Chapter Sixteen: Solitary Cultivation

Mount Wu Bao was ancient and remote, and the complete 'Wu Bao Sword Art', the number one sword art of the Three Realms, was inscribed upon it, giving Mount Wu Bao a sense of being even more towering than the Heavenly Dao.

Silence.

No sound.

The mere aura emitted by Mount Wu Bao made it impossible for birds and insects to survive, and the forty-plus Heavenly Gods and True Immortals, who could be considered living beings, were utterly inconspicuous on Mount Wu Bao, which spanned over ten thousand miles.

"It's really rare to find such a quiet place." Ji Ning descended and landed on the wilderness, looking up at the crisscrossing sword techniques on the distant mountain wall.

"Whoosh."

Ji Ning's heart tightened.

Streams of sword techniques poured into Ji Ning's mind—ancient, profound techniques that transcended the Heavenly Dao.

"Truly inconceivable, that such a miraculous sword art exists in the world." It took Ji Ning a while to recover. Then, clouds formed beneath his feet, and he began to fly slowly upward. Since the first peak was a thousand miles high, it naturally pierced into the clouds, and the first chapter of the 'Wu Bao Sword Art' covered most of the mountain wall on this first peak.

As he flew, Ji Ning watched.

Sword stances began to flow in Ji Ning's eyes. He watched very slowly, taking a full half hour to finish viewing the first chapter.

"This first chapter is truly vast." Ji Ning marveled. This was definitely the most complex sword art he had ever seen. The first chapter alone contained 3,729 stances, each one profoundly mysterious.

"Hmm."

With a thought, Ji Ning transformed into a streak of light and swooped downward. As he landed, he pointed into the distance. The power of heaven and earth surged, quickly coalescing into an ordinary thatched hut. Ji Ning stepped inside, sat cross-legged facing Mount Wu Bao, and closed his eyes to reflect.

The sword stances emerged in his mind, and he began to ponder them continuously.

Ji Ning was well aware of his strengths and weaknesses!

He had encountered many opportunities, thus learning divine abilities like the Eight-Nine Arcane Art and the Star Picking Hand. These two abilities alone had placed him at the pinnacle of Heavenly Gods! But his goal was not to be a Heavenly God; it was to become a True God or Dao Ancestor! In the final decisive battle of the great tribulation, only True God or Dao Ancestor-level power would be effective.

Moreover, he needed to be a top-tier True God or Dao Ancestor, even striving to reach the level of the Buddhist and Daoist leaders, or even the level of Nuwa and Pangu.

But how could he achieve that?

Ji Ning understood clearly that compared to other mighty figures, his cultivation time was far too short—this was his greatest weakness. Now the tribulation was pressing in, and the final eruption was likely not far off. The time left for him was limited. If he had to comprehend the Water Drop Dao step by step, then the higher 'Water Element Heavenly Dao', then cultivate the Five Elements one by one, and finally master the Five Elements to reach the level of the Buddhist and Daoist leaders... thinking about it, it was clear that would take endless eons.

Time was insufficient.

What to do?

He had to take a different path!

One of his high talents was in heartforce. The heart was ethereal and elusive, so breakthroughs were more likely. He was already at the fourth level of heartforce! Once he reached the fifth level, he would immediately be at the top tier of Dao Ancestors. In the past, Hou Yi comprehended the fifth level of heartforce as a Heavenly God and directly killed a Dao Ancestor!

His master, Subhuti, believed his talent in the sword dao was even higher. If his swordforce reached the fifth level, it would be no less than the fifth level of heartforce. But how could he achieve that?

The number one sword art of the Three Realms, the 'Wu Bao Sword Art', was the best path! Moreover, the Wu Bao Sword Art could make his sword speed exceed the limits of the Heavenly Dao, making him the strongest among his peers. Both were at the fifth level of swordforce, but clearly, one who mastered the Wu Bao Sword Art would be far more powerful.

"Two paths, walk them simultaneously."

"If just one succeeds,"

"I, Ji Ning, will stand at the pinnacle of the Three Realms!"

Ji Ning knew that both paths were extremely arduous, but how could standing at the pinnacle of the Three Realms not be arduous? Others didn't even have the chance; he had the opportunity and the talent, so he had to give it his all!

Not just for himself, but also for his family. Without sufficient strength, not only would he perish, but Mingyue and the others would find it hard to survive.

...

Ji Ning was completely immersed in cultivation. Occasionally, he would leave the thatched hut to view the first chapter of the 'Wu Bao Sword Art' again. Although he had memorized it, the sword techniques on the mountain wall were personally left by Dao Ancestor Fuju, containing his sword intent. Ji Ning could remember the stances but not the sword intent.

This was why, during peacetime, thousands of Heavenly Gods and True Immortals would cultivate here in seclusion, for millions of years or even longer.

Days passed one by one.

The entire Wubao Peak was silent; the celestial gods and true immortals were all like withered trees, immersed in the art of the sword.

“The Dao… is in forgetting…”

Ji Ning opened his eyes.

The Dao was fading away bit by bit. He tried hard to recall it, but could not retrieve these memories—they were truly lost.

“Continue…”

Ji Ning closed his eyes and resumed his contemplation.

Even if other Daos were lost, it was worth it for the sword.

The loss of other Daos also signified that Ji Ning was continuously advancing in the Wubao sword art. Moreover, Ji Ning had the ‘Nine Chaos Seals’ for reference. As he delved deeper into his cultivation, he also discovered that the Nine Chaos Seals were relatively more profound and harder to comprehend. The Wubao sword art, especially the first chapter with its three thousand seven hundred and twenty-nine sword stances—so many stances—actually served to familiarize Ji Ning with another system, one that transcended the Heavenly Dao.

The Wubao sword art was more detailed, and its power was correspondingly weaker.

In fact, one could understand just by thinking about it.

The Nine Chaos Seals… even Lord Sanqing and Nuwa (before the ancient cataclysm) could not fully comprehend them. The Wubao sword art, on the other hand, was created by Patriarch Fuju. Comparing the two, the difference was immediately apparent. However, both were existences that transcended the Heavenly Dao and could be used to reference each other.

“Finally, the Waterdrop Dao is gone.” In the midst of his cultivation, sensing that his Waterdrop Dao was no longer complete, Ji Ning paused briefly, but then he calmly continued his contemplation.

…

Bits of insight into the Dao were flowing away.

The Wubao sword art grew ever more profound.

“Wubao, Wubao.” Ji Ning rose and walked out of the thatched hut, lifting his head to gaze at the distant first peak. He sighed softly, “Truly a treasure. Only through actual cultivation do I realize its vastness and wonder. I wonder how Patriarch Fuju created such an inconceivable sword art. How could such a great power have died without a sound?”

The death of Patriarch Fuju was a mystery.

How could someone so formidable die?

Why did he deliberately leave a legacy on the fifth peak before heading into the Chaos, as if he knew he was in danger of death?

“Did he encounter Chaos aliens? Fight with them? Or did he discover a dangerous, mysterious place in the endless Chaos and recklessly venture in?” Ji Ning speculated for a moment, then stopped thinking about it. After all, the Chaos was too mysterious; even the Nine Chaos Seals were discovered within it.

“Having merely mastered the first chapter, my sword is already much faster than before.” Ji Ning had already mastered the first chapter of the Wubao sword art.

This first chapter was not particularly difficult; most who were truly determined to cultivate could master it. Of course, the prerequisite for cultivation was the first level of Sword Force.

“Out.”

A Northmoon sword appeared in Ji Ning’s hand, and he began to execute sword techniques.

Without using any mana or divine power, he swung the sword as if he were a mortal.

Chop, thrust, lift, slice… merely the most basic sword stances, yet in Ji Ning’s hands they possessed a flowing, natural artistic conception. And as Ji Ning continued, a layer of platinum light naturally began to condense on the sword. The dazzling platinum light imbued the divine sword with inconceivable power.

The sword was faster, sharper; space itself hissed and cracked.

This was the second level of Sword Force, the ‘Blazing Sun Realm’.

The first level of Sword Force was the ‘Silver Moon Realm’, externally manifested as a layer of silver-white light naturally condensing on the sword.

“So, unknowingly, I have reached the second level of Sword Force.” Ji Ning smiled.

…

Fangcun Mountain.

Inside the Daoist temple.

Subhuti sat there with his eyes closed, but in truth he was observing the Three Realms. Now that the Three Realms were in turmoil, as the one with the highest achievement in spacetime on Nuwa’s side, Subhuti naturally had to monitor everywhere.

“Hmm?” Subhuti opened his eyes with a hint of a smile. “This disciple of mine has reached the second level of Sword Force. Well, his heart should be calm enough now. It’s time to let him clash with the Seamless Gate.”

With Subhuti’s methods, he had long discovered some outposts and lairs of the Seamless Gate suitable for Ji Ning to deal with.

But if Ji Ning were always allowed to act wildly, it might cause him to perish in his frenzy. Therefore, Subhuti also controlled the approximate timing, not letting Ji Ning fight too frequently, yet still ensuring that Ji Ning achieved his goal—forcing the Seamless Gate to eventually yield. So this balance needed to be managed by Subhuti.