Chapter 82: Falling God

Ning Changjiu raised his head, eyes closed, his face growing paler. Wisps of spiritual energy dissipated like smoke from the corners of his eyes.

He touched his cheek, looked at the bloodstains on his fingers, and remained silent.

Just now, his gaze had pierced through the mist to a great depth, yet he still couldn't see the bottom. It was as if a natural barrier stretched the space immensely, obstructing his view.

Beneath that barrier, something unobservable seemed to be hidden. As he tried to project his gaze further, the darkness in the abyss seemed to churn, instantly engulfing his vision. His eyes immediately suffered a backlash, and his spirit felt as though it was about to detach from his body and fall into it.

He immediately closed his eyes to cut off the probing. After a few breaths, he slowly opened his eyes again, light gradually gathering and refocusing in them.

Ning Changjiu wiped away the blood, the redness in his pupils slowly fading. He murmured, "Could it be a demon domain?"

Great cultivators in the world hunt down demonic creatures. The corpses and bones of many such creatures possess stubborn demonic properties that are extremely difficult to dispel. If discarded carelessly, new demons could easily breed. Therefore, after many powerful demons are slain, their remains are transported back to their respective sects and buried together in specific locations. These places, heavily infused with demonic energy and dangerous for the living, are known as demon domains and designated as forbidden lands.

Could such a space lie beneath this Hidden Peak?

If that's the case, why isn't the separation between Hidden Peak and the space below sealed off directly? Creating a barrier between this spot and the Coiled Dragon Pillars shouldn't be difficult. Aren't they worried that someone in secluded cultivation here might lose their footing and fall in?

Or perhaps...

Ning Changjiu suddenly thought of something, his mind brightening, but a rare look of concern appeared on his face.

He crouched down, touched the edge of the cliff, his fingers feeling the cold, hard stone, as if contemplating something.

He finally stood up after a long time. After one last look at the abyssal world at the peak's base, he turned and left.

Before leaving Hidden Peak, he faintly heard a clear sound, like chopsticks tapping a porcelain bowl.

It was the sound of a nascent sword embryo forming.

Over half a month, Nan Cheng endured the initial phase and formed the rudimentary sword embryo. The most challenging part now lay ahead, much like a woman's ten-month pregnancy, except this sword embryo was far more unruly than an infant. It was a constant, body-rending pain. If he failed, he would die with the sword; if he persevered, man and sword would become one.

Lu Jiajia's sword spirit integration, however, was a true divine blessing. She didn't have to endure such pain, yet it was far more powerful and miraculous than an acquired sword embryo.

All innate spirits in the world are prototyped from life. However, there are always exceptions. Some innate spirits manifest as raw iron-like elements, which, after being forged by the Purple Mansion, take the exact shape of blades or swords. These spirits are one with the body and cannot be summoned forth, thus not truly considered innate spirits in the purest sense.

Yet, sword spirits possess a reverse-polluting nature, capable of imbuing anything that comes close to them with the same blade-like coldness and sharpness.

This is an ability that even an acquired sword embryo, painstakingly formed, cannot possess.

Ning Changjiu arrived at the entrance of Nan Cheng's secluded cultivation cave.

Today, the cave entrance was tightly shut, as if declining visitors. Ning Changjiu hung the "C" jade token on his door, then turned and left.

Spiritual fruits and elixirs held little significance for him now, but Nan Cheng would likely need them soon.

Although he had already extracted most of the benefits from the jade token.

But he considered himself a good person, so he had left a little.

If Nan Cheng truly managed to form an acquired sword embryo, he would undoubtedly be given more importance within the peak in the future, and presumably, this jade token would also be upgraded.

When Ning Changjiu returned to the Scripture Pavilion using a reversed Miniature Flying Void Formation, he habitually paused to listen for a moment.

There was no activity next door today.

This was the third day of silence...

It seemed that Junior Sister Le Rou had given up her "crusade" against him.

Ning Changjiu walked into the main corridor of the Scripture Pavilion. He suddenly noticed that, even though sword cultivation had ended, there were still very few people in the pavilion today.

"Every year, half a month before Lunar New Year's Eve, there's a Snowfield Sword-Listening Assembly. It won't end until evening, so they won't be back for a while," Elder Yan Zhou's voice drifted from the long, ancient desk. The stored twilight glow from between the stones fell upon his robe, looking dappled from afar.

Ning Changjiu stopped. "Snowfield Sword-Listening Assembly?"

Elder Yan Zhou, uncharacteristically, propped himself up, one hand on the desk, the other holding a scroll. "It's nothing special. Disciples don't spar; they just demonstrate what they've learned. It's like a year-end summary for their cultivation, everyone celebrating and looking forward to the new year, and also a prelude to the Spring Sword Trial."

Since there was no sparring, Ning Changjiu wasn't worried about Ning Xiaoling anymore. After all, that little girl was quite sharp and shouldn't suffer any disadvantages.

Ning Changjiu looked at the elder and asked with a smile, "Elder, you seem to be in good spirits today?"

Elder Yan Zhou stroked his beard and chuckled. "Every day before I go to bed, I get a premonition that if I fall asleep like this, I won't wake up the next day. But for some reason, I always wake up as usual, though my mind is often clouded, with only occasional moments of clarity."

Ning Changjiu thought for a moment and said, "Still water is dead, but motionless stars endure for eons. Perhaps Grand-Uncle Master's body is like still water, while his mind is like the stars. The two are in a tug-of-war, and because of Grand-Uncle Master's tenacious spirit, you remain in the mortal world."

Elder Yan Zhou looked at him meaningfully and chuckled, "It's just that a single obsession hasn't been broken. How could that be likened to stars?"

Ning Changjiu asked, "Obsession... is it the lower volume of the Heavenly Oracle Sword Scripture?"

Yan Zhou nodded, his gaze slowly sweeping around. "Yes, I know it's here, but I can never find it. With such mental torment, how can I close my eyes in peace?"

Ning Changjiu asked, "Why would it hide itself right under your nose?"

"I don't know," Yan Zhou slowly shook his head and said. "I've thought about that question many times. Perhaps it's a punishment and mockery for my accidental unsealing of it back then."

After saying this, he seemed disinclined to discuss it further. His previously somewhat lively eyes once again bore a heavy, aged look. He coughed a few times, lifted his eyelids to glance at Ning Changjiu, and asked, "Did you encounter anyone on Hidden Peak?"

Ning Changjiu said, "So Grand-Uncle Master knew all along?"

Elder Yan Zhou grumbled, "I'm not blind. You've been coming and going right under my nose every day. Do you really think my cultivation level is as low as Lu Yuanbai's?"

Ning Changjiu replied with a smile, "Hidden Peak is too vast. After searching for a long time, I only encountered one fellow cultivator of my generation."

Elder Yan Zhou nodded. "It's better not to meet them. There are a few old folks whose temperaments aren't good. They've consumed most of the treasures in the vault, yet their breakthroughs are as slow as turtles, showing no progress for decades."

Ning Changjiu hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Then... is something hidden beneath Hidden Peak?"

"You went to that central area?" Elder Yan Zhou looked up, his somewhat cloudy gaze flickering as he studied Ning Changjiu's face. He said, "Don't go there again. That's forbidden ground."

Ning Changjiu voiced his confusion: "If it's forbidden ground, why isn't it completely sealed off?"

Yan Zhou didn't answer, simply saying, "Later, when you leave the Sword Discourse Celestial Sect and travel down the mountain, you can explore more of the Southern Continent, especially that central desolate wilderness. You can wander around its edges; perhaps you'll find some opportunities."

Ning Changjiu asked, "What's the meaning behind that?"

Yan Zhou smiled and slowly began, "Among the four peaks, two swords, a sword scripture, and several ancient artifacts were all picked up by the Grandmaster there back then. I see you have good fortune; if you can return alive, perhaps you can seize the opportunity to change your destiny."

Ning Changjiu asked, "My Qi Sea is narrow, my Purple Mansion is dim, and my spiritual meridians are severely congested. Are there truly treasures in this world that can help me?"

Elder Yan Zhou shook his head. "The creations of heaven and earth are wondrous. How would an old man like me, who has been confined to the sword's edge his whole life, know?"

Ning Changjiu continued to ask, "Is there a connection between the bottom of Sky Cavern Peak and that desolate wilderness?"

Elder Yan Zhou didn't answer directly, merely saying, "There are always some things that, after great effort to acquire, seem like a mere trifle, not only useless but potentially inviting severe backlash. Yet, no matter what, one would absolutely not wish to discard them... And after the great catastrophe five hundred years ago, many places in the world openly bore similar peerless treasures, tainted by demonic energy. For example, that great cauldron in the Central Lands; everyone has watched it sit there, yet for five hundred years, no one has been able to take it."

Ning Changjiu asked, "Are you saying that the peak's base hides relics from the catastrophe five hundred years ago, which, for various reasons, couldn't be used and were therefore stored there?"

Yan Zhou's answer was again unexpected. "Five hundred years... I don't know, it might be even longer."

"Longer?"

"Yes. Only the Grandmaster and a handful of other cultivators who had reached the Five Paths realm have ever set foot in the center of that Southern Wilderness. And almost all of them shared one view—"

Elder Yan Zhou paused, as if weighing whether to say such words. Finally, he continued, "In that Southern Wilderness, perhaps a god once fell."