Chapter 12: Contemplation

"I'm going to contemplate here, Nine-Fang. You can either contemplate or find something to do on your own." Ji Ning transmitted.

"Yes." Nine-Fang Heavenly God replied respectfully, then swiftly flew to a distant tavern, where he waited nearby, ready to receive Ji Ning's orders at any time.

"I... how did I end up here?"

The thin, blood-spitting demon looked around in confusion. All he saw was the surging river; this was no longer the place of contemplation.

"Wasn't I at Chongyun Mountain just now? Right... I was too desperate, and I went into qi deviation. Some expert must have saved me." A wave of fear washed over the little demon. In Ji Ning's eyes, he was a mere little demon, but in reality, he was at the Primordial Soul level. This demon, harboring deep hatred, had been too forceful and deliberate in his desire to comprehend higher sword techniques, leading to his deviation.

In truth, observing a Dao Ancestor's sword techniques was quite dangerous for those below the Celestial Immortal level. But the path of immortality was fraught with hardships. There were countless stories of those who, upon witnessing a Dao Ancestor's sword techniques, created powerful sword arts of their own. It was very common for someone to have an epiphany at Chongyun Mountain and thereby establish a new school.

Thus, countless weak cultivators came one after another to contemplate.

…

Ji Ning sat cross-legged, gazing at the sword techniques left on the cliff face before him. The cliff was surrounded by formations and restrictions, which were not particularly profound—likely set up by the Heavenly God and True Immortal disciples of Fuju Dao Ancestor.

The sword intent that washed over him shook Ji Ning to his core.

It felt as if his heart were being pierced.

"Such powerful sword intent."

"Even after endless ages, the traces of casually left sword techniques remain this terrifying." Ji Ning observed carefully. After all, this was a peerless sword immortal of the same level as Bodhi.

"Hmm?"

"How strange."

As Ji Ning looked, he felt something odd. "It seems fundamentally different from the sword techniques created by some Dao Ancestors that I saw on Mount Fangcun."

"The styles are completely different."

"It's as if they belong to two different schools."

Ji Ning frowned. "What exactly is the difference..."

He was searching for it. After all, Ji Ning was a Heavenly God and True Immortal, with profound sword techniques and exceptional talent in the sword. He sensed the difference at a glance. It was a vague feeling, but he couldn't pinpoint it immediately.

"Right." Ji Ning's mind stirred. He flipped his hand, and a Star Gold Pearl appeared.

The Star Gold Pearl had already been refined by Ji Ning. As a先天 spirit treasure, under Ji Ning's control, it did not leak any pressure, appearing as an ordinary object.

Each of the 3,600 Star Gold Pearls bore nine layers of Chaos Seals.

"Chaos Seals." Ji Ning looked at the ever-changing divine patterns on the surface of the Star Gold Pearl. The patterns shifted constantly, never the same from moment to moment.

"Yes. The feeling I get from Fuju Sword Immortal's sword techniques is very similar to these nine layers of Chaos Seals." Ji Ning immediately identified the difference.

"The sword techniques created by Dao Ancestors generally follow the mysteries of the Heavenly Dao."

"But Fuju Dao Ancestor's sword techniques, as well as the nine layers of Chaos Seals... seem to transcend the Heavenly Dao." Ji Ning thought to himself. "The nine layers of Chaos Seals were discovered by Lord Sanqing while roaming the Chaos. They appeared in the Chaos, so it's normal for them to transcend the Heavenly Dao. But the sword techniques created by Fuju Dao Ancestor also transcend the Heavenly Dao."

The Heavenly Dao was the Heavenly Dao of the Three Realms—the rules governing the operation of the Three Realms.

Outside the Three Realms, the Heavenly Dao was useless.

For example, in the Chaos, only the Chaos Heavenly Dao was effective; the other nine Heavenly Daos were useless.

"It is said that Fuju Dao Ancestor's sword is incredibly fast, surpassing the limits of the Heavenly Dao." Ji Ning thought. "Perhaps that's why his sword is so terrifying."

"I'll contemplate carefully."

After discovering the commonality between the nine layers of Chaos Seals and Fuju Dao Ancestor's sword techniques, Ji Ning began to contemplate them.

Sometimes he contemplated the nine layers of Chaos Seals; when he couldn't fully comprehend them, he turned to the sword techniques...

Comparing them against each other.

Unconsciously, Ji Ning found that bottlenecks in the Waterdrop Dao, the Qiankun Dao, and other Daos were breaking through effortlessly. Clearly, insights into the nine layers of Chaos Seals and the sword techniques greatly aided his understanding of other Daos.

…

Time passed.

At the distant tavern, Nine-Fang Heavenly God came to drink again. The tavern keeper was already familiar with him, as over the past month or so, this bald, elderly man often came to drink, and he specifically ordered the highly toxic 'Five Immortal Wine.' Five Immortal Wine, also known as Five Poison Wine, was brewed from five poisons and was indeed extremely toxic, yet delicious. A single sip would kill a Zifu Disciple; only those at the Primordial Soul level or above could enjoy its flavor without losing their lives.

"Top-quality Five Immortal Wine, sir, please." The keeper personally served the Five Immortal Wine and two small dishes.

Nine-Fang leisurely poured a cup of wine.

"Ah." He tilted his head back and drank. A sensation of fire and ice coursed through his body, immensely pleasurable. Nine-Fang smiled and nodded.

"Eh?" Nine-Fang sensed something and immediately looked outside. Through the window, he saw Chongyun Mountain in the distance and, among the figures sitting at its base, the white-robed youth.

"A Dao?" Nine-Fang was surprised, then quickly transmitted, "Congratulations, Prefecture Lord, for comprehending the Waterdrop Dao."

"You have keen senses. I only tested it, and you noticed." Ji Ning's voice came back.

…

Ji Ning was in a good mood.

His understanding of the Waterdrop Dao was already very high. Over the past month, although contemplating the nine layers of Chaos Seals and the Dao Ancestor's sword techniques had been extremely difficult with little gain, the Waterdrop Dao had progressed smoothly. He even broke through its bottleneck directly and comprehended the Waterdrop Dao.

Thus, he now comprehended two Daos: the Sword Dao and the Waterdrop Dao.

"What's on Chongyun Mountain is merely what Fuju Dao Ancestor left casually; it's not profound. If I study it for another month or two, it won't help me much." Ji Ning did not have high hopes for the first twenty-six realms. The most important was still the last realm, the 'Sword Immortal Realm.' However, Ji Ning was cautious in his contemplation. He planned to look through all the other twenty-six first, as they might help him comprehend the complete 'Five Treasures Sword Art.'

…

In the second month of Ji Ning's stay in the East Luan Realm.

That day, the Golden Crow hung high in the sky.

A large ship broke through the air, carrying many guards and a crowd of beautiful women surrounding a young man. The young man was drinking heartily, groping one and pinching another, the ship filled with the sounds of laughter and flirtation.

"Your Highness, ahead is Chongyun Mountain." A pale, beardless man said respectfully in a low voice.

"We're here?"

The richly dressed young man stood up, embracing a beauty as he walked to the bow and looked into the distance, spotting Chongyun Mountain.

"My beauties, rest quietly. This prince is going to contemplate sword techniques." The young man chuckled. The group of beauties immediately began flattering him, each saying sweet words that made the young man beam with delight. Indeed, this young man had reason to be proud. He was the Third Prince of the East Luan Dynasty in the East Luan Realm, the most talented in cultivation, and held a special status.

"Let's go."

Soon.

The prince, along with the pale, beardless attendant and a group of guards, arrived at the foot of Chongyun Mountain. The weakest of the guards were at the Wanxiang Adept level, and the two leaders were Primordial Soul Daoists. The prince himself was also at the Primordial Soul Daoist level.

"So many people? So many demons." The prince frowned as he looked. "My master said that with the tribulation of the Three Realms, our small world is relatively peaceful. But now, there are no Celestial Immortals coming. The strongest cultivators here are probably only Sanxian and Earth Immortals. Longxiu, quickly pick someone from the front and drive them away."

"Your Highness, don't act rashly. Although the strongest at Chongyun Mountain are only Sanxian and Earth Immortals, they might have significant backgrounds." The pale, beardless attendant quickly said. "Moreover, Your Highness is only a Primordial Soul Daoist, and our two guard commanders are also Primordial Soul Daoists. Don't provoke the Sanxian and Earth Immortals into anger; we might end up at a disadvantage."

The prince nodded lightly. "Reasonable."

Although he didn't care about those Sanxian and Earth Immortals, he couldn't defeat them now.

"Pick a weaker one." The prince's gaze swept over. "Among the twenty-seven mats in front, there should be some weak ones."

"Those sitting in front won't be too weak. Let me take a closer look." The attendant looked carefully. "Twenty-one of the mats are occupied by Sanxian or Earth Immortals, giving me a strong sense of pressure. The remaining six give me little pressure; they are probably all Primordial Soul Daoists. Your Highness, look, which one of those six should we pick?"

"Six?"

The prince also looked carefully. "Four are demons. Demon Primordial Soul Daoists are generally much stronger than humans. That leaves only two: a white-robed youth and a stern-faced man. The stern-faced man has a fierce look in his eyes; he's probably skilled in swordsmanship. The white-robed youth looks ordinary; he's likely just a common Primordial Soul Daoist."

There were also differences in strength among Primordial Soul Daoists. Some were so exceptional that they could fight Return to Void cultivators at the Primordial Soul level. The stern-faced man's intangible aura alone indicated he was no ordinary Primordial Soul Daoist.

"Let's go with that white-robed kid." The prince said. "Go quickly and drive that white-robed kid away."

…