If one’s mind was notat ease, how could one’s sword be at ease?
Ding Ning did not look at Jing Liuli’s expression but down at the medicine jar.
This was the true meaning of the Great Ease Sword. When the cultivators of the world first started to cultivate, they would naturally receive the thoughts of countless ancestors who had come before them. Imperceptibly, they had deeply rooted beliefs about what they could or could not do.
From the start of cultivation, they would unconsciously restrain themselves. Thus they could not actually glean the true meaning and reach that level. Before they truly reached that level, they would not know where they were wrong.
Huang Zhenwei was not the only person who liked talent. Jing Liuli treated Ding Ning as her teacher during this period and Ding Ning was deliberately teaching. But it depended on Jing Liuli’s comprehension just what step she would reach.
Jing Liuli felt something and slowly lowered her head, calming her emotions as she looked thoughtfully at the fire.
The medicine constantly boiled in the jar, turning from a light green and red color into sticky black substance. After an hour, the miasma shrouding the jar had dissipated.
Ding Ning calmly poured the fluid from the three jars into a coarse teapot he usually used for cold tea, and blew at the steam before starting to drink it like tea.
As the medicinal fluid touched his flesh, it seemed to immediately turn black in his perception. The heterogeneous and powerful medicinal power spread outwards along his veins like poison, and the blood turned into black vines that spread through his body.
His fresh flesh and blood started to decay like bright flowers immediately withering. Black threads even appeared on his strongly beating heart. But in the next moment, countless invisible little silkworms appeared slowly out of his body.
With every sip of the medicine, numerous black threads would quickly spread through his body as the liquid passed between his throat. Then these countless little silkworms would carefully take a mouthful.
This was a strange rhythm that other people could not imagine.
These countless little silkworms would suck in unison, and consume the harmful parts of the medicinal power. They would perfectly devour the right part of the medicinal fluid Ding Ning was drinking.
The black lines were still spreading through his body, but they had already turned into pure medicinal power. His decaying flesh and blood soon were regenerating, emanating an even stronger vitality.
The energies in Ding Ning’s body started to surge, growing even stronger; his organs started swelling. The surging energies flowed wildly into his energy sea, and instantly compressed his vital energy until they gave off crystal-like light.
Jing Liuli suddenly looked up with shock at Ding Ning.
In her perception, five extra spirit veins seemed to appear inside Ding Ning’s body. Five spirit veins constantly sprayed spirit energy.
She took a deep breath and her gaze fell onto Ding Ning’s hair.
Ding Ning’s originally white hair roots were visibly turning black, possibly because of the changes in his vital energy or the medicinal power.
She looked quietly at this change and slowly exhaled. If she had not witnessed it with her own eyes, she certainly would not believe there could exist such cultivation speed in the world.
Even if the Nine Death Silkworm and the Heaven Replenishing Divine Art could perfectly tolerate the harmful parts of the two spirit medicines, the taste of each mouthful of medicine could not be eliminated. The medicine was extremely bitter.
Ding Ning’s gaze grew calmer.
Hardships in life were usually self-inflicted, but he hoped there was a chance that other people could pay for the sufferings they had bestowed upon him.
**
In the quiet Changling imperial palace, the spirit lotuses growing in the spirit veins swayed in the faint yet pure light.
Palace Attendant Rong stood respectfully below the lotus pond. She faced the mistress who almost all of Changling feared.
The empress’s face was still as perfect as usual, without any obvious expression, and like a god.
“Did you send that youth called Chen Fuchen?”
Her gaze was not on Palace Attendant Rong and focused on the white spirit lotuses as she spoke clearly.
Palace Attendant Rong said seriously, “I did not send him.”
The empress nodded. “Ignore him.”
Palace Attendant Rong acknowledged this and the empress stopped talking.
Palace Attendant Rong bid farewell and withdrew from the study. She knew the empress’ meaning, but because she knew too well, the “ignore him” caused her to feel inexplicably cold.
On the peak of Min Mountain.
The world did not know where the coldness of Min Mountain came from, much less that the coldness at the peak was controlled by a formation and gathered in one place to form ice crystals hundreds of feet wide.
A cold room had been crudely cut out with a sword among these ice crystals. This was Baili Suxue’s residence.
The world knew that Baili Suxue was introverted and always lived in the coldest place of Min Mountain. Most cultivators deduced that his cultivation method or his sword essence needed extreme cold, but only Baili Suxue knew this was not so. The world’s ignorance fooled all the people in the world.
So, in this room of ice, his lips were pursed in an expression of faint scorn and self-deprecation, even whiter against the ice and snow.
After slowly reading several scrolls, he casually threw them to the side. These files were quickly covered by icy energy and frozen. He lifted his head slightly and walked out.
Standing near his cold room was a tall young woman, the eldest daughter of the Guanzhong Xie Family, Xie Rou.
While most of the coldness at the peak of Min Mountain had been gathered in Baili Suxue’s cold room, even the remainder of the coldness was enough for Xie Rou to be frozen black in the face and tremble uncontrollably.
“Do you believe the world has so-called miracles?” Baili Suxue looked at Xie Rou and asked aloofly.
Xie Rou, who had been waiting many hours in this world of ice and snow, was shocked when she suddenly saw Baili Suxue and heard the question. Her mouth opened, her teeth clattered together, but she did not know what to say.
“In reality, there are no so-called miracles.”
Baili Suxue did not wait for Xie Rou’s answer. He glanced at Xie Rou and then looked at the clouds, saying coldly, “While you have enough perseverance and bravery, with your cultivation talent, I fear you will only reach realm seven at most in your lifetime.”
Xie Rou still did not understand Baili Suxue’s words.
But this time, Baili Suxue did not continue talking. He waited for a long time for her reply.
She still did not know how to respond, but due to her personality, she finally answered, “Realm seven is enough.”
“So this is your choice. You believe there are no miracles. You are not discontent. This is enough.”
Baili Suxue waved his hand simply, indicating she could leave.
Xie Rou was stunned and he said coolly, “The Min Mountain Sword Sect has more than one way of using wealth in exchange for cultivation. But the Qin only has one Xie Family. You did not disappoint me. Go find Qing Yaoyin. He will help you reach realm seven. Then you will only ever be realm seven in your life.”
Xie Rou’s breathing completely stopped. But she started to truly understand what Baili Suxue meant.
“It will not be very fast,” Baili Suxue’s cool and proud voice reached Xie Rou’s ears as he turned around, “you will be in seclusion in Min Mountain Sword Sect for a long time.”
At the same time that Baili Suxue was turning around, Palace Attendant Rong walked into the remote garden in the palace she lived in. She had already decided to live temporarily in the palace, but she was still one of the most informed people in Changling.
The news concerning Ding Ning were constantly passed to her hands as fast as possible.
She knew that Ding Ning’s cultivation had reached realm four second class. She knew that Jing Liuli was following Ding Ning right now, and appeared like Ding Ning’s student.
She knew that the medicines that Guanzhong warriors had gathered had been delivered to Ink Garden. While she did not know what the medicines were intended for, the purpose definitely had something to do with Ding Ning’s cultivation.
Adding on the empress’ attitude today, she truly felt enormous pressure.
As she walked into this unpopulated garden, she could not help but speak to herself. “Why will you not spare me?”
But in the next breath, Ding Ning’s face appeared in her mind, and the answer Ding Ning would give echoed within her, “You never spared Old Man Xue.”
It was the scorching summer. But she felt a chill.
