Chapter 3 A Rain Outside the Thatched Cottage

"All the seniors say that my chances of success in storming the War God Hall are less than one in ten. Why should I bother?" Ji Ning said. "Besides, what benefited Immortal Juhua the most was that Star Hall. I'm quite curious about it too."

With that, Ji Ning walked out.

As for the extraordinary treasures in the Treasure Hall? What use were they if he couldn't get his hands on them? Immortal Juhua only managed to obtain a single Immortal-ranked magic treasure there when he became a loose immortal.

"Better to keep my feet on the ground." Ji Ning knew his own limits well.

Leaving the Treasure Hall, he walked along the corridor.

The Treasure Hall was at the front of this corridor, while the Star Hall was at the very end.

The black ox followed, its mouth chattering incessantly: "The Star Hall is filled with the mysteries of the Dao. Cultivating and meditating there makes it easiest to comprehend the Dao. If you're not careful, you'll get completely absorbed... I can see you're in a hurry and have important matters to attend to. Don't let your meditation in the Star Hall delay you."

"Ah." Ji Ning was startled and quickly said gratefully, "Thank you for the reminder, senior."

He had almost truly delayed a major matter!

Although comprehending the Dao was important, if he got lost in meditation for a day or two, by the time he woke up and went out... everything would be too late.

"In any case," Ji Ning instructed the black ox, "if I start meditating in the Star Hall, once it reaches midnight, please immediately interrupt my meditation and wake me up."

"Midnight? That's only about six hours away." said the black ox.

"Yes, six hours! If I do meditate... at most allow me six hours." Ji Ning said quickly. "After six hours, interrupt me immediately."

Based on his calculations, an ordinary Zifu Disciple riding a magic treasure could travel about a hundred thousand kilometers in a day under normal flight. Of course, if they flew nonstop without rest, even at great cost to their elemental energy, they could cover nearly two hundred thousand kilometers in a day. The Yan Mountain region alone was tens of thousands of kilometers across... going elsewhere to invite a Snow Dragon Clan disciple, the round trip...

As Ji Jiuhuo had said, it would probably take a day or two!

If he only meditated for six hours, it definitely wouldn't delay matters!

"Rest assured." The black ox raised its head and guaranteed, "Once six hours are up, I'll definitely remind you! We artifact spirits... never forget our tasks."

"Thank you, senior." Ji Ning smiled and arrived at the main entrance of the Star Hall.

Unlike the bronze doors of the other three halls, the Star Hall's doors appeared to be made of wood, exuding an ancient, natural aura. Seeing Ji Ning staring at the towering wooden doors, the black ox muttered, "This is Immortal Greenfire Wood, found only in the Nine Hells. It's a precious material even for refining Immortal-ranked magic treasures, yet it's been used to make a door."

"Can we take the door apart?" Ji Ning asked curiously.

"If it could be taken apart, Immortal Juhua would have done it long ago." The black ox said helplessly. "This door is one with the entire estate, part of the magic treasure. It can't be budged."

Ji Ning touched the wooden door. The wood gave off a faint, cold green light, but felt warm to the touch, very comfortable. Ji Ning sighed with emotion... Immortal Greenfire Wood from the Nine Hells? Well, before the black ox mentioned it, he had never even heard of it. His knowledge was truly too limited.

"Truly..." Walking through the passage of the wooden door, Ji Ning held his breath, completely stunned by the sight before him. "Incredible. Divine methods, truly divine methods."

In the distance was a large mountain, lush and vibrant with countless trees and weeds growing. At the foot of the mountain, the vitality sharply decreased, almost barren. Only occasionally could a small tuft of grass be seen growing among the rocks. At the base of this barren mountain stood a thatched cottage.

In front of the thatched cottage was a stream, flowing down from the mountain, winding through the rocks. Only where the stream passed could occasional weeds be seen; elsewhere, it was almost entirely barren rocks.

In the sky, huge, brilliant stars shone, their light covering the earth, giving everything a dreamlike quality.

"Is this a world?" Ji Ning couldn't help asking.

"A space." The black ox, following him in, said with emotion, "This is a space opened up by the first master within the Star Hall! This space is connected to the Star Hall's door, so as soon as we step in, we enter this space. It is said that some ancient powers could open up a world within a single grain of sand. The first master probably had similar abilities."

Ji Ning nodded.

Incredible! Although he had heard some legends as a child, like Houyi shooting the suns, who had ever seen such things? Those beings were far too distant from him. As for opening up a space—usually, one would open up a space and then build a residence inside it.

But this estate itself was in another space, and within a hall of the estate, another space was integrated... Even though Ji Ning didn't fully understand, he could tell this was an extraordinary feat.

"I wonder who the first master of this estate really was?" Ji Ning thought to himself.

"Come, come, the treasure is inside the thatched cottage." The black ox urged him on.

"Thatched cottage?" Ji Ning took a step and shot dozens of feet forward, quickly heading toward the thatched cottage. It stood at the foot of the mountain, looking ordinary. In front of it were a stone table and stone stools.

Entering the thatched cottage.

Ji Ning looked. On a desk by the wall were rows of books, all black, made of a material he couldn't identify. The books were lined up, their covers bearing beautiful god-demonic script: "Star Scroll, Volume One," "Star Scroll, Volume Two," "Star Scroll, Volume Three"... a total of forty-three volumes.

"These are?" Ji Ning looked at the books.

The black ox introduced: "These are scriptures left by the first master of the estate, titled 'Star,' totaling forty-three volumes."

Ji Ning picked up "Star Scroll, Volume One" and opened it. The pages were black, the script golden god-demonic characters. The content was somewhat puzzling... it read like random notes, recording some moods. Ji Ning, who had expected profound scriptures, was a bit disappointed.

"You have to read it aloud!" the black ox said quickly. "At first glance, it seems like casual jottings with no mystery. But if you start reading it aloud... you'll discover its extraordinary nature."

"Oh?"

Surprised, Ji Ning picked up "Star Scroll, Volume One."

"Read it outside, sitting on that stone stool." the black ox said. "And read it out loud!"

"But I don't know how to read god-demonic script." Ji Ning asked. Although he could understand the script at a glance and knew which human characters corresponded to it, it was still a different script.

"Just read it in your human language. That's what Immortal Juhua did back then." the black ox said.

"Mm." Holding a scroll, Ji Ning walked out of the thatched cottage and sat at the stone table. Perhaps countless years ago, the first master had sat here too, and Immortal Juhua had as well.

Ji Ning opened the book and began to read.

"Today, Chang came to see me..." Ji Ning started reading, reading this diary of life and moods with a puzzled mind.

His voice was clear.

Each sound was ordinary, but when the individual words were read out, and the sounds of many words connected... just as music can stir emotions—excitement, pain, shock, tears—these sounds of words were even more artless in their craftsmanship. Simply reading aloud, the sounds of many words were like chanting sutras, yet even more profound...

Gradually, it led Ji Ning into a peculiar state.

Immersed in this state, Ji Ning forgot the "Star Scroll, Volume One" in his hand. He looked at the desolate rocks in the distance, at the vibrant little stream, and seemed to see two 'Daos,' Daos containing infinite mysteries. Even a single tuft of grass growing out contained another Dao.

Ji Ning looked up.

In the high sky, the stars shone brilliantly, each dazzling star giving Ji Ning a different feeling. Suddenly... Ji Ning saw one star, the one that felt most familiar and intoxicating to him.

"Longing, warmth."

Ji Ning felt as if he were lying on a small boat, drifting on Serpent Snake Lake.

As if lying in his mother's arms...

That longing warmed his entire heart.

...

The onlooking black ox widened its eyes: "Incredible! He almost finished reading the first volume before stopping? Ji Ning's level is really high. Having read so many words, he must have fallen into a very deep state."

The black ox knew well.

This scroll was merely a guide, leading the cultivator into a deep state of meditation. The more words one read, the deeper the meditative state one could enter! Of course... what one could comprehend depended on one's usual accumulation. True understanding came from sudden insight built on daily accumulation.

"Which star is he looking at?" The black ox saw Ji Ning looking up at the sky and was curious. "I heard from Juhua that each star contains a different Dao."

Ji Ning wore a serene smile, as if beside his mother.

The smile held infinite magic... Even the black ox felt a warmth in its heart seeing Ji Ning's smile.

It was a kind of longing.

Warming the heart.

"Sword." The black ox's eyes widened.

Ji Ning rose from the stone table, pressed his index and middle fingers together into a sword finger, and began to perform swordplay under the brilliant stars—a swordplay filled with intense longing. Ji Ning didn't use sword light or any elemental energy; he simply moved through the forms, seemingly ordinary.

Yet the black ox could feel the infinite longing within.

The black ox could probe the area around Serpent Snake Lake and knew that over the past few years, Ji Ning had comprehended many Dao insights in swordplay, most of which belonged to the sword-intent of longing.

"It's changing." The black ox noticed Ji Ning's swordplay becoming purer.

"Hua hua hua~~~"

Around Ji Ning, who was performing swordplay with only his sword fingers and no elemental energy, raindrops suddenly materialized out of thin air. Drop by drop, they coalesced and fell continuously, a steady rain. The raindrops landed on the scattered rocks... In the rain, Ji Ning seemed like a child of the rain, the droplets surrounding and caressing him.

"This, this, this..." The black ox's eyes bulged. "Thick accumulation, thin harvest!"

The accumulation of Dao insights over nearly five years had finally achieved a qualitative breakthrough!