The Raindrop Sword Domain

The raindrops scattered through the air. Immersed in the rain, Ji Ning was completely lost in his swordplay. Even using only his sword-fingers to execute techniques, he was already able to draw upon the Dao.

It feels so good.

Ji Ning felt as though he had transformed into a single drop of water, chasing and playing with other drops. When they caught one another, they joined together into a silken thread. That mutual affection and attachment… it caused countless droplets to link together.

“Hua hua hua~~~” The raindrops all around Ji Ning transformed into countless silken threads. Threads like strands, like lines of rain, beautiful and crystalline, as stunning as the finest artwork.

Hua! Hua! Hua!

Each strand of rain was faintly sharp as a blade edge.

“Rumble~~~” The rain intensified, turning into a torrential downpour. The curtain of rain was fierce and unstoppable, and Ji Ning’s sword techniques carried a similarly overwhelming, irresistible might.

…

The Black Ox stared with its mouth wide open in shock. Raindrops, silken rain, a violent storm… and finally, the rain around him returned to a hazy state of drifting, ethereal threads.

Each strand of rain was like the most precious, crystalline, transparent jade carved into a thread, like a mother’s hand gently caressing.

Finally, Ji Ning came to a stop.

“This… this is the Dao?” Ji Ning murmured to himself.

“Congratulations, Ji Ning.” The Black Ox’s jaw was wide with excitement. “You have truly integrated with the Dao. You have completely merged into it, feeling as one with it. It’s a wonderful feeling, isn’t it?”

Ji Ning nodded gently.

It truly had felt wonderful. He had felt as if he were each drop of water, as if he were the rain itself. In that moment, he had become completely intimate with the rain, understanding it. Ji Ning understood the Dao he had comprehended… it was the Dao of Raindrops.

“Your nearly five years of deep contemplation of the True Meaning of your Dao has built up until today, when you finally broke through that threshold and achieved the ‘Dao Domain’,” the Black Ox praised.

“Dao Domain?” Ji Ning looked confused. “What does that mean?”

The Black Ox was startled. “You don’t even know that?”

“I don’t,” Ji Ning said honestly.

The Black Ox shook its head and sighed. “Your tribe’s foundation is truly shallow. You don’t even have a clear division of the stages of comprehending the Dao. Let me explain. For a cultivator’s mastery over any skill—swordsmanship, saber arts, spear arts, painting, playing the zither, any art at all—the first stage is the Basics. It means you are familiar with the skill. The second stage is the Subtlety Realm. It means your control over the skill has reached perfection. The third stage is Unity of Man and Heaven. It means your skill has reached the level of the Dao, and your body is in tune with the Heavenly Dao.”

Ji Ning listened carefully. Naturally, he already knew about these first three stages.

“After Unity of Man and Heaven, you begin to sense the profound mysteries of the world and gradually discover the ‘Dao’ within it. When you have your first real insight, you are considered to have comprehended a thread of the True Meaning of the Dao. This is the fourth stage, the ‘True Meaning of the Dao’,” the Black Ox said, shaking its head. “It is very difficult to comprehend a True Meaning of the Dao. Some Zifu Disciples haven’t even managed it.”

Ji Ning had already comprehended a True Meaning of the Dao back when he had his breakthrough by the pool.

“You continue to comprehend further, constantly gaining more threads of the True Meaning. These threads accumulate, deepening your understanding of the Dao. Finally, one day, when enough threads of the True Meaning have gathered and created a qualitative change, you can truly merge with the Dao. In that moment, a single thought in your heart can draw upon the surrounding power of the Dao, forming your domain. This is the fifth stage, the ‘Dao Domain’. This is the realm you have just reached. Impressive, truly impressive,” the Black Ox marveled. “Only a very few Wanxiang Adepts can achieve this. Generally, this is the level of comprehension that Primal Daoists possess.”

“Oh? I’m that strong?” Ji Ning smiled.

“Your talent is extremely high, especially in the sword. You’re a monstrous prodigy! With the help of the Starseizing Manor, you’ve reached this level at just sixteen years old,” the Black Ox said.

Ji Ning understood. He had the Nuwa Diagram, an incomparable diligence, high comprehension, and the aquatic palace… many factors had combined to allow him to reach this point.

“What is beyond the Dao Domain?” Ji Ning pressed.

“Beyond it…” The Black Ox looked at Ji Ning. “Achieving the ‘Dao Domain’ only means you have fully merged with the Dao. You need to continue comprehending this ‘Dao’, gaining deeper insights, until one day you have completely comprehended and fully grasped this entire path. That is the sixth stage, completely mastering a Dao!”

Ji Ning nodded thoughtfully. He had just now merged with the rain, but that only meant he had become one with it. He was still far from fully mastering the Dao of Raindrops.

“First is the Basics, second is Subtlety, third is Unity of Man and Heaven, fourth is the True Meaning of the Dao, fifth is the Dao Domain, and sixth is a complete Dao!” The Black Ox said solemnly. “Improving your realm is critically important. Your realm must be high enough before your personal strength can improve. Otherwise, you won’t be able to control the enormous power you possess.”

“To become a Celestial Immortal, you must master a complete Dao!” The Black Ox looked at Ji Ning. “Even Celestial Immortal Juhua spent millions of years as a Loose Immortal and fully comprehended nine complete Daos. But so what? The increasingly powerful Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations still brought about his fall. Any Loose Immortal is doomed to fall eventually.”

Ji Ning sighed.

“You cultivate the sword. Since you have reached the Dao Domain, your domain is generally called a Sword Domain,” the Black Ox reminded him. “With just this Sword Domain, you would have countless major sects begging to open their doors for you.”

“Sword Domain?” Ji Ning murmured. “This Dao is the Dao of Raindrops. My Sword Domain shall be called the ‘Raindrop Sword Domain’.”

Ji Ning looked around.

Hua hua~~~

Silken rain was born from nothingness, drifting around him in a fine drizzle. Each strand of rain was like a sharp, razor-thin line, capable of cutting through the hardest mountain stone and steel.

“A word of warning. You were so immersed in your Sword Domain that four hours have passed in the outside world,” the Black Ox said.

“Four hours?” Ji Ning was shocked. “Time really does fly when you’re lost in the Dao. Senior, now that I have comprehended the Raindrop Sword Domain, what are my chances if I try to breach the first layer of the War God Hall?”

The Black Ox was taken aback. “The first layer of the War God Hall? Hmm… you can give it a try!”

Ji Ning smiled.

Even if the Black Ox had disagreed, he would have had to try. The Fiendgod Body Refining path only allowed two attempts per realm. Now that his Fiendgod Body Refining had reached the Xiantian perfection stage, it wouldn’t be long before he broke through to the Zifu level. If he didn’t use his two chances as a Xiantian cultivator, they would be wasted once he reached the Zifu realm.

“Let’s go. I want to see just how powerful this War God Hall really is.” Ji Ning was filled with anticipation, and he was deeply eager to succeed. If he could clear it, he would be able to choose a treasure from the Treasure Hall!

The items in the Treasure Hall had all been left by the first master of the manor.

Even Human-ranked magic treasures could be special. Perhaps one of them might be of great benefit to the Ji Clan in facing the Snowdragon Mountain.

“Snowdragon Mountain.” Ji Ning silently recited the name in his heart.

It was now dark. The Snowdragon Mountain Yan Mountain branch Zifu Disciple, ‘Mu Si’, had already flown tens of thousands of li without stopping. A streak of light descended towards a towering mountain peak below, known as Dilong Mountain.

“Human cultivator, retreat at once!”

“How dare a human cultivator trespass on Dilong Mountain? Are you courting death?”

As Mu Si descended towards Dilong Mountain atop his flying magic treasure, many great demons on the mountain roared angrily. Dilong Mountain was a major power in the region. It was ruled by a thousand-year-old ancient Zifu demon, the ‘Dilong’ (Earth Dragon), which was also a divine beast. The deterrent power of an ancient demon that was both a Zifu practitioner and a divine beast was terrifying to contemplate.

Beneath its rule, a massive group of great demons had gathered, turning the mountain into a forbidden zone for the nearby humans.

An ancient demon with divine beast bloodline at the Zifu level… these two facts were enough to make most Zifu cultivators hesitant to provoke it.

“Senior Apprentice-Brother Tongyu! Your junior apprentice-brother, Mu Si, requests an audience!” Mu Si completely ignored the great demons. He flew directly to the peak of Dilong Mountain, landed, and called out.

“Roar~~”

A colossal dragon head suddenly emerged from a cave on the mountain peak. The green-scaled head was crowned with a single horn, and its eyes, as large as carriage wheels, stared fixedly at Mu Si. The boundless aura radiating from that single dragon head made Mu Si’s heart tremble with fear. He knew very well that he was no match for this Earth Dragon before him.

This Earth Dragon was an ancient demon at the Zifu perfection stage, and it possessed a divine bloodline.

“Greetings, Daoist Brother Dilong,” Mu Si said, bowing respectfully.

“Do you not know that my master detests being disturbed?” the Dilong rumbled.

“I have a grave matter,” Mu Si said hurriedly. “I have an important matter to report to Senior Apprentice-Brother Tongyu. It will also be of great benefit to him.”

Tongyu…

He was the most important of all the Snowdragon Mountain disciples that the Yan Mountain branch was trying to invite. In the eyes of Dongzi Qi, Mu Si, and the others, if they could just invite Senior Apprentice-Brother Tongyu, he alone would be able to easily annihilate the Ji Clan. In fact, the very fact that he possessed the Dilong as his tamed divine beast was a testament to how terrifyingly powerful Tongyu was. It must be remembered that Zifu-level tamed beasts were extremely rare.

While many human Xiantian experts had great demons as tamed beasts, it was far more common for humans to break through to the Zifu level due to their higher comprehension. It was far rarer for tamed beasts to achieve the Zifu breakthrough. Zifu-level ancient demons were generally unwilling to submit to anyone, and when they did, it was only to a true expert. Even if a weak cultivator temporarily obtained one, the Zifu-level tamed beast would quickly be stolen away!

Dongzi Qi, Mu Si, Ji Jiuhuo… none of them possessed a Zifu-level tamed beast.

“You wish to see me?” A deep, powerful voice rang out. A tall, robust man with flowing green hair and fierce tiger-like eyes, dressed in black, strode over from the side.

“Greetings, Senior Apprentice-Brother,” Mu Si said, immediately bowing respectfully.

“I recognize you. You are Mu Si.” Tongyu looked at him. “Do you not know that I am in seclusion, striving for a breakthrough?”

Mu Si’s heart trembled.

He knew very well how terrifying Senior Apprentice-Brother Tongyu was. Tongyu was a Fiendgod Body Refining expert who had reached the Zifu perfection stage. Furthermore, he had mastered the divine ability, the ‘Heavenly Transformation’. A Fiendgod Body Refiner at the Zifu perfection stage was already incredibly powerful. With a divine ability, he could fight above his level.

Even Dongzi Qi had to tread carefully around Senior Apprentice-Brother Tongyu. This invitation was all about securing his presence.

“Senior Apprentice-Brother Tongyu.” Mu Si hurriedly said, “I know you are in seclusion here and hate to be disturbed. However, not far from here, right in the Yan Mountain region, a massive vein of prime elemental ore has been discovered! There is an enormous quantity of high-grade prime elemental stones. The vein is over four thousand li in circumference and more than three hundred li deep!”

“What?!” Tongyu, who had remained calm until now, suddenly shot two beams of golden light from his eyes. “Are you certain?”

“If I am lying to you, Senior Apprentice-Brother, you can simply slap me to death on the spot,” Mu Si said hastily.