The Dao Repository Hall and the Soul-Shattering Art

“Master, your disciple has another question.” Ji Ning had always kept this matter at the forefront of his mind—the fact that he had refined eight hundred jin of Primordial Liquid without reaching his limit.

“Speak.” The Diancai Immortal said.

Ji Ning quickly continued. “Earlier, when I was training in the ‘Waterdrop Manual,’ I refined a total of eight hundred and eighty jin of Primordial Liquid. According to the ‘Waterdrop Manual,’ refining eight hundred jin should have laid a Celestial Immortal foundation, and further refinement should have quickly reached the limit. And yet, my Zifu still hasn’t reached its limit. Why is this?”

“Oh?” The Diancai Immortal began to smile. “Hahaha. Most cultivators worry that their Zifu can’t hold enough Yuan power, that their foundations aren’t solid enough. You, on the other hand, are complaining that your Zifu can hold too much.”

“That’s not it,” Ji Ning said hastily. “I’m just confused and want to understand why I’m special.”

The Diancai Immortal laughed. “It’s because your body is a Fiendgod body! An ordinary Fiendgod Body Refining technique is one thing, but the legendary number one Fiendgod Body Refining method, the ‘Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens,’ produces a truly perfect Fiendgod body, in no way inferior to a Fiendgod born from the natural world. It is only natural that the Zifu Lake opened within such a Fiendgod body can hold far more Yuan power.”

“Oh.” Ji Ning finally understood.

“In truth, the better the Ki Refining technique, the more solid the foundation. It might take a bit longer at the Zifu and Wanxiang stages. But going forward, things will actually be much easier.” The Diancai Immortal continued, “There are techniques that are at the same Immortal-rank as the ‘Waterdrop Manual’ but are even better. Some require refining over a thousand jin of Primordial Liquid at the Zifu stage. The better the technique, the more Yuan power it can accommodate.” The Diancai Immortal looked at Ji Ning. “You should be happy.”

“Your disciple understands.” Ji Ning now fully comprehended. “I wonder how much Primordial Liquid I will need to refine to reach the Wanxiang stage?”

The Diancai Immortal considered for a moment, then said, “A disciple of the Crimsonbright Diagram who also trains in the ‘Waterdrop Manual’ is quite rare. Let me think… Mm. I estimate you will need somewhere between one thousand six hundred and two thousand jin of Primordial Liquid.”

Ji Ning took a deep breath.

“The ‘Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens’ truly is the number one technique.” The Diancai Immortal looked at him. “You should put some effort into it.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded. “Then, your disciple will head to the Dao Repository Hall.”

“Go on.” The Diancai Immortal nodded, then closed his eyes.

Ji Ning withdrew.

After exiting, he mounted his flying boat and shot through the air towards the Dao Repository Hall.

…

Within the Dao Repository Hall.

Ji Ning went directly to the second floor, the ‘Technique’ floor.

“I originally had two hundred Black-White Pearls left. I earned six hundred from the Dao Debate Hall battle, and the College bestowed another two thousand for entering the Dao of the Sword. That makes a total of two thousand eight hundred Black-White Pearls.” Ji Ning moved among the bookshelves containing countless tomes, searching carefully.

He was looking for the thirty-six sword technique manuals recorded on the beast-hide scroll his master had given him.

“These are quite cheap.”

“The upper volume of this one is only thirty Black-White Pearls.”

“This one is even only ten Black-White Pearls.”

“This one is expensive. It costs a hundred Black-White Pearls.”

Ji Ning’s figure moved like the wind; his gaze was like lightning. He swept his eyes across a vast number of sword technique books, quickly picking out those thirty-six volumes. The cheapest of the thirty-six cost a mere ten Black-White Pearls, while the most expensive was a hundred. The subjects were diverse, including techniques of deception, overpowering sword arts, and lightning-fast sword forms…

“Master designed these thirty-six sword techniques specifically for me from such a sea of sword arts. It gives you an idea of just how many sword technique manuals he has read.” Ji Ning secretly marveled.

Clearly, it was very important for anyone who wished to become a powerful Sword Immortal to read a massive quantity of sword technique literature.

“Not bad. This sword art is even more suited to me than the Two Elements Greenfire Sword.” Ji Ning picked them up and began to flip through them. His eyes lit up instantly.

…

After selecting the thirty-six sword technique books, Ji Ning arrived at a long table. On the table were five abridged manuals: ‘Heavenly Transformation,’ ‘Three Heads, Six Arms,’ ‘Divine Lightning Eye,’ ‘Ten Thousand Venom Stingers,’ and ‘Blazingheart Eye.’

“Divine abilities.” Ji Ning mused. “I still have two thousand two hundred Black-White Pearls left. Should I choose a Divine Ability, or a soul-nurturing art?”

Techniques for using one’s divine sense were even rarer than Divine Abilities.

There were only three: ‘Soul-Shattering Art,’ ‘Soul-Charming Art,’ and ‘Soul-Annihilating Art.’

Both the Divine Abilities and the soul-nurturing arts were very attractive to Ji Ning. He wanted both.

“If only I could choose them all.” Ji Ning gritted his teeth.

He took one last, fierce look at the five Divine Ability manuals, then turned and walked directly to another table where the soul-nurturing arts were displayed.

On the table were three golden books.

Ji Ning did not hesitate. He directly picked up one of the golden books, then turned and left the Dao Repository Hall cleanly.

…

As soon as he stepped out of the hall, the tall, armored guardian outside looked at Ji Ning. “Chosen your items?”

“Mm. Here you are.” Ji Ning handed the books over directly. As he did so, he couldn’t help but glance back at the Dao Repository Hall.

Divine abilities.

He really, really wanted to get a few Divine Abilities. Take the ‘Blazingheart Eye,’ for example. It also had effects similar to a soul-nurturing art, and was even more profound and unpredictable. But unfortunately, even just the upper volume cost a full five thousand Black-White Pearls. The ‘Divine Lightning Eye’ could even let the user train a third divine eye, storing the primordial lightning of heaven and earth within it. With a thought, the eye could release a bolt of lightning! Its power was equally terrifying.

“For me, right now, I can’t have my cake and eat it too.” Ji Ning sighed to himself. “I have the ‘Starseizing Hand’ Divine Ability. It surpasses these Divine Abilities by an untold margin. The other abilities would mostly be auxiliary, covering some of my weaknesses. Their effect on my overall combat power wouldn’t be too pronounced.”

“This ‘Soul-Shattering Art,’ however, can give me an additional killer move in a short time.” Ji Ning thought to himself.

The power of the ‘Soul-Shattering Art’ had nothing to do with one’s divine power or Yuan power. It relied entirely on the divine sense of one’s soul! The stronger one’s divine sense, the greater the art’s power. Already, his perception was at the Primal Daoist level, and his soul was constantly strengthening through the ‘Nuwa Diagram.’

It only made sense to learn a soul-nurturing art.

“You didn’t choose a Divine Ability?” The guardian looked at Ji Ning’s selection with some surprise. “Disciple-Nephew Ji Ning, this ‘Soul-Shattering Art’ can be executed by anyone with divine sense, but other Wanxiang Adepts also have divine sense. At most, you’ll be able to affect a Wanxiang Adept slightly. You, however, are a cultivator of the ‘Crimsonbright Diagram.’ You should pick a Divine Ability instead.”

Ji Ning smiled. This guardian had no way of knowing that his soul had already reached the ‘divine perception’ level.

“This is all,” Ji Ning said.

“As you wish.” The guardian had only spoken out of consideration for Ji Ning. Since Ji Ning insisted, he said no more.

“The ‘Soul-Shattering Art’ costs two thousand Black-White Pearls.” The guardian looked at him. “The rest comes to exactly six hundred.”

…

Soon, after paying two thousand Black-White Pearls, Ji Ning left the Dao Repository Hall with his thirty-six sword technique books and the ‘Soul-Shattering Art’ manual, heading back to Northmont Peak.

As soon as he returned, his heart was itching with curiosity. After instructing that he not be disturbed for anything less than urgent, he went directly to his meditation chamber.

“Off to the meditation chamber again.” Yun Lu watched Ji Ning, biting her lip. There was a hint of hurt in her eyes. “He won’t even talk with me for a while.”

Meng Yan glanced at Yun Lu and suppressed a laugh.

He could clearly see that this Yun Lu was constantly trying to seduce Ji Ning. “What a pity. Senior Apprentice-Brother Ji Ning’s Dao-heart is far too strong to be shaken by a seductress like you.”

Inside the meditation chamber.

Ji Ning sat down cross-legged and immediately opened the complete ‘Soul-Shattering Art’ manual. The book itself was not thick, and after carefully reading through it, he quickly understood… the so-called ‘Soul-Shattering Art’ was a very special application technique for one’s divine sense. And this one technique alone was worth as much as a Divine Ability.

“Soul-Shattering Art?” Ji Ning closed his eyes and began to cultivate.

Whoooosh.

His powerful divine sense was released, covering the entire meditation chamber. He began to try, again and again.

Failure. Failure. Failure.

He felt no frustration at his repeated failures. Each time, he found his own problem, and each time, he was able to do a little better.

…

In the blink of an eye, over half a month had passed since Ji Ning entered the meditation chamber. As he had given orders not to be disturbed for anything less than extremely important matters, it had been very quiet.

In the vast void of his sea of consciousness, a small version of Ji Ning sat cross-legged. This was his soul.

The soul sat there, a seal forming before its chest again and again.

Rays of light!

A cyan-colored seal. It barely held for a moment before collapsing.

Calmly, Ji Ning absorbed the experience and tried again. “Hua!” Instantly, a strange, cyan-colored seal appeared before his soul’s chest. At first glance, the seal looked like some sort of written character, yet it was neither Fiendgod script nor any language he knew. Looking at this cyan seal, one felt the sensation of a surging wave ceaselessly battering a shore.

“Go.” With a thought from Ji Ning.

His soul released a powerful divine sense, using this cyan seal as the central nexus. The divine sense that was released was no longer a simple scanning wave. Instead, it was like a series of overlapping tides; the divine sense flowed in all directions like a series of rolling waves. One could easily imagine that should they encounter a living being with a soul, this rolling, tidal wave of divine sense would instantly batter against that being’s soul like a wave crashing against a shore.

“I’ve finally managed to barely condense a ‘Soul-Shattering Seal’.” Ji Ning opened his eyes, a smile spreading across his face. “But it’s still far from the truly perfect Soul-Shattering Seal recorded in the manual.”

Ji Ning cheerfully left the meditation chamber.

When he stepped into the courtyard, he saw a brilliant starry sky above. It was deep in the night.

He looked up at the shining stars. “What follows is a long period of training at the Black-White College, comprehending the Dao and studying the sword. Only when I receive Master’s leave will I go out to temper myself.”

…

Time flowed on.

Ji Ning and Mu Northson, the two newly accepted disciples, spent their days at the Black-White College in quiet but fulfilling cultivation. They immersed themselves in their studies, researching sword arts and the mysteries of puppetry… and their strength grew, steadily and imperceptibly. These two uncut gems, under the careful polishing of the Black-White College, began to display the brilliance they were always meant to have.

In the blink of an eye, more than three years had passed. It was now the height of summer, and this year, Ji Ning had turned twenty.