Chapter 3 Transcription

"The fifth master?" Ji Ning was astonished. "Me?" The black ox stood on the cushion, a hint of amusement in its eyes. Its figure was faintly ethereal, for it was not a physical entity but the spirit of a treasure.

"Of course it's you," said the black ox.

"That's not what I meant. I mean... am I really only the fifth master?" Ji Ning pressed on. "Wasn't Immortal Juhua the first?"

He had once discovered the divine banyan bark letters, and from his deductions, it seemed that after Immortal Juhua's death, this immortal estate had not been passed on to anyone.

"Immortal Juhua was the third master of this estate," said the black ox.

"Who was the fourth?" Ji Ning pressed.

A trace of reminiscence flickered in the black ox's eyes as it slowly said, "Back then, Immortal Juhua was renowned far and wide, standing at the pinnacle of existence within the Grand Xia Dynasty. For a loose immortal to live for millions of years was nothing short of a miracle. The three calamities and nine tribulations of cultivators grow increasingly severe with each one. He had lived too long, and the tribulations had reached a terrifying level, such that even a Celestial Immortal might not withstand them. The longer he lived, the more the Grand Xia Dynasty knew of his fearsomeness."

"Immortal Juhua knew his time was short, so he wished to take on a disciple. He spread the news... that the candidate must be a Fiendgod Body Refiner, at least at the Xiantian lifeform level, and at most at the Zifu Disciple level. At that time, the major tribes of the Grand Xia, any with access to information, would send their young to attempt the corridor."

"There were two corridors: one for Xiantian lifeforms, and one for Zifu Disciples."

"Many young men died. Finally, a Zifu Disciple named 'Leizhan' passed the three trials within the corridor, becoming the fourth master of this estate."

Ji Ning nodded.

Immortal Juhua was the third.

Leizhan was the fourth.

"Alas," the black ox shook its head. "Under the endless three calamities and nine tribulations, Immortal Juhua finally perished. Not long after Immortal Juhua died... Leizhan, who was then only at the Wanxiang Adept level, also died. How he died and where he died are unclear. Since Leizhan's death, this estate has had no master."

Ji Ning nodded, then asked in confusion, "Didn't Leizhan carry the estate with him?"

"Carry it?" The black ox said in a low voice, "He couldn't even fully refine the estate. How could he carry it?"

"He was a Wanxiang Adept, and he still couldn't refine it?" Ji Ning pressed.

The black ox said, "Little child, don't underestimate this estate. Its origins are extraordinary, and refining it is especially difficult. You should know that the more powerful a treasure, the harder it is to refine. This estate is actually a type of cave-mansion treasure... Only by becoming a Primal Daoist can one barely refine it enough to carry it."

"Even a Primal Daoist can only barely refine it, unable to fully control the estate or enter certain hidden areas. One must become an Earth Immortal or a Loose Immortal to truly master this estate."

Ji Ning understood. Indeed, it would be strange if a treasure capable of spatial teleportation were easy to refine.

"Little child, do you now understand the extraordinary nature of this estate?" The black ox said smugly.

"Senior, you may call me Ji Ning," said Ji Ning.

"Little child Ji Ning," the black ox stepped on the huge cushion on the ground. "Take a look at these cushions. Each one is a hundred zhang wide. What does that remind you of?"

Ji Ning pondered and said, "Senior, when I first arrived at this hall, I was also very puzzled. An immortal's residence wouldn't use such large cushions. At the time, I suspected that this estate might have once been occupied by a group of giants or other alien races."

"Although Immortal Juhua was only a Loose Immortal, he endured for millions of years before dying," the black ox said with emotion. "Of the Loose Immortals who lived that long, I only know of Immortal Juhua. Why was he so formidable? Why could he hold out so long before dying? Because of this—this estate!"

"The age of this estate is untraceable. According to Juhua's speculation, it was originally the cave of some powerful Fiendgod, which is why it was built so large—the cushions, beds, corridors, everything was made enormous," said the black ox. "When Immortal Juhua was young, he passed the three trials and became the third master."

"Immortal Juhua also passed the three trials?" Ji Ning was shocked.

The black ox said, "The three trials were set by the first master of the estate. That first master was likely an extremely powerful Fiendgod. Judging by the arrangement of the cushions in the hall, this Fiendgod lectured from above, with many Fiendgods below listening. Haha, these are all things of the past. The age of Fiendgods is over."

...

The black ox and Ji Ning talked for a long time.

Ji Ning finally couldn't help asking, "Now that I am the fifth master of this estate, what benefits do I get?"

The black ox blinked.

"Immortal Juhua was a Loose Immortal who lived for millions of years. He must have left something behind," Ji Ning pressed.

The black ox remained silent.

"You..."

"Alas!" The black ox finally sighed. "The third and fourth masters are both dead, dead for too long. Immortal Juhua did leave some treasures for Leizhan, but Leizhan died outside. After endless ages, you won't get any benefit from Leizhan. Immortal Juhua did leave some magic treasures in the estate, but you can't get them now."

"Why can't I get them?" Ji Ning asked. "Aren't I the master of the estate?"

The black ox shook its head. "You are the master of a storage treasure, but if you can't refine it, can you get the items inside? This estate is a cave-mansion type treasure. If you don't refine it, many places are inaccessible. Right now, you can only stay in this hall; you can't enter any other place."

"Only in this hall?" Ji Ning was stunned.

"You must have noticed that you can only be in the hall, unable to enter other parts of the estate," said the black ox. "Once you become a Zifu Disciple, you can refine a talisman. After refining it, you'll have many more benefits. You'll be able to enter many places in the estate, and you'll also be able to enter the estate from the outside at will—for example, from Serpentwing Lake at any time."

Slap!

A dark gray talisman appeared out of thin air, falling to the ground and landing on the cushion with a thud.

"This is the talisman," said the black ox. "Only successive masters can obtain it. Put it away quickly. Once you become a Zifu Disciple, you can refine it. After refining it, come back to the estate. Right now, you can't go anywhere or get any benefits."

Ji Ning picked up the talisman.

The talisman was rough, with an ancient, complex character on it—'Right'! Although Ji Ning had never learned this character, he understood it naturally upon seeing it.

"Talisman?" Ji Ning put it into his storage treasure.

"Alright. You've received the token, and I've told you everything. You can leave now," said the black ox. "I'll send you off, teleporting you back to the island on Serpentwing Lake."

Ji Ning quickly shouted, "Stop!"

The black ox looked at Ji Ning. "What else?"

"Just... let me go like this?" Ji Ning couldn't help saying. "I came in through life-and-death trials, and I leave with just a talisman?"

The black ox blinked twice. "Who says the previous masters are all dead? If they were alive, they might guide and help you. But I'm just a treasure spirit... I have no treasures or rare items. You already have a cultivation method. The 'Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens' is the number one Fiendgod method, even better than Immortal Juhua's. What else can I give you? Hmm! You probably don't have a visualization technique!"

"Visualization technique?" Ji Ning was taken aback.

What Prefecture Lord Cui had taught him back then was the visualization technique 'Nuwa Painting'!

"A visualization technique is a method to condense and strengthen the soul," the black ox said quickly. "It's something only the top major tribes possess. I remember one visualization technique, so I'll pass it on to you."

"Pass it on?" Ji Ning was curious.

"Bring brush and ink," the black ox urged.

Ji Ning flipped his hand and produced a brush, an ink stick, and a large piece of animal hide. He even began grinding the ink himself.

The black ox looked at the brush, which floated up on its own. "I'm a treasure spirit who has cultivated for endless ages, but my divine sense is probably not as strong as yours. Still, lifting a brush is easy." It manipulated the brush, dipped it in ink, and began drawing on the smooth animal hide. Soon, a Buddha with a compassionate expression appeared on the paper.

This Buddha had the sun and moon hanging high behind him, radiating boundless light.

Just looking at it, Ji Ning felt a slight stirring.

"How is it?" The black ox casually tossed the brush aside and said smugly, "This is a true image of the Buddha, the Sun-Moon Radiant Buddha! 'Inner Visualization of the Sun-Moon Radiant Buddha' was Immortal Juhua's visualization technique. I watched the Buddha painting every day, so I naturally memorized it. Although my drawing isn't as good as the original, if you constantly visualize this Buddha image, you will surely condense your soul."

Ji Ning was puzzled. "Inner visualization of the Buddha?"

"Those who attain the Great Dao have their external forms imbued with the mysteries of the Dao," said the black ox.

Ji Ning could only feel helpless. Compared to the Nuwa Painting, the difference was immeasurable. His Nuwa Painting had been directly transmitted into his soul memory by Prefecture Lord Cui, so it was naturally more vivid and clear. This old ox had only drawn a Buddha image from memory.

"Do you already have a visualization technique?" The black ox noticed that Ji Ning wasn't excited and nodded. "That makes sense. Your soul is so strong; you must have one. Hmm..."

The black ox racked its brains.

Ji Ning waited.

This old ox was the spirit of a powerful treasure, having followed Immortal Juhua for endless ages. It should know a lot.

"I remember now. Earlier, you were controlling thousands of treasures, weren't you? I have a sword formation secret art that should suit you," the black ox suddenly thought and said quickly. "Back then, Immortal Juhua killed a great enemy, who used a large number of flying swords to set up a formation in battle. Immortal Juhua kept that sword formation method. He studied it carefully, and although I only saw it once, I memorized it all. I'll transcribe it for you."

Ji Ning quickly brought out a large amount of animal hide.

The black ox then manipulated the brush and began writing rapidly on the hide.

At the top of the hide were four large characters—'Lesser Thousand Swords Formation'.