Chapter Forty The Legendary Spirit Vein
Ding Ning slowly walked out of the library cave and opened the food box placed by the door to take out his portion. Then he sat on the stone bench by the entrance and slowly ate the warm food as he started to mentally organize his gains today.
Three Corpses Nonself Consciousness Sutra, that had been concealed into an ordinary method, was a domineering one. It could give him better senses than ordinary methods and the vital energy he would form in the future would be brutish.
If the vital energy produced by ordinary methods was described as large waves in a river, then the vital energy in this method would be large waves which contained uncontrollable monsters.
As to the Wildfire Sword, this one of the most underestimated sword manuals by Changling’s cultivators over these years.
The true meaning of this sword manual was not the wildfire burning the plains, but the endless wildfire that would not die out and born again with the spring wind.
Because the sword moves were too complicated and people rarely cultivated this sword manual, even even fewer people found the true sword meaning of this manual.
Yet for Ding Ning, complicated was not a problem.
He was very fortunate in this first step in his restart of cultivation. He had done it well.
A strange wind blew at his hair.
He lifted his head and saw Li Daoji, expression cold, jump out of somewhere, and cause the rope bridge to sway.
“Follow me.”
Extremely simple. Li Daoji turned without waiting for Ding Ning to speak and motioned for Ding Ning to follow.
“Sect Uncle Li Daoji.” Ding Ning grimaced and looked at his half-eaten food. “I haven’t finished eating.”
“Some things are more important than eating.”
Li Daoji’s sword hilt gave off faint red light in the dark night like a lantern in front of him. His steps did not pause. Only his cold voice floated back in the wind.
Ding Ning shook his head helplessly, grabbed a rice ball, and quickly followed.
The glowing sword hilt swayed in the night and moved up.
A narrow rope bridge, that was not there in the daytime, appeared amidst the night mist and stretched to a narrow fracture in the mountain not far below the temple at the tallest point.
This narrow fracture that was usually covered by the clouds had a strange piece of flat ground.
There were three similar grass huts on the flat ground.
A garden with mountain vegetables had been started in the soil in front of the grass huts.
Feeling Ding Ning step off the narrow bridge onto firm ground, Li Daoji turned around and said after walking to the three huts and pointed to the leftmost one, “This one will be your future residence.”
After thinking a moment, Li Daoji added, “You can cultivate here. You do not have to listen to classes like other students. If you have any questions in the cultivation process, you can ask me or Zhang Yi. Your meals will not be delivered here, but the library cave.”
Did not have to listen to classes like other students, could find Li Daoji directly … in the ears of other students, they would be shocked and envious as this was equivalent to being taught directly by Li Daoji. Li Daoji, other than the cave master of White Goat Cave who had not displayed his cultivation for many years, was publicly accepted in White Goat Cave as the strongest.
Hearing Li Daoji’s words, Ding Ning did not show any expression of joy. He said seriously in a soft voice, “Sect Uncle Li Daoji, I want to stay home usually.”
Li Daoji’s thin eyebrows rose immediately. He suddenly turned his body, not refusing or agreeing. He looked coldly at Ding Ning and said, “We will speak after you go in.”
Ding Ning felt something from Li Daoji’s expression and tone. Shock flashed through his eyes. He walked towards the hut Li Daoji pointed at without another word.
The roof of the grass hut was made from ordinary thatch and mud. The door was an ordinary wood plank door. Yet before Ding Ning’s finger touched the wooden door, his body imperceptibly shook.
There was the sound of water from the grass hut.
He took a slow breath, and reached to push the unlocked wooden door.
The layout of the grass hut was simple, a bed near the window with a simple blanket.
In front of the bed was a meditation mat woven from grass.
The sound of water came from underneath the meditation mat.
Feeling the unusually fresh presence filling the grass hut, Ding Ning seemed to guess the cause. His heartbeat sped up. He inhaled once again, walked forward, and pushed aside the thick grass meditation mat.
He saw a fist-sized spring in the middle of the rock just underneath the meditation mat.
The spring water rippled constantly as though it was boiling, and occasionally released threads of milky white spirit energy.
Each thread of spirit energy was like a small white goat horn.
This was the legendary spirit vein.
In the cultivation world thousands of years ago, the wars that occurred were mostly over possession of spirit veins. Overtime, the Qin Dynasty, and the surrounding other dynasties had only a rare few spirit veins now.
For the sects that possessed spirit veins, only the disciples they valued the most could cultivate with the aid of spirit veins.
This spirit vein was far different than the one he heard White Goat Cave had.
Ding Ning turned around, looking at Li Daoji in hopes of getting an explanation.
Looking at his bewildered gaze, Li Daoji misunderstood and said expressionlessly, “This is the spirit vein of legend. The spirit energy coming out of the spirit vein will enter the cultivator’s body as they breathe, and be of great benefit. It can increase cultivation speed like pills and medicines, but most importantly, the spirit energy is the purest product of the world, it has no impurities and will not have side effects like other pill medicines.”
“I know.” Ding Ning looked at him and shook his head. “That is not what I mean … I know the spirit vein is a powerful thing, but don’t only disciples who have passed through many tests qualify to use the spirit vein to cultivate? Otherwise, what happens if I turn traitor, and comes back to destroy the sect?”
Hearing his words, a disdainful smile appeared on Li Daoji’s lips. “White Goat Cave is gone, who can you betray?”
The words seemed despairing but at this time, it was filled with a kind of rebellious dominance and bravery.
Ding Ning grimaced and looked seriously at the small spirit vein and the grass meditation mat that could absorb spirit energy. He asked, “This is a spirit vein … but why is this spirit vein not like the spirit vein of legend, why is it so small?”
Li Daoji’s face froze and he did not immediately respond.
“Sect Uncle Li Daoji.”
Ding Ning was silent for a moment and then looked even more serious. He asked softly, “I heard that White Goat Cave is joining Green Vine Sword School because we offended the empress. How did White Goat Cave offend her?”
“Where did you hear that.” Li Daoji’s eyes flashed with murderous energy. “If you want to live longer, it is best not to mention these things.”
Ding Ning did not feel terrified. He looked calmly at Li Daoji’s murderous gaze and muttered softly, “If not for offending her, White Goat Cave has a spirit vein. Even if it does not have powerful cultivators, it would not be forced to merge with a cultivation place like Green Vine Sword School. Even Wang Taixu knew you offended them, but he did not know why. Otherwise, I would not ask you. As to whether I want to live … I won’t live long to begin with.”
Originally, Li Daoji’s eyes had grown shaper but hearing his last words, Li Daoji’s brow furrowed and felt his words were logical.
The murderousness in his eyes started to dissipate.
“You cannot live long, but when I am alive, I still want to live longer, so I did not say anything. Anything you hear is an illusion.”
He said coldly and slowly, “She wants to plant a spirit lotus on the spirit spring of White Goat Cave. The fruit produced by the spirit lotus can be used to make some useful breakthrough pill medicines. In reality, she only wants to see our attitude because she feels that White Goat Cave’s attitude has always been problematic. Spirit veins are rare, but with her abilities, she does not lack this one. But our Senior Sect Uncle Du Qingjiao and Cave Master were not happy … that spirit lotus would absorb great amounts of spirit energy from the vein and cause it to wither. So after detecting her intentions, Sect Uncle Du Qingjiao split our spirit vein into three small branches. This is a kind of self-destruction. Each spirit vein is now not enough to maintain the growth of the spirit lotus.”
Ding Ning was momentarily dazed.
He had not thought the white-haired old person that already left White Goat Cave would make a decision like this.
“This is not death before dishonor. We do not want to offend anyone.”
Li Daoji looked at the pitifully small spirit vein and slowly narrowed his eyes. “We only do what we think is just and right. The spirit vein is small but can be kept and be of some use to the disciples of White Goat Cave.”
“I want to return home.” Ding Ning nodded and then said seriously.
Li Daoji unconsciously placed his hand on his sword hilt and almost pulled out his sword. He did not believe anyone who heard there was a spirit vein here and learned so many matters would speak of nothing else except going home.
“I know your cultivation is fast, but do you feel cultivating at Falling Parasol will be better than on the spirit vein?” he said coldly, his chest heaving as he suppressed his emotions.
Ding Ning was extremely serious and looked at him innocently, saying, “I know, but I can cultivate here during the day. At night, I will go back and sleep better.”
Li Daoji did not know what he was truly thinking. Looking at Ding Ning’s serious expression, he turned in anger and swept away.
No refusal was a silent agreement. Ding Ning laughed happily and shouted towards his back, “Then you have to help prepare a carriage for me.”
While Li Daoji was having the impulse to pull out his sword again, in the library cave, Nangong Caishu had finished reading, her face growing pale.
The owners of these casual notes were not especially powerful cultivators and their notes were disorganized, only speculations and their momentary comprehensions during cultivation. But most of what was recorded were descriptions of the primal energies of the universe
Most importantly, the owners of these two books were very humble towards the primal energies of the universe, and similar in their thoughts.
One compared themselves to an empty bottle praying to the heavens. The process of cultivation was this empty bottle praying sincerely to the heavens to bless some primal energies of the universe to enter the bottle.
The other said when comprehending the primal energies of the universe one time, it had been raining. They had seen the weather and the rain coming down from the surrounding world to gather in his pond.
Compared to the vast world, the pond in his courtyard, and he himself were all minuscule.
The water in the pond came from heaven’s blessing and not by drawing it in.
Looking at the similar meaning from the two different books, Nangong Caishu felt even more shocked.
She started to feel that she and her father’s attitude towards the primal energies of the universe were wrong.
Not that they did not have enough perception or they did not know and understand enough about the primal energies of the universe. Their attitudes were too strong.
She wanted to forcibly pull the primal energies of the universe into her body yet she was minuscule to the primal energies of the universe.
So … by admitting one’s insignificance, and opening one’s body so the primal energies of the universe would be interested in this new container would they attempt to enter?
Ten thousand streams into an ocean … a pond during a rainy night appeared in Nangong Caishu’s mind.
Countless droplets fell from the sky, landing on the grass around the pond, the leaves of the trees, and then gathered into small streams of water that slowly flowed into the pond that did not have the ability to suck in water.
Her heart started to beat fiercely and her eyes burned like stars.
Translator Ramblings: This chapter makes the energies seem alive and intelligent …
