Chapter 176: Spiritual Energy
What was before his eyes was indeed somewhat beyond Ning Qi’s imagination; even the accumulation of the Sword Asking Pavilion paled in comparison. He turned his head to look at White Mountain Old Daoist, only to see the other looking over with a smug air:
“How is the Scripture Repository of my True Profound Sect?”
He chuckled, revealing yellow teeth, an indescribable smugness. Finally, he had a chance to show off in front of Ning Qi.
“The scriptures here, look at them as you please. If you’re willing, you can even stay here afterward. It’s just that this old Daoist has already grown a bit tired of looking at them. If there’s anything you want to find, just tell this old Daoist.”
Ning Qi smiled:
“Really, anything can be looked at?”
“Of course! In True Profound Sect, this old Daoist’s words absolutely count!”
Hearing such bold words, Ning Qi couldn’t help but give him a sideways glance.
For the newly advanced Heavenly Human Realm White Mountain Old Daoist to utter such bold words, there was only one explanation: his seniority and status were very high.
Ning Qi nodded, not standing on ceremony:
“Does your True Profound Sect have any records about the Martial Saint Realm?”
The previously smug White Mountain Old Daoist immediately faltered.
Ning Qi’s enthusiasm dropped greatly:
“None?”
“Not exactly, it’s just that Young Ning, you’re young and your cultivation is far from that step. Don’t aim too high.” A glint of inquiry flashed in his pupils, but he quickly masked it with a chuckle.
Ning Qi casually opened a Daoist Scripture:
“Martial Way should have ambitions; I’m curious.”
White Mountain Old Daoist said no more and led Ning Qi straight to the top floor.
The higher they went, the fewer the scriptures, but Ning Qi knew these must all be the essence, not easily showcased to the outside world. He secretly marveled that it was indeed worthy of the time-honored True Profound Sect.
Patting the white jade bookshelf holding a dozen ancient books, White Mountain Old Daoist pursed his lips:
“There you go, all the records about the Martial Saint Realm are here. Look for yourself.”
With that, he lay back on the nearby Daoist cushion, staring blankly at the pavilion ceiling, as natural as if he were at home.
A hint of joy appeared in Ning Qi’s eyes; this was truly an unexpected delight.
He reached for an ancient book and slowly opened it, a sense of profundity immediately washing over him.
The first line made his spirit jolt:
“The power of Heaven and Earth is called spiritual energy, and the path of the Martial Saint is to refine spiritual energy into the body, gaining many profound wonders.”
Spiritual energy?
This was the first time he had heard such a term. The ancient books he had obtained before were all fragmentary records, but this one seemed very detailed, shocking him right from the opening.
Ning Qi couldn’t help but look toward White Mountain Old Daoist, only to see the other utterly unconcerned, already in a state of divine wandering.
Ning Qi forcibly suppressed the shock in his heart and continued reading downward.
“Martial Saint is to transcend the mortal and enter sainthood! How to attain its sainthood? The key lies in spiritual energy. The Heavenly Human Realm merely perceives spiritual energy and can barely resonate with it, like a child swinging a large hammer, unable to grasp its wonders…”
“Martial Saint power is exceptionally spiritual, unparalleled in killing and conquest, able to burn mountains and boil seas, or extend lifespan and pass on inheritance, immortal for a millennium.”
“…”
Unknowingly.
He entered an enlightenment state.
He read with exceptional seriousness, pausing from time to time to ponder deeply.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
After finishing the last ancient book, Ning Qi subconsciously kept turning, only to realize he had reached the final page. His eyes were full of lingering reluctance.
“That’s it?” He let out a long sigh, blurting it out.
White Mountain Old Daoist beside him had awakened at some point. He chuckled:
“Having these is already pretty good!”
Ning Qi slowly nodded.
This was true; indeed, having these was quite good. To not exaggerate, these ancient books already surpassed the total of all he had obtained before, and they were more detailed. But Ning Qi still felt an itch he couldn’t scratch.
Really.
These ancient books all ended abruptly, often cutting off at the most crucial points, or only touching on the surface.
For example, one ancient book mentioned that the power of Heaven and Earth is called spiritual energy, and the key to the Martial Saint path is refining spiritual energy, but how to refine spiritual energy? It was vague on that.
For example, one ancient book mentioned how terrifying the combat power of a Martial Saint was, even describing battle scenes, but when it came to specific core descriptions of the Martial Saint Realm, it all skipped over or substituted with unrelated terms.
This left Ning Qi feeling like he was scratching an itch through his boot.
Ning Qi looked at White Mountain Old Daoist:
“Why do I feel that the authors of these ancient books did this on purpose, deliberately being vague and obscure? Why is that?”
He increasingly felt that White Mountain Old Daoist was not simple, perhaps knowing some secrets.
But White Mountain Old Daoist just spread his hands:
“How would I know? These books have been around for a long time. Perhaps you’ll know when you reach that realm. I told you long ago, peeking into such realms prematurely isn’t good; it might lead to setbacks and wild thoughts.”
Ning Qi smiled:
“You’re not also just stepping into the Heavenly Human Realm? You’re probably ten thousand miles from the Martial Saint Realm. You’ve probably read these books more than once.”
White Mountain Old Daoist flipped up to sit:
“That’s different. This old Daoist has accumulated deeply and will erupt thinly; I might step into the Martial Saint Realm any moment. How about it? If you switch sects to my True Profound Sect now, there’s still a last chance to board the large ship!”
He looked at Ning Qi expectantly.
Ning Qi was amused.
He just shook his head slightly and looked back at the ancient book in his hand. For the sake of these ancient books, he didn’t retort.
It had to be said.
These ancient books were quite useful.
Though they all had that abrupt ending feel, for others they might just broaden knowledge, but with Ning Qi’s comprehension, even a trace allowed him to deduce useful things.
“Martial Saint power being exceptionally spiritual is not a feature of Martial Saint power itself, but spiritual energy inherently has such characteristics. Yet I sense no such thing now, so does that mean the upheaval in Heaven and Earth weakened the spirituality of spiritual energy?”
“If it can be weakened, can the spirituality in spiritual energy be extracted separately?”
Ning Qi thought of another direction.
He gradually fell into contemplation.
“Moreover, Three Flowers Gathering at the Apex refers to the Heavenly Human Realm. What then is the Five Energies Returning to the Origin mentioned in one of those ancient books? Could it be the wonder of the Martial Saint Realm?”
Seeing Ning Qi ignoring him, White Mountain Old Daoist grew a bit anxious, but seeing Ning Qi so engrossed, he secretly marveled. He was naturally very familiar with these ancient books; ordinary people probably couldn’t even understand them, yet Ning Qi was seriously comprehending them.
“This Young Ning is even less simple than I imagined!” He gradually took it seriously.
His curiosity grew stronger, and for the first time, he fully perceived Ning Qi’s foundation.
In an instant.
The clouds parted.
But what dumbfounded him was that what emerged was not a single peak, but layer upon layer of mountain ranges. He couldn’t see which peak was Ning Qi’s true form.
“This…” White Mountain Old Daoist grew cautious in his heart.
Though his past life wisdom had awakened not long ago and his power hadn’t fully recovered, he was still standing at the pinnacle of the world. Yet now, he couldn’t see through an eleven-year-old child. Before, it was casual perception; now it was full effort—that meant something entirely different.
“Could it really be some old monster toying with me?” He couldn’t help but think.
But he immediately shook his head.
People like them had similar auras that couldn’t be concealed.
“Could it be that old turtle’s layout?” White Mountain Old Daoist thought of another possibility.
Only he knew that the True Martial Inheritance was not that simple.
When he had invited Ning Qi and Dragon Mountain Daoist earlier, there was one point he hadn’t told White River True Person and the others: the True Martial Inheritance, tracing back through time, was actually older than True Profound Sect, only the lineage had been broken in between.
After awakening his past life wisdom, he had intercepted some intelligence on the True Martial Sect and knew his guess was correct.
Inviting Ning Qi and the other this time also had the intent of secretly observing.
But he had originally thought Dragon Mountain Daoist had only luckily obtained part of the True Martial Inheritance, after all, Dragon Mountain Daoist’s performance wasn’t particularly outstanding.
But now, the unfathomable sense from Ning Qi made him somewhat overturn his previous guess.
“That old turtle has lived too long; who knows what schemes he’s plotting. Maybe Dragon Mountain Daoist isn’t his chosen inheritor, and Ning Qi is? But that shouldn’t be… If Ning Qi were his chosen inheritor, he should have some understanding of the Martial Saint Realm…”
For a moment, White Mountain Old Daoist completely couldn’t figure out Ning Qi’s origins.
He decided to observe for a while longer.
Seeing Ning Qi close the ancient book, he quickly sidled over with a fawning face:
“Young Ning, want to see more Daoist Scripture ancient books?”
Ning Qi nodded.
“Good then. After my Heavenly Human Ceremony ends, shall we visit other Daoist Sects?” White Mountain Old Daoist winked.
After pondering, Ning Qi slowly nodded.
After all, he wasn’t the main instigator. If something really happened, it would be White Mountain Old Daoist to blame. With a tall one to hold up the sky if it fell, this time he had obtained quite a bit of information on the Martial Saint Realm from True Profound Sect’s collection. He also wanted to see if other Daoist Sects’ collections had such rich foundation.
But most importantly, he wanted to probe White Mountain Old Daoist’s background.
This was the first person he couldn’t see through in so long.
Seeing Ning Qi agree, White Mountain Old Daoist was overjoyed, flipping several somersaults.
“It’s a deal then!”
Ning Qi couldn’t help but smile.
…
In the next two days.
Under White Mountain Old Daoist’s lead, Ning Qi pretty much toured all of True Profound Sect’s forbidden areas.
Scripture Repository, Treasure Pavilion, Divine Weapon Depository, Spiritual Medicine Garden…
He indeed saw many good things there, which made Ning Qi marvel at True Profound Sect’s foundation while feeling even stranger in his heart. This White Mountain Old Daoist truly acted without any taboos. Sometimes he even wondered if White Mountain Old Daoist was doing this on purpose, just to flaunt True Profound Sect’s foundation before him, to make him moved to ‘abandon the dark and seek the light.’
Besides that.
Ning Qi had brought up that True Profound True Monarch a few times out of curiosity, but White Mountain Old Daoist was dismissive, with no respect in his words, which made Ning Qi even more astonished at White Mountain Old Daoist’s identity.
This was probably True Profound Sect’s living old ancestor, so he could act so freely.
After all, these two days they had been quite high-profile at times; True Profound Sect’s higher-ups couldn’t possibly be completely unaware.
He pondered thoughtfully.
But he wasn’t in a hurry.
In these two days.
More and more Martial Arts Sects arrived, including many top-tier Daoist Sects, all sending Heavenly Human Realm experts to show support. True Profound Mountain grew increasingly lively, and even Dragon Mountain Daoist restrained his disciples from causing trouble.
Fortunately, with True Profound Sect mediating in the center, there were no major issues.
Instead, quite a few people proactively came to the True Martial Sect’s guest quarters to befriend them, their words full of respect for Heavenly Sword True Person.
This day.
The Heavenly Human Ceremony finally convened as scheduled.
Such a grand event stirred countless winds and waves in Dao State as well. Especially since True Profound Sect had no intention of keeping a low profile this time, a large number of martial artists also gathered at the foot of True Profound Mountain. However, True Profound Mountain’s foundation was much deeper than the True Martial Sect’s back then, sufficient to accommodate many martial artists.
True Profound Mountain was crowded with people.
Powerful auras were everywhere, and Heavenly Human Realm experts were numerous, nearly thirty in total. Unlike Dragon Mountain Daoist’s Heavenly Human Ceremony before, where the few Heavenly Human Realm experts were the finale, now these Heavenly Human Realm experts were all properly seated early.
The True Martial Sect congregation sat in the front row, the disciples all amazed. Such a grand event was extremely rare.
Once everyone was seated.
True Profound Sect Leader White Leaf True Person stood in midair, smiling and cupping his hands:
“Fellow Daoists, you came from afar to attend my senior brother White Mountain True Person’s Heavenly Human Ceremony. True Profound Sect is deeply grateful!”
The congregation all smiled in response.
White Mountain Old Daoist sat in the main seat.
Today’s White Mountain Old Daoist was completely different from what Ning Qi usually saw. In a purple Daoist robe, he looked full of majesty, his demeanor somewhat ethereal. The nearby White Elephant, White Leaf, and White River True Persons were completely overshadowed, astonishing the congregation.
But Ning Qi was slightly speechless, only because White Mountain Old Daoist’s occasional glances over always carried a sleazy vibe, instantly dispelling that ethereal demeanor.
“Heavenly Human Ceremony, formally begins!”
With White Leaf True Person’s words falling.
True Profound Sect disciples filed out one by one, Daoist Swords flying, their demeanor extraordinary.
This was the congratulatory gift for White Mountain True Person.
The many guests watched carefully, marveling in their hearts. True Profound Sect had always been low-key, but they hadn’t expected the disciples to be so formidable. Disciples from many sects secretly felt competitive.
One event after another passed, the congregation applauding and praising from time to time.
Host and guests enjoyed themselves fully.
Then came the gift-giving segment.
Ning Qi sighed slightly. Three years ago, at his master’s Heavenly Human Ceremony, gifts had bloomed in a hundred flowers, and back then he had thought it was already quite impressive. But seeing White Mountain Old Daoist’s Heavenly Human Ceremony today, he knew what it meant to be a small witch meeting a great one. Those gifts were truly dazzling.
The difference in foundation was shown to the fullest at this moment.
Things like millennium Jade King Ginseng, deep sea cold iron, and the like were all treasures.
Soon.
It was True Martial Sect’s turn.
Dragon Mountain Daoist smiled and presented the gift.
It was a portion of enlightenment tea leaves and a set of premium tea set obtained from the Demonic Sect Treasury.
It immediately drew many astonished gazes.
They had thought True Martial Sect, though rising sharply recently, ultimately lacked foundation. They hadn’t expected them to bring out a worldly treasure like enlightenment tea leaves. For a moment, the congregation looked at True Martial Sect even more highly.
White River True Person pondered thoughtfully.
He vaguely remembered that at Dragon Mountain Daoist’s Heavenly Human Ceremony back then, that Wang Quan Wang Family Old Ancestor had gifted an enlightenment tea tree seed.
“Could it have been planted successfully? I remember it was almost a dead seed.” He was somewhat shocked, knowing even more the value. If True Martial Sect really had a living enlightenment tea tree, that would truly be a sect-guarding foundation.
His gaze toward Dragon Mountain Daoist became even kinder.
One sect after another presented gifts.
But there weren’t many.
To have the qualification to present gifts at such an occasion, one had to be Heavenly Human Realm; other Gang Yuan Realm experts had no chance to show their faces.
After the last Heavenly Human Realm expert finished presenting.
White Elephant True Person slowly stood, smiling and cupping his hands:
“Thank you, fellow Daoists, for the gifts. With nothing to repay, please allow us to share our insights on the Way of the Heavenly Human!”
With True Profound Sect’s setup, it naturally wasn’t just White Mountain Old Daoist lecturing alone, but the other True Persons joining in—this was to bolster the momentum. Many Heavenly Human Realm experts had also come for White Elephant True Person, whose strength was exceptionally formidable.
The congregation was all expectant.
But just as White Elephant True Person finished speaking, a grand voice rang out from afar:
“White Elephant True Person, no rush. Great Awakening Temple still has a gift yet to deliver!”
The congregation’s expressions all became strange.
Great Awakening Temple?
Wasn’t that a Buddhist Sect force? Why had they suddenly come to True Profound Sect’s Heavenly Human Ceremony?
