The Dao-Collection Hall and the Breaking of the Zifu

The Soulshaker Art could only be executed by someone possessing divine sense. It could shake the soul of an enemy, and if the enemy’s soul was weak enough, it could even directly shatter their spirit.

“That’s the one,” Ji Ning nodded. “When taking disciples earlier, Uncle-Master Wu Xiu must have used the Soulshaker Art to send those hundreds of Zifu Disciples all plummeting from the sky.”

“One needs divine sense to use it? I’ve already reached the level of a soul of a Primal Daoist.”

Ji Ning read carefully.

He truly was tempted.

Given the strength of his own soul, if he were to use the Soulshaker Art, he would be able to deal with the vast majority of Wanxiang Adepts! After all, achieving a ‘soul on the level of a Primal Daoist’ was something that was unique to Primal Daoists! With a soul as powerful as Ji Ning’s, once he mastered this Soulshaker Art, he would naturally be able to sweep through the vast majority of Wanxiang Adepts.

“Two thousand Black-White Pearls?” Ji Ning shook his head when he saw the price required to exchange for it.

This long table held three golden books.

One was the Soulshaker Art, one was the Soulmesmerizer Art, and one was the Soulexterminator Art!

The Soulshaker Art and the Soulmesmerizer Art both only required divine sense to train in and utilize, and they cost two thousand and three thousand Black-White Pearls respectively.

The Soulexterminator Art, however, was a true art that directly extinguished the soul of an opponent. It was a direct soul-vs-soul combat technique, and it required one to have reached the soul level of a Primal Daoist before one could use it. In rarity, it was even more uncommon than divine abilities. To exchange for it, one needed a full ten thousand Black-White Pearls.

“I can only drool and stare at it.” Ji Ning chuckled and shook his head, then immediately turned to look at other secret arts.

…

The Dao-Collection Hall was divided into three categories: techniques, arts, and miscellaneous. Nearly everything could be found here—powerful secret arts, sinister secret arts, magnificent sword techniques. Everything imaginable was available.

Ji Ning only had a total of six thousand Black-White Pearls.

He had to think carefully about which to exchange for and which to skip.

…

After nearly three full hours, Ji Ning walked down from the third floor of the Dao-Collection Hall.

“Finished choosing?” The tall, muscular guardian glanced at Ji Ning.

“Yes.” Ji Ning nodded, then couldn’t help but turn his head to look back. Truly, truly… he wished he could have hundreds of thousands of Black-White Pearls to spend freely. All sorts of immortal and fiendish secret arts were simply too profound and mysterious. Some of the powerful movement arts had left him utterly dumbstruck. It was only now that he began to understand just how deep the foundations of the Black-White College truly were.

Unfortunately, he only had six thousand Black-White Pearls. And the immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique and the first half of the Three-Foot Sword were both mandatory choices.

“Let me have a look.” The guardian said.

Ji Ning handed over the several abridged manuals in his hand.

The guardian accepted them and, his eyes falling upon the first half of the Three-Foot Sword, immediately frowned. “The Three-Foot Sword is the signature sword-art of our Black-White College, and its power is absolutely astonishing. But to comprehend it… it is also extremely difficult. Training in the Three-Foot Sword at this point would be far too early for you. What’s more, it requires a full two thousand Black-White Pearls to exchange for it.”

Ji Ning felt helpless.

In truth, he didn’t want to pick it this early either. But this was what his master, the Diancai Immortal, had instructed. After all, he had inherited the sword-art inheritance of Senior Beixing.

“The Lesser Five Elements Sword Manual?” The guardian saw the second abridged manual and nodded. “The Lesser Five Elements Sword Manual is also one of the top five sword-arts of the Black-White College. It is broad, profound, and vast, progressing from the shallow to the deep. It is quite suitable for those who wish to devote themselves fully to the Dao of the Sword. It costs a full eight hundred Black-White Pearls. In truth, I would suggest that if you exchange for the Lesser Five Elements Sword Manual, you should hold off on exchanging for the Three-Foot Sword for now.”

“The Water Source Manual, an immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique. Not bad.” The guardian nodded.

The guardian raised his head to look at Ji Ning. “Decided? These few? No changes?”

“No changes.” Ji Ning said.

Many secret arts were extremely tempting, but Ji Ning had given up on them all. He had even given up on the second scroll of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens.

After all, training in the Crimsonbright Diagram required absorbing the power of the Taiyin Star and the Sunstar. He was currently only at the seventh stage, and it would take a fairly long time for him to reach the ninth.

By that time, he would probably have earned more Black-White Pearls.

“Even if I don’t get the second scroll of the Crimsonbright Diagram here at the Black-White College, I can still go to the Yinglong Guard or even purchase it elsewhere,” Ji Ning mused. The second scroll of the Crimsonbright Diagram was relatively easy to obtain.

As for all sorts of sword-arts…

Ji Ning had spent the most time in the Dao-Collection Hall studying them. With his divine ability, the Starseizing Hand, in his grasp, as long as his sword techniques were strong enough, his overall power would naturally skyrocket.

For escape, he had the Windwing Evasion.

For combat, he had the Starseizing Hand. He wasn’t in a hurry to get any other divine abilities.

The focus was on Ki Refining techniques and sword-arts!

As for the Lesser Five Elements Sword Manual… it was the most suitable for him. After all, he already had a fairly deep understanding of the elements of Water, Wind, and Fire.

“Two thousand, one thousand five hundred, and eight hundred. That comes to a total of four thousand three hundred Black-White Pearls.” The guardian looked at Ji Ning. “Give me the Black-White Pearls, and I’ll go get you the original texts.”

Ji Ning shook his head. “I need the Water Source Manual not only for myself, but also for my spirit-beast.”

“Your spirit-beast?” The guardian was greatly shocked. “You’re giving a spirit-beast such a fine Ki Refining technique? This is fifteen hundred Black-White Pearls! And this is a critical period for you, just as you’re starting your training. With fifteen hundred Black-White Pearls, you could exchange for several powerful secret arts to protect yourself. There’s no need to be so conscientious towards a spirit-beast. Let the spirit-beast wait a few decades or a century. You can exchange it for one then. Or you could exchange for a lower-grade Ki Refining technique.”

In the guardian’s eyes, Ji Ning was a formal disciple, a monstrous genius. Giving such a benefit to a spirit-beast was practically an act of feverish stupidity.

An immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique, at that! This was the Black-White College. If he were out adventuring in the outside world, a Zifu-level beast probably couldn’t find an immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique even if it risked its life for several hundred years.

“I’ve made my decision.” Ji Ning said.

“Sigh.” The guardian shook his head. “Why are you so foolish?”

Ji Ning said nothing, but his eyes told the guardian that his resolve was firm.

“Fine.” The guardian rose to his feet. “I’ll go get you the original texts. Prepare five thousand eight hundred Black-White Pearls for me.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded, watching the guardian enter the depths of the Dao-Collection Hall.

Uncle White…

Uncle White was not merely his spirit-beast; more importantly, he was his family. Ji Ning simply couldn’t accept accumulating a pile of divine abilities and secret arts for himself while not giving his Uncle White even a single exchange. Moreover, even if he exchanged for those secret arts, he would still have to train in them single-mindedly, which required time and effort.

“I’ll focus all my heart on comprehending the Lesser Five Elements Sword Manual,” Ji Ning said to himself.

The Water Source Manual only required training.

The Three-Foot Sword? For now, his sword technique was still lacking. He couldn’t even use the first stance.

Only the Lesser Five Elements Sword Manual… he could slowly and carefully comprehend.

…

The Black-White College, Northpeak Peak.

Ji Ning rode a leaf-boat as it descended from high in the sky, plunging directly down into Northpeak Peak.

“Uncle White.” Ji Ning called out as he leaped down into the courtyard.

Swish.

A large white dog bounded out from the side. It was the Whitewater Hound. “Ning, you’ve taken a master? Who is it?”

“It’s the Diancai Immortal.” Ji Ning’s face was full of joy.

“An Immortal?” The Whitewater Hound revealed a look of pleasant surprise. Earlier, he and Ji Ning had discussed this, speculating that it might be a Primal Daoist.

“Uncle White, this is the Ki Refining technique I exchanged for you, the Water Source Manual.” Ji Ning said. “You must remember not to let this technique be leaked. If it is, you’ll be bound by the Heavenly Dao blood oath and your soul will be scattered.”

“I know.” The Whitewater Hound assented.

No matter whether one was a formal disciple’s servant or a spirit-beast living in the Black-White College, one had to swear a Heavenly Dao blood oath! After all, servants and spirit-beasts might have the chance to learn some top-tier techniques.

“Here.” Ji Ning handed over the thick book containing the first half of the Water Source Manual. “This is the first half. It can let you train all the way to the Primal Daoist perfection stage. When we reach the Primal Daoist level, we’ll exchange for the second half.”

“Thank you for your hard work, Ning.” Although the Whitewater Hound had never heard of this technique, he could guess that what Ji Ning had exchanged for him was definitely not of low quality.

Ji Ning smiled. “Uncle White, I’m going to go cultivate.”

Swish!

Ji Ning’s heart was surging with excitement, filled with anticipation. He naturally headed straight for his underground cultivation chamber.

On Northpeak Peak, there were many buildings, as well as some cultivation chambers. These were the places where Immortal cultivators practiced. Naturally, they were surrounded by grand formations that were linked to the overall grand formation of the entire Black-White College. Once the door was closed, even an Immortal would find it almost impossible to force their way in.

“Rumble…” The stone door slid shut.

In a spacious stone chamber that was thirty zhang wide on each side, pearls were inlaid in the ceiling. These pearls were naturally not as valuable as the dazzling pearls in the Wuyou Caverns, but they were still no mortal items. They bathed the stone chamber in a perpetual glow of pearl light.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged on a jade bed inscribed with calming runes.

“The Water Source Manual!” Ji Ning flipped through the manual in his hands, spending a full half hour memorizing it entirely. Immortal cultivators had incredible memories; Ji Ning, having reached the soul level of a Primal Daoist, could even replay every single day of his life, from childhood to now, within his soul.

“Whoosh.”

A flame burst forth from his palm, burning the Water Source Manual to ashes.

Such an immortal-ranked Ki Refining technique could never be leaked. Thus, after reading and memorizing it, it had to be destroyed. This was also why killing a Black-White College disciple to obtain top-tier techniques was fundamentally impossible.

“Let’s begin.” Ji Ning waved his hand, and a jade-green bottle landed on the ground before him.

He pulled out the stopper. A thick aura of natural energy filled the air. That jade-green bottle contained a full hundred jin of Primordial Liquid. Earlier, Ji Ning had only used ten jin to break through from the Xiantian perfection stage to the Zifu early stage and had even consolidated his Zifu early stage.

“Suck.”

Ji Ning opened his mouth wide. Instantly, the Primordial Liquid flew out of the jade-green bottle and into his mouth. Upon entering, it quickly transformed into a vast amount of natural energy, surging into his Zifu.

Within the boundless space of his Zifu…

A lake existed.

“Boom, rumble~~~” Suddenly, the entire space of his Zifu began to tremble. Boundless torrents of natural energy surged in, rapidly transforming into ki. The lake of ki began to expand, and as Ji Ning began to use the Water Source Manual technique, the entire lake began to rotate.

Rustle, rustle~~~

It spun faster and faster. Soon, the entire lake of his Zifu had transformed into a giant whirlpool, growing deeper and deeper.

The previously flat lake, now swirling into a whirlpool, was like a drill. Its depth increased by a hundred or a thousand times in an instant!

“Boom!”

A thunderous sound rang out.

At the deepest point of the whirling Zifu lake, a hole suddenly appeared. From this hole, new ki began to gush forth without pause. This hole was the ‘source’ of the Water Source Manual!

“The Zifu middle stage.” Ji Ning continued to absorb the rich Primordial Liquid from the jade-green bottle, continuing to improve his strength.

Rumble, rumble, rumble~~~

The deepest point of the Zifu lake was now a thousand times deeper than before. It was obviously much faster at absorbing and refining. The ki that emerged from the ‘Water Source’ was also purer.

“The Zifu late stage.”