Senior, please look. This junior has learned a secret art that allows divine lightning to combine intricately, much like refining pills. When cultivated to perfection, it can perfectly merge nine types of divine lightning into a Ninefold Divine Thunder! Its power is enough to directly slay even ordinary Fourth Step Dao Lords. But such a secret art is extremely difficult to cultivate, and this junior knows far too little about alchemy."

"Using divine lightning as material to forge a secret art—the creator of such an art has truly entered the door of alchemy," Venerable Dan nodded.

Ji Ning was speechless.

Even Venerate Wan Shen was only considered to have entered the door? But compared to the one before him, who dared to claim absolute supremacy in alchemy across the universe, this statement was probably the truth.

"My alchemy techniques are not easily passed on." Venerable Dan hesitated, then stroked the armor on his knee before saying, "To this day, I have only taught them to three disciples. Today, you will be the fourth. Remember, without my permission, you must never pass them on. With these methods, even a little practice can make you a master alchemist. At the very least, you will be no weaker than the creator of the Ninefold Divine Thunder secret art. If you are willing to put in some effort, surpassing him will be effortless."

Ji Ning was astonished. Surpass Venerate Wan Shen in alchemy?

"Memorize this." Venerable Dan waved his hand, and a deep green, bamboo-leaf-like talisman flew toward Ji Ning. The moment it touched him, it began to pour into his memory.

After a long while, he had fully recorded it.

A new method had appeared in Ji Ning's mind, called the "Seven Chapters of Dan Leaf." After reading it, Ji Ning felt as if he had been enlightened. The true teachings of the Great Dao were very simple. After reading and memorizing it once, Ji Ning's alchemy skills soared effortlessly, and he was now likely no worse than Danbao World God.

The reason for such remarkable progress was twofold: first, the "Seven Chapters of Dan Leaf" was extremely profound; second, Ji Ning's own realm was already high enough.

"This, this..." Ji Ning looked at Venerable Dan, dumbfounded. "This junior only asked for some alchemy techniques."

"I have given it to you, so accept it," Venerable Dan instructed. "If you wish, you can spend some time in the future learning alchemy. It might even inspire your swordplay."

"Yes," Ji Ning said respectfully.

This "Seven Chapters of Dan Leaf" was a very complete alchemy method, containing detailed explanations of the properties of billions of strange substances and many pill recipes. Pills like the "Heaven-Stealing Life-and-Death Pill" were merely ordinary among them. What Ji Ning had originally wanted to ask for was only a part of it.

"Since you have received my method," Venerable Dan said, "if you ever encounter someone with great talent in alchemy, you may teach them the first chapter of the 'Seven Chapters of Dan Leaf.' If they fully master the first chapter, you may teach them the second... If they learn all three chapters, send them to me. Remember, when selecting disciples for me, you may only teach the first three chapters. Though these three chapters are profound, they are not yet too precious. The last four chapters must be personally examined by me before they can be passed on."

"Yes," Ji Ning said respectfully. "This junior has already sworn a lifeblood oath."

Venerable Dan gently shook his head.

Because of the deceased Sovereign, her attitude toward Ji Ning was somewhat special, and she was unwilling to force him to swear a lifeblood oath.

But even though she did not force him, Ji Ning knew how to act. Such a earth-shattering method—if he were to die at the hands of a powerful enemy and they obtained it through soul-searching, he would be letting Venerable Dan down. Of course, Ji Ning also believed that there were few who could actually soul-search him. Especially after he returned to the Endless Territories and soon broke through to Dao Lord, his strength would increase even further.

"This is a talisman, a gift from Emperor Fu Bo to you." Venerable Dan tossed out a jade talisman mottled in black and white.

Ji Ning caught it in some surprise: "Emperor Fu Bo gave this to me? I... I don't know Emperor Fu Bo..." In his shock, he even forgot to use the self-deprecating term 'junior.'

"He doesn't know you, but he knows me," Venerable Dan said calmly. "This talisman is somewhat precious, useless to me, but of great use to you. He gave it to you as a way to form a good connection with me."

Ji Ning found it increasingly strange.

If he wanted to form a good connection with you, why give me the talisman? What exactly was the relationship between himself and this mysterious expert? But since the expert before him called it 'somewhat precious,' the talisman must be extraordinary.

"This talisman—once you sense it, you will know how to use it," Venerable Dan instructed.

"Oh, this, this..." Ji Ning was stunned the moment he sensed it.

What a terrifying talisman.

This talisman could be called a 'lifebound talisman.' By placing a drop of blood inside and storing it properly, if he died, no matter how far away, he could be reborn using the blood within this talisman! It was essentially an extra life!

Although Ji Ning's true body currently had avatars, once he became a Dao Lord, the true body and avatars would merge into one, leaving only the true body and the second avatar.

If the true body died, he would truly be dead, with no chance of resurrection.

This talisman was equivalent to an extra life—die once, and he could be revived once. But after one use, the incredible power contained within the talisman would be consumed.

"A talisman that can give a Dao Lord an extra life—how miraculous," Ji Ning marveled.

He did not know that this was merely a 'test product' refined by Emperor Fu Bo. Emperor Fu Bo possessed lifebound talismans that could give even Eternal Emperors an extra life, but those were far too precious. He would not give them as gifts. This time, he gave Ji Ning a gift to have Venerable Dan remember this favor.

In the future, when he needed to ask Venerable Dan for help, it would be easier. It should be noted that Venerable Dan had invested immense effort in the art of reversing time and space to revive the dead; she was indeed the most proficient in this area.

...

"Whoosh." Suddenly, a golden-robed old man flew over from afar.

"Master," the golden-robed old man said respectfully.

"This is my follower, Yu Hong." Venerable Dan looked at Ji Ning, then instructed, "Yu Hong, take Beiming down and arrange a residence for him. Also, do not reveal my relationship with Beiming!"

"Yes," the golden-robed old man said respectfully.

"Beiming." Venerable Dan looked at Ji Ning. "Within my Three Leaf Realm, there are also five Eternal Emperors, all my followers. You can wander around the Three Leaf Realm; I believe you will find some benefits. When you wish to leave, just tell Yu Hong. He will see you out of the Three Leaf Realm. As for the armor, I will return it in half a month."

"Yes," Ji Ning replied, inwardly astonished. Five Eternal Emperors as followers? The great ruler of the Mangya Kingdom had only a few Eternal Emperors under him. Could it be that the one before him was an existence on par with the great ruler?