Sword Dynasty
Volume 1: Great Rebel
Chapter 37: A Completely New Cultivation
In the small temple at the highest point of White Goat Cave,
Xue Wangxu looked at the floating white clouds and the empty sky, thinking
about how his fellow disciples had passed away over the years, and felt an
indescribable emptiness and fatigue.
He sighed and asked Li Daoji, who was standing by the temple
door, “Has that young man entered the cave?”
Li Daoji nodded.
“When he chooses his cultivation manual, let me know immediately,” Xue Wangxu said with slight satisfaction.
Li Daoji nodded. His sharp eyebrows raised slightly. “Elder
Sect Brother, why are you so interested in him?”
Xue Wangxu’s gaze was filled with emotion as he said softly,
“Not only is this young man special, but this young man is the seed your eldest
sect brother, Du Qingjiao, left for the White Goat Cave. When you reach my age,
you will understand what it feels like to have those who have been with you for
so long leave.”
Seeing the old man begin to reminisce, Li Daoji bowed
solemnly and left.
‘Health Manual’, ‘Profound Finger Art’, ‘Internal Vision’,
‘Discussion of Nine Cultivation Realms’, ‘Mind Comprehending Art’, ‘Thirty-Four
Sword Arts’ of the White Goat, ‘Nine Ink Fire Illumination Art’, ‘A Simple
History of Changling Cultivation’, ‘True Fire Guide’.
For ordinary cultivators, the cultivation records within the
library cave were as vast as an ocean. Even if they were organized by type,
these records would dazzle the eyes. Therefore, like most other sects, the
library cave of the White Goat Cave lacked a specific organization, and the records
were placed randomly.
Ding Ning knew better than Zhang Yi that all vital energy
cultivation methods had their own advantages and disadvantages. Except for a
few highly specialized methods that were not passed down, all methods had clear
limitations. So he did not rush into the inner cave and wandered through each
shelf.
When he saw the dense characters on the spines of books or
scrolls, he did not feel the shock and excitement of ordinary people. Many of
the records seemed ordinary to him, but his gaze remained serious and
thoughtful.
The Nine Death Silkworm he cultivated was the most profound
method in the world. It possessed many fantastical abilities unknown to any
cultivator in the world, but his Nine Death Silkworms could not be revealed
under the sunlight of Changling.
Before he was strong enough, he needed a method that could
disguise Nine Death Silkworm. For most of the time, he needed to use the vital
energy produced by this method to fight.
This method should be suitable for him at this time.
This was akin to a completely new cultivation.
‘Phoenix Divine Light Skill’
He suddenly stopped and his finger touched an ancient book
with a yellow cover.
This was a vital energy cultivation method he had only heard
of but never seen before.
Opening the thick canvas cover, his thoughts were lost in
the yellowed book.
The contents were just as he had heard. This vital energy
cultivation method was suitable for him at this time because it required
abundant energy from the cultivator. Given his natural body condition, he could
skip the process of increasing his vital energy, and his cultivation speed
would be faster than with other ordinary methods. Furthermore, the vital energy
produced by this method would be beneficial for Zhangsun Qianxue's paired
cultivation.
He read for a while, collected the book, then moved forward.
‘Five Yang Body Art’. This was also beneficial for pair
cultivation with Zhangsun Qianxue. Although it was not as fast as the Phoenix
Divine Light Skill, one’s body would become stronger.
‘Peace Vision Flowing Light Method’. A cultivation method
that could speed up the flow rate of vital energy. This way, one would reach
Vital Energy Realm from Energy Refinement Realm faster than ordinary methods.
Ding Ning's mind was completely lost as he held three books
in his arms.
‘Vain Heart Sutra’
When these characters suddenly entered his eyes, his body
trembled slightly and his expression froze.
His gaze contained a hint of disbelief as he moved forward.
‘Celestial Inner Vision’, ‘Super Divine Spell’, ‘Fate
Reversing Art’. He quickly picked up the words from the shelf in front of him.
He took a deep breath. He felt a strange sense of numbness.
He understood why the White Goat Cave had offended the empress from these
familiar characters and was forced to merge with the Green Vine Sword School.
These were records that should not have existed in the Qin
Dynasty.
In the first year of Yuanwu, in order to stabilize the newly
acquired throne and erase the traces of that person, many cultivators were
killed and many sects were accused of rebellion. After those sects were
destroyed, to demonstrate loyalty to the Emperor and the Empress, so they would
not worry about the sects rising again, many records related to the sects were
burned.
In fact, as time passed and events became history, even if
those cultivation sects left behind some records, today's cultivators would not
easily associate themselves with them and act in their name.
However, this represented an attitude… the Emperor and the
Empress did not want the slightest possibility.
The library of the White Goat Cave held these records, which
should have been destroyed. This reflected the attitudes of some of the
cultivators in charge of the White Goat Cave.
Although they only felt that the cultivation methods
themselves were innocent, as any comprehension on the way of cultivation was
valuable for the cultivators of the world, many people in Changling would still
feel at least some sympathy for those sects and hold differing opinions about
past events.
Ding Ning felt an indescribable emotion. He stared deeply at
the records, which he feared were now the only ones in Changling. His paralyzed
fingers did not touch them and slid forward on the shelves.
His emotions gradually calmed.
‘Spirit Source Way’ a thin, ancient book, inexplicably
caught his attention.
In his memories, this cultivation method from Spirit Source
True Treasure Sect in the Land of Zhao was ordinary and circulated among people
of all dynasties. This ancient book clearly had not received any attention in
the White Goat Cave. The old book’s cover showed numerous signs of damage that
had never been repaired. Judging by the marks where the book and the shelf
touched, this ancient book had remained untouched for many years.
However, through the damaged cover, Ding Ning saw parts of
the diagram on the page and felt that it was not so ordinary.
He frowned and carefully pulled out this ancient diagram to
open it.
His brows furrowed even more, and his eyes flashed with an
unusual light.
The initial description on the page seemed no different from
the explanation of the Spirit Source Way, but the first diagram was far from
simple. As Ding Ning turned the page, his shock grew even more intense. He was
certain that this was no ordinary explanation of the Spirit Source Way. This
was a secret cultivation record that had been mistaken as an ordinary
explanation of the Spirit Source Way!
After flipping through a few pages, Ding Ning read the
profound and cryptic words next to the diagrams that were completely
incomprehensible to most cultivators, and nearly cursed out loud.
This was no ordinary record from a common sect in the Zhao
Dynasty that had been circulated. This was clearly a secret record from one of
the three great cultivation places of the Han Dynasty —Three Corpses Selfless
Consciousness Sutra of the Selfless Palace!
For ordinary cultivators, the ‘three corpses’ represent the
three ‘evil desires’ of humankind: greed, gluttony, and lust. These three
desires were detrimental to cultivation and must be suppressed. However, in the
Three Corpses Selfless Consciousness Sutra of the Selfless Palace, they
stimulated these three desires during cultivation, and at critical stages in
later cultivation, would discard these desires.
In the process of stimulating these three desires, the
cultivator's five energies would grow greater than ordinary cultivations. Once
the desires were successfully driven out, one's mental strength and mental
state will grow rapidly.
This was a risky and powerful method that surpassed ordinary
cultivation methods.
In the decades before the Han Dynasty was overthrown by the
Qin Dynasty, they were constantly at war with the neighboring Wei Dynasty. The
Selfless Palace was destroyed in one of the Han Dynasty's major defeats.
The Selfless Palace was said to have occupied thousands of
hectares. After its defeat, a fire burned within the Selfless Palace for an
entire month without quenching. In the ensuing battle, the Selfless Palace’s
wealth and records were looted by the fleeing remnants of the Han Dynasty army
and the invading Wei forces. Many of the Selfless Palace survivors either took
some resources and fled, or they angrily caused destruction to prevent valuable
records from falling into Wei hands. Countless records were burned.
Ding Ning did not know how this Three Corpses Selfless
Consciousness Sutra, disguised as an ordinary method, ended up in the Library
Cave of the White Goat Cave, but he was certain it was powerful and he would
quickly cultivate it.
At the same time, he was certain that, even though he had
not entered the inner cave, he could not find a method more powerful than this.
So, he put down the three books in his hands and held only
this one.
Then, he stopped looking at methods for cultivating vital
energy and began choosing a sword style that suited him.
As time passed, he entered the inner cave.
The inner cave was only a third the size of the outer cave,
but its records were far more profound than those outside.
Eventually, his finger landed on a sword manual with a very
common name.
This black-covered record was
called ‘Wildfire
Sword Manual’.
He lost interest in the records here and went to the
meditation mat to the side.
“So, you've finally chosen these two? You want to cultivate
these two?”
Two voices of disbelief sounded in the silent cave and
entered Ding Ning's ears.
Notes:
This novel is not my work... I just translated it from a
Chinese web novel written by
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