Chapter 81: The Abyss Beneath the Dragon Entwined Pillar

The Spirit Peak was exceptionally abundant in spiritual energy, making it ideal for cultivation. This was thanks to a simple law of spiritual energy aggregation: the density of spiritual energy in a given location was determined by the number and cultivation level of the cultivators present. The higher the number and level, the more easily spiritual energy would converge there.

This was also why cultivators in the world established sects for their practice. As sects were gathering places for cultivators, the amount of spiritual energy there far surpassed that of other places. Therefore, the stronger a sect, the easier it was to nurture powerful disciples. In contrast, a lone cultivator like Ning Qinshui, even after a lifetime of cultivation, could only reach the ordinary Immortal Comprehension Realm.

Ning Changjiu naturally didn't ponder whether he was qualified to cultivate on Spirit Peak. Since he was allowed to come, it implied he was qualified to cultivate there.

Carrying the bag of spiritual fruits and elixirs, he found an empty cave dwelling and settled inside. As Ning Changjiu consumed the elixirs and meditated, a moist spiritual mist gradually permeated his nearly depleted Sea of Qi. This mist slowly ascended his blood vessels, trying to carve a path through his blocked or fractured spiritual meridians. This process was several times faster than it had been on the Inner Peak. This was an unparalleled privilege for an outer sect disciple like him.

After meditating for a while, Ning Changjiu shifted from sitting to lying prone. He had discovered that spiritual energy, when abundant enough, would sink. Therefore, positions closer to the ground allowed for the absorption of more spiritual energy within the same timeframe. Since there was no one around to observe, he casually lay prostrate on the ground, greedily absorbing every wisp of pure spiritual energy. He then used his body as a furnace to refine them into his own spiritual power, storing it within his Purple Mansion Sea of Qi.

Only when all the spiritual fruits and elixirs were consumed, and his body was nearly saturated with absorbed spiritual energy, did he sit up from the ground and let out a long, deep breath.

Ning Changjiu pondered for a moment, then used small stones to arrange a miniature flight formation around him. This was to ensure he could leave at any time if any peculiar individuals approached him with ill intentions. Calculating the time, Xiaoling was probably heading back to her room soon. He mentally reversed the miniature flight formation, found the overlapping array in his Sea of Consciousness, and with a hook-like thought, he pulled his entire body upwards.

In the scripture pavilion, Ning Changjiu landed softly. He looked around, relieved that the area was secluded and no one was passing by.

"Just in case, I should set up an illusion here next time," Ning Changjiu thought to himself, planning out the area where he had appeared and silently considering suitable formations.

At his ear, faint voices conversed.

"Junior sister, perhaps we should just drop it."

"What kind of sorcery does that Ning Changjiu possess? How can he evade all these tricks?"

"Could he be secretly hiding his true abilities...?"

"I doubt it. I ran into him earlier at the Sword Hall entrance and even tested him. He seemed frail, not like he was faking it."

"Then could it be that his junior sister saw through our methods and has been secretly helping him? It's said that people with an innate spiritual body have much sharper senses and intuition."

"Possibly..."

Ning Changjiu listened to their conversation and smiled faintly. He wondered if the three of them considered this place a secret meeting spot. What a coincidence, as he was just "a wall away" from them. He didn't pay much attention to these petty schemes among his fellow disciples. It was the first time he had encountered such a thing, and out of curiosity and amusement, he had deliberately teased them. Of course, he wasn't worried about the young girl continuing her malicious tricks; after all, no matter how elaborate her schemes became, he wouldn't be the one getting punished.

"Getting smacked on the palm in front of so many people earlier was utterly humiliating... When I turned back, I even saw Ning Changjiu laughing at me. He's just an outer sect disciple who got lucky with Master's benevolence and just happens to know a little bit of literacy. How dare he be so arrogant?"

"Junior sister, we were the ones who provoked them first. Junior Sister Xiaoling and Junior Brother Changjiu didn't actually do anything outrageous."

"Shut up! You're always siding with outsiders!"

"Alright, alright, Junior Sister, tell us what you want to do next. Even if Senior Brother Weiran doesn't help you, Senior Brother Yunze is completely on your side!"

"I... I haven't decided yet, but I certainly won't let him off easily!"

"Then please sit down, Junior Sister. I'll get you some water, and we can discuss our plan slowly."

Le Rou smoothed her skirt along her thigh. Just as she was about to sit down, she paused for a moment, silent. Then, remembering something, she suddenly exclaimed furiously, "I... I'm not sitting!" With that, she stomped away in a huff.

On the Inner Peak, the long corridor was silent, illuminated by dim lights. In Ning Changjiu's room, faint voices conversed.

"Senior Brother, I remember the sect rules state that we are only permitted to learn the sect's own cultivation methods. While what you're teaching me is unique, will it truly be alright if it's discovered?"

"Didn't the rules also say that the Peak Master can freely change them? Just strive to become the Peak Master in the future, junior sister."

"Uh..." Ning Xiaoling was stunned, then gave a wry smile. "Senior Brother certainly has high expectations for me."

Ning Changjiu said, "In any case, your senior brother won't harm you. Just follow my lead and learn."

"Does this method of absorbing spiritual energy have a name?" Ning Xiaoling asked.

Ning Changjiu replied, "Daoist Hidden Breath Art."

Ning Xiaoling nodded. "How long will this take to learn?"

Ning Changjiu said, "It will be quick. You should be able to master it by the spring sword trial. After that, I'll teach you more things."

Ning Xiaoling replied, "I'll do whatever Senior Brother says."

Ning Changjiu suddenly asked, "You haven't been ostracized or bullied by your fellow disciples, have you?"

Ning Xiaoling shook her head. "No."

Ning Changjiu said, "If you are bullied, remember to tell your senior brother. Don't keep it a secret."

Ning Xiaoling softly hummed in acknowledgment, then looked at him with concern and asked, "Senior Brother, how has your cultivation been lately?"

Ning Changjiu smiled faintly. "Naturally, I'm progressing by leaps and bounds, soaring straight to the heavens..."

Ning Xiaoling interrupted him with a sigh. "Senior Brother, stop lying."

Ning Changjiu also dropped his smile and sighed softly. "Cultivate well, and don't worry too much about other things."

Ning Xiaoling nodded. "Then, when it's time to light up the sword stars at the peak's summit, let's go together and choose two that are close to each other."

Ning Changjiu gazed out the window, his sight seemingly reaching the Heavenly Grotto Peak, where he envisioned the silently floating sword stars. After a moment, he softly nodded. "Alright."

During these peaceful days, Heavenly Grotto Peak experienced several more snowfalls. On the Cloud Terrace Sword Arena, dozens of cold lights pierced through snow and clouds, like electric serpents tearing through the sky, crisscrossing above the platform.

After the sword practice, Lu Jiajia commented on each flying sword. Ning Xiaoling, whether intentionally or not, always kept her sword hovering between catching up and falling behind, barely managing to secure a spot at the tail end of the front ranks. In recent days, Le Rou had tested Ning Changjiu several more times, though her methods were somewhat restrained. However, Ning Changjiu thwarted them all. Gradually, she gave up and instead dedicated herself entirely to cultivation, preparing to thoroughly defeat Ning Xiaoling at the future Sword Trial Assembly. Today, during the Cloud Terrace sword practice, although she still couldn't keep up the entire time, her ranking improved by two positions, and she was subtly catching up to Ning Xiaoling. This made her quite excited.

Ning Changjiu's life also remained largely uneventful. He would wake early to accompany his junior sister to morning lessons, then exchange a few sarcastic remarks with Lu Yuanbai on the way to the scripture pavilion. Once there, he occasionally chatted with Martial Grand-uncle Yanzhou, but most of the time, Martial Grand-uncle Yanzhou was asleep. He also became increasingly proficient in applying the miniature flight formation. He no longer needed stones; he could simply use spiritual energy to mark a few points and simulate a temporary, usable formation.

And upon entering Spirit Peak, the most important task, naturally, was to "shear the wool" from Nancheng. Ning Changjiu had never returned the jade token to Nancheng. As Nancheng had no immediate need for it, he hadn't asked for it back. Out of guilt, Ning Changjiu would daily explain difficult concepts to Nancheng and paint grand, somewhat vague pictures of the Great Dao's scenery to give him hope. After all, Ning Changjiu's cultivation in his previous life was exceedingly high; that magnificent and rich scroll had truly unfolded before his eyes for him to behold. Thus, he described these concepts with ease, often speaking until Nancheng's eyes glowed with fervent admiration.

After taking care of Nancheng, he confidently went to collect spiritual fruits and elixirs. The elder guarding the treasure vault, seeing him arrive at the same time every day without fail, couldn't help but feel admiration. He thought, "This truly is a diligent and hardworking genius youth. At such a young age, he has such a grasp over cultivation resources, and he even seems younger than Nancheng, yet he received a C-grade jade token. It seems Lu Jiajia has found another treasure."

As for Ning Changjiu himself, he couldn't quite tell whether his path of cultivation was smooth or arduous. His speed of refining spiritual energy was incredibly fast, almost unbelievably so, as if his body were a naturally created furnace for refining qi. However, once those pure spiritual energies were refined into his Sea of Qi, they were like a mud ox entering the sea, unable to fill this seemingly bottomless spiritual ocean. He had calculated that at his spiritual energy refining speed, an ordinary person could reach the Upper Profound Entry Mirror in just ten days. As for himself... he wasn't even sure if he had truly entered the Profound realm. Generally, for someone with an innate spiritual physique, an innate true spirit would spontaneously form within their Purple Mansion after entering the Profound realm. But if he had already entered it, why was there no sign of an innate spirit being born?

He closed his eyes, using his Sea of Consciousness to probe his Sea of Qi. Gazing at the pitch-black domain with hardly any spiritual energy fluctuations, he sighed softly. "Even the mythical Jingwei filling the sea wouldn't be much harder than this..." Truly, I am something else.

The strength of spiritual power depended on two points: first, the purity of the refined spiritual energy, which was like the arrow on a bowstring—the purer the refined energy, the sharper it was. Second, one's own cultivation realm, determining how far one could draw the bow and string, which was akin to one's arm strength. This arm strength represented the cultivation realm. With the same arrow, an ordinary person's limit might be to shatter stone or pierce armor, while a cultivator could kill someone a hundred li away with a single shot. Legendary true deities, moreover, could accomplish feats like destroying cities, shooting down suns, shattering ocean tides, and tearing apart the sky. All these relied on one's cultivation realm.

At this moment, though Ning Changjiu was still far from filling his Sea of Qi, he had already refined a substantial amount of spiritual energy. He had refined so much that Nancheng, while meditating these past few days, felt that the spiritual energy on Spirit Peak had inexplicably thinned considerably. However, his current cultivation realm was simply insufficient to allow him to unleash the true power of this vast spiritual energy.

"At best, I can match an Immortal Comprehension cultivator." Ning Changjiu slightly bent his palm, and between his five fingers, a small, crystalline sword condensed from spiritual energy. The tiny sword floated unsteadily in his palm. After staring at it for a long time, he came to this conclusion. To be able to rival an Immortal Comprehension cultivator without even entering the Profound realm—such a fantastical feat was met only with a sigh of dissatisfaction from him.

After finishing his cultivation for the day, Ning Changjiu stood up and brushed off his clothes, intending to leave. But suddenly remembering something, he quietly walked to a spot slightly closer to the center of Spirit Peak. That abyss-like space was like a deep, dark sea, and the Dragon-Entwining Pillar stood like a heaven-piercing tower in the center of its waters.

Ning Changjiu stood at the edge of the cliff, and just like the first time he came here, his heart began to beat slightly faster. He clutched his chest, unsure whether this sensation was an omen of good or ill. He blinked, and spiritual energy gathered, covering his eyes, instantly making them gleam brightly. He looked down, but the lifeless mist, churning in continuous shades of gray and black, remained impenetrable to his gaze. As he peered into the abyss with his sword-eyes, it seemed to awaken, extending countless tentacles that seized his vision. All other scenery faded from his pupils as a thick fog obscured everything. Before the sensation of falling became almost real, Ning Changjiu immediately closed his eyes. Moments later, blood seeped from the corners of his eyes.