The Faustian Bargain of the Five Treasures Sword Art

Three streaks of light suddenly flew over from afar, heading straight for Ji Ning and Ninefang God.

“Oh?” Ji Ning looked carefully. He immediately recognized one of the three figures—Immortal Wudao. The other two he had never seen before.

“Are you Daoist Ji Ning?” the rather ugly-looking man called out.

“I’ve long heard from Junior Apprentice-Brother Wudao that Daoist Ji Ning would be coming. We’ve been waiting here for quite some time, growing anxious from the delay,” the handsome, boyish-looking youth said with a smile.

Ji Ning laughed. “I’m deeply ashamed for keeping the three of you waiting so long.”

“We’re all staying here in the Sword Immortal Realm anyway. Waiting or not, we’re all residing in the same place,” the youth said merrily.

Ji Ning smiled back. “I’ve already met Daoist Wudao. This stalwart-looking fellow must be God Fuliu, and this one must be ‘Heaven-Outer Sword Immortal’ Immortal Jimin. I’ve long heard of Immortal Jimin’s fame; it’s an honor to finally meet you.”

After Daofather Fuju fell, the tree collapsed and the monkeys scattered.

Currently, the Sword Sect only had three Gods and True Immortals left.

They were Immortal Wudao, God Fuliu, and Immortal Jimin.

Among them, Immortal Jimin had joined the earliest, God Fuliu next, and Immortal Wudao the latest. Moreover, Immortal Jimin’s strength was astonishing. Within the Three Realms, only two people had ever fully mastered the entire ‘Five Treasures Sword Art’: one was a Daofather, and the other was Immortal Jimin himself. By mastering the Five Treasures Sword Art, he had instantly become an absolute top-tier existence among Gods and True Immortals, comparable to Patriarch Lu, and was revered as the ‘Heaven-Outer Sword Immortal’.

“Is that Daoist Ji Ning?”

“So Fellow Daoist Northmont has come as well.”

“I’ve heard that on the Realm battlefield of the Grand Xia world, Fellow Daoist Northmont’s sword suppressed a Daofather Puppet…”

“Daoist Ji Ning.”

Voices suddenly rang out one after another as streaks of light flew over.

Immortal Wudao quickly explained, “These are all Gods and True Immortals who have come to the Sword Immortal Realm to study the ‘Five Treasures Sword Art’. Naturally, they are all on our side. Before this great calamity struck, the Sword Immortal Realm regularly hosted thousands of Gods and True Immortals, and occasionally even Daofathers would come. But now that the calamity has descended, and most of the Gods and True Immortals of the Three Realms have already studied the art long ago, there are far fewer here. Besides the three of us and the two of you, there are thirty-nine other Gods and True Immortals present.”

……

These Gods and True Immortals all belonged to the Nuwa Camp and knew of Ji Ning’s deeds. Naturally, they held him in high esteem. After all, in the midst of a calamity, there were very, very few who could influence a realm war. For example, Bloodsky God, even with seven Gods working together, could only achieve such might. But Ji Ning, by commanding a million Immortals, could rival a Daofather Puppet—which God or True Immortal would dare to slight him?

Even Immortal Jimin, a peerless sword immortal who had mastered the ‘Five Treasures Sword Art’, was extremely courteous to Ji Ning.

Everyone chatted for a while and then quickly dispersed.

After all, the main event here was sword training.

“The others who haven’t come to greet you are probably all immersed in cultivation,” Immortal Jimin said with a smile. The three Gods and True Immortals of the Sword Sect accompanied Ji Ning and Ninefang, riding clouds as they spoke.

“Yes,” Ji Ning nodded. “I can already see them.”

Looking out, he could see on the five great peaks—on the mountainsides, at the summits, and even by the distant lakes—Gods and True Immortals sitting cross-legged in quiet cultivation. In short, they were all casually scattered about, and no one would disturb them.

“That’s Daoist Bitian,” Immortal Jimin pointed out. On the mountainside of the first peak, on a giant boulder, sat a figure in black robes.

“That’s Daoist Bingyu,” he pointed again, indicating a person in white robes vaguely visible inside a cave on a cliff, sitting cross-legged.

They sat there like rocks, motionless, for who knows how long.

“Those two are desperately cultivating the Five Treasures Sword Art,” Immortal Jimin sighed. “Most of the other Gods and True Immortals only study it for reference, absorbing some insights, without truly training in it.”

“Desperately?” Ji Ning was surprised. “Is the Five Treasures Sword Art really as terrifying as the rumors say?”

Immortal Wudao laughed. “Some rumors are exaggerated, but for others, the rumors actually understate it.”

“Oh?” Ji Ning and Ninefang both listened carefully.

The rumors had already demonized the Five Treasures Sword Art; even Daofathers dared not cultivate it.

“The Five Treasures Sword Art is indeed incredibly magical,” Immortal Wudao said with a smile. “It is fundamentally different from every other sword art in the Three Realms.”

Ji Ning nodded.

He had noticed this as well.

“Other sword arts are rooted in the Heavenly Dao, but the Five Treasures Sword Art takes a completely different path,” Immortal Wudao said. “If you merely study fragments of it for reference, absorbing a few insights, that’s fine. But if you begin a dedicated cultivation from the first scroll, you will encounter the very situations described in the rumors.”

Ji Ning’s expression changed.

Immortal Wudao said softly, “Your understanding of other Daos—Heavenly Daos, Grand Daos, ordinary Daos—will gradually begin to fade, completely disappearing from your memory.”

“The deeper you cultivate the Five Treasures Sword Art, the more Daos you will forget.”

“When you have mastered the third scroll of the Five Treasures Sword Art, aside from the Dao of the Sword, you will have completely forgotten every other Dao.” Immortal Wudao looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning nodded lightly. “So that’s how it is.”

Immortal Jimin added, “The Five Treasures Sword Art is divided into four scrolls. The first scroll is carved into the cliff face of the first peak. The second scroll is on the second peak, the third on the third peak. The final fourth scroll, naturally, is on the fourth peak. As for the fifth peak… that was where our master, Daofather Fuju, lived while he was alive. It is also a minor grotto.”

“Once you begin cultivating the first scroll, your insights into other Daos will be affected and will gradually slip away. As your cultivation deepens, the lost insights into Daos increase.”

“By the second and third scrolls, once you have mastered the third scroll, you will have forgotten all other Daos. Only the Dao of the Sword will remain.”

“The fourth scroll is the hardest.”

“The fear is that you may succeed at the third scroll but never manage the fourth.”

“Once you have fully mastered the fourth scroll, the entire Five Treasures Sword Art will be complete. Only then will you truly understand the wonder of this sword art,” Immortal Jimin said with emotion.

Ji Ning was puzzled. “If cultivating the Five Treasures Sword Art causes insights into other Daos to vanish from memory, can those insights be cultivated again?”

“They can be cultivated again,” Immortal Jimin replied, shaking his head. “But the moment you start cultivating other Daos, your insights into the Five Treasures Sword Art will also begin to slip away.”

“What?!” Ji Ning was shocked.

“So, you either cultivate many other Daos, or you cultivate only the Five Treasures Sword Art,” Immortal Jimin said with a smile. “Of course, once you have thoroughly mastered the entire Five Treasures Sword Art, the art will form a complete whole within your memory. At that point, you can cultivate other Daos again. The mutual interference will cease.”

God Fuliu added, “The fourth scroll is too difficult. To master the first scroll, you need at least the first level of Sword Force. To master the second scroll, at least the second level of Sword Force… To master the fourth scroll, you need at least the fourth level of Sword Force. And that is just the prerequisite. Even with the fourth level of Sword Force, success is not guaranteed.”

Ji Ning nodded.

He had heard this before.

But the Five Treasures Sword Art was so powerful that after mastering it, the speed of one’s sword could surpass the limits of the Heavenly Dao. Immortal Jimin was already one of the most top-tier Gods and True Immortals. If Immortal Jimin were to break through and become a Daofather, even if his insights were lacking, with the Five Treasures Sword Art, he would be among the top-tier Daofathers as well.

Because his sword speed would be the fastest.

That was the allure of the Five Treasures Sword Art.

“Once the entire Five Treasures Sword Art has been mastered, one may proceed to the fifth peak and enter the master’s minor grotto,” Immortal Jimin said, pointing to the tallest peak in the distance. “The master died in the Chaos. But before he entered the Chaos, he told us that if he should encounter misfortune, we were to publicly release the Five Treasures Sword Art. Any Fiendgod Body Refiner who could master the art could enter the minor grotto and receive his most important inheritance.”

“Oh?” Ji Ning was startled.

“But from ancient times to the present, after the master’s death, countless Gods and True Immortals from the Three Realms have come here to study. Even True Gods and Daofathers have come. But few are willing to lose their insights into other Daos and commit wholeheartedly to the sword—very, very few. Especially Ki Refiners; once their Dao insights are lost, they may be unable to control their own dharma power, resulting in Qi Deviation and death.”

Ji Ning nodded.

“For example, a Daofather who cultivates Ki Refining became a Daofather because he comprehended a Heavenly Dao. But if he forgets that Heavenly Dao, his Grand Luo dharma power is immense. With insufficient Dao insights to control it, the power will run wild and even explode, scattering his soul.”

“Therefore, only sword immortals among Ki Refiners can cultivate it. And they must be at the level of Pure Yang True Immortals.”

“Fiendgod Body Refiners, who do not fear Qi Deviation, can certainly study it. But the lofty True Gods… most have cultivated for endless eons and have very deep Dao insights. How many are willing to abandon their past? From ancient times to today, only three True Gods have genuinely attempted to cultivate the Five Treasures Sword Art.”

“However, Fiendgods are naturally weaker at Dao comprehension. These three True Gods in particular had mediocre talent in the sword Dao. They forced themselves to study but achieved little, eventually giving up,” Immortal Jimin said.

In truth, those three True Gods had been at the bottom of the heap in terms of strength, so they had been willing to gamble everything. They wanted to acquire astonishing sword techniques; if the speed of their sword exceeded the limits of the Heavenly Dao, they could surge in power immediately. Unfortunately, they lacked talent in this area—mastering it was too difficult.

Take Ji Ning, for example.

He could progress in the sword Dao with astonishing speed.

But if you asked him to cultivate the Grand Dao of Time, he would probably be dreadfully slow.

“The ones who actually succeeded were two Ki Refiners: myself and Daofather Sacredfire. Because we are both Ki Refiners, we were unable to receive the master’s inheritance. Still, Daofather Sacredfire is now considered the number one sword immortal of the Three Realms,” Immortal Jimin said.

Ji Ning nodded.

Daofather Sacredfire’s growth was quite unusual. His mother was a Celestial Immortal, his father a Heavenly God—his mother was Princess Iron Fan, and his father was the Ox Demon King, one of the seven great sages of the ancient demon clan. Daofather Sacredfire was none other than Red Boy, the one born with exceptionally high talent in fire. Red Boy’s talent was remarkable; he smoothly cultivated all the way to Celestial Immortal, and the Samadhi True Fire nurtured within his body was extraordinary.

Later, he was taken in by Guanyin of the Buddhist faith and became a follower.

Then came the ancient cataclysm, and the Three Realms were born.

Afterward, he broke through to become a Pure Yang True Immortal. After Daofather Fuju’s death, he came to study the Five Treasures Sword Art. He threw himself into it like a madman, forgetting everything—the Buddhist faith, his parents, everything—and in one go, he actually managed to master it. Once the Five Treasures Sword Art was complete, his status soared. Afterward, it took him a hundred years to recover the lost Daos he had forgotten.

Then, thirty thousand years after mastering the Five Treasures Sword Art, he comprehended the Heavenly Dao of Fire and became a Daofather, revered as Daofather Sacredfire!

He personally retrieved his mother, Princess Iron Fan, but paid no attention to the Ox Demon King.

Moreover, his sword was the fastest in the Three Realms. Many immortals considered him the number one sword immortal of the Three Realms, but because Daofather Sacredfire’s foundation was somewhat lacking—he had only comprehended a single Heavenly Dao of Fire and his Sword Force was merely at the fourth level, never reaching the fifth—the title of ‘Foremost Sword Immortal of the Three Realms’ was not universally recognized.

Nevertheless, he was undoubtedly among the top-tier Daofathers.

Some who had been stronger than him in ancient times now had to look up to him. Such was the wonder of time—perhaps one day, a little fellow who was weaker than you could grow to a level that made you look up.

…

“Now you know the pros and cons of the Five Treasures Sword Art,” Immortal Jimin said, looking at Ji Ning. “Whether you decide to cultivate it is entirely up to you.”

Ji Ning nodded.

He had heard many rumors before, but this explanation was clearer. The year he had previously spent in contemplation already spoke to his resolve. He was walking the path of a Sword Immortal. To cultivate the Five Treasures Sword Art, he had long been prepared to forget other Daos such as the Grand Dao of Rainwater. What made him strong now was his Heartforce, as well as divine abilities like the Starseizing Hand and the Eight-Nine Arcane Art—these things could never be forgotten.

What would be forgotten was only the comprehension of Daos.

“We won’t disturb you any further.” Immortal Jimin and the other two promptly took their leave.

“Ninefang, I’m going to study the Five Treasures Sword Art. No need to call me unless something comes up,” Ji Ning said. Ninefang quickly acknowledged. Then Ji Ning flew off into the distance to examine the first scroll of the Five Treasures Sword Art.