Chapter 719

Ban Ji clutched his heart and gasped for a long time before he finally calmed his state of mind.

But his expression, as cold and low as ice, could not be changed.

His plan had been severely disrupted!

He subconsciously looked up at the sky, feeling the profoundness and malice of the human tribulation on a deeper level.

"That Che Zhuzi is a member of the Myriad Phenomena Sect; Pan Si Niangzi, an outsider, actually dared to make a move on him."

"Even if it was just seduction, once discovered, the consequences would be dire! If Che Zhuzi were to realize it, it would be perfectly reasonable for him to kill Pan Si Niangzi directly."

"This woman is far too bold!"

Ban Ji felt regret.

"Such wandering demonic cultivators, even if they know the rules of the Myriad Phenomena Sect, only understand them on the surface; they have no grasp of details or propriety!"

"Once the case breaks and they investigate me, I will also suffer severe repercussions."

"Damn it."

Ban Ji clenched his fists.

He had to seek the best response for the worst-case scenario.

Once Pan Si Niangzi was caught, he could not expect her to keep her mouth shut for him; the most likely outcome was that she would implicate him.

In a word, one should not count on the bottom line of demonic cultivators.

"In fact, even if Pan Si Niangzi were killed, the world has never lacked methods for soul-searching."

"No!"

"I must cut ties with this matter as soon as possible—"

Ban Ji frowned deeply, and at the thought of this, a chill could not help but rise from the deepest part of his heart.

Clearly, if he were to cut ties completely with the four demonic cultivators now, the heavy payment he had spent would certainly not be returned, and he would be unable to use this means to contain and entangle Ning Zhuo.

"Is this the human tribulation? Forcing me to actively face it?"

"No!"

Ban Ji’s expression turned fierce: "I only need to cut ties with Pan Si Niangzi and immediately have the other three sign additional contracts to prevent them from breaking the unwritten rules and implicating me if something goes wrong."

"But regardless, Che Zhuzi cannot be touched."

Ban Ji knew very well that if he were to firmly execute his original plan, the consequences could be quite severe!

Even if Ning Zhuo did not participate, once the Myriad Phenomena Sect investigated and found that Ban Ji was the mastermind behind Pan Si Niangzi, and that he had ultimately passed Che Zhuzi’s Cloud-Raising Small Trial and obtained actual benefits.

What would the Myriad Phenomena Sect think?

Ban Ji knew very well: according to the style of the Myriad Phenomena Sect, they would certainly punish him without leniency!

"Void Spider Silk, my Void Spider Silk—"

Ban Ji lamented in his heart, forced to give it up in pain.

He felt extremely aggrieved, all because this time Ning Zhuo hadn't even made a move; the source of his obstruction was actually himself!

Ning Zhuo woke up from his sleep, his exhaustion gone, feeling refreshed and invigorated.

"My soul is a million-person soul, and my physical body has been tempered many times, almost allowing it to fully carry the million-person soul!"

The foundation of his soul and physical body manifested its power at this moment.

His past accumulation and efforts had not been in vain.

His previous state had been too poor, and only now did Ning Zhuo have the strength to review things.

"This time, I used almost all the means at my disposal to learn, and the results were not small."

"I have understood the twelve types of spiral tendon-stacking structures in the Demonic Blood Tendon Art; they save more blood energy than the basic coagulation method and can increase strength by at least thirty percent."

Ning Zhuo finally tore away the mist shrouding the Demonic Blood Tendon Art, revealing its true face.

"Suspending one's hair from the beam can sweep away distracting thoughts. Piercing one's thigh with an awl can generate penetrating thoughts, helping to break through learning difficulties."

"When spiritual sense is exhausted, one can passively consume literary aura to generate wisps of literary energy, nourishing the upper dantian and extending study time."

"The Luoshu pages are equivalent to always using the correct abacus, ensuring that the result and direction of every deduction I make are correct."

"The combination of Bitter Ink and the Intuition Brush doubles the miraculous effects. It can bring me hidden knowledge of a higher level beyond words and pictures, and allow for swift comprehension."

"The drawback is the bitterness remaining in the sea of consciousness and upper dantian."

"It's a pity. If I had the original manuscript of the Demonic Blood Tendon Art left by the Three Sects Master, the combination of the Bitter Ink and the Intuition Brush would have an extremely powerful effect."

"The text I am currently studying is just something I personally copied into a jade slip."

Even a jade slip made by a Jin Dan cultivator practicing the Demonic Blood Tendon Art would be better than one made by Ning Zhuo himself.

Because others' understanding will always have differences from one's own.

With the combination of the Intuition Brush and Bitter Ink, Ning Zhuo would have the ability to acquire such implied meanings through the original manuscript.

"It is truly a great pity!"

"The Three Sects Master once left behind an original manuscript of the Demonic Blood Tendon Art, and it was a true scripture at that!"

"As a result, without my knowledge, it ended up as a precious material for forging Yuan Dasheng."

The meaning contained in a true scripture would not be ordinary deep meaning, but true meaning.

A cultivator can absorb the true meaning and directly comprehend the various mysteries of the art within the true scripture, which is very convenient.

This also means that the value of a true scripture is extremely high; very few cultivators can produce true scriptures, and they are almost never circulated on the market.

Ning Zhuo subconsciously twisted his fingers, pushing this review to the end.

"The help of the literary aura is also not small."

"It's a pity I cannot concurrently study Confucianism, otherwise I could transform the literary aura into more and higher-quality literary energy!"

"Seeing the small to know the large, one can see the huge advantage Confucian cultivators have in this aspect of learning."

"Therefore, this Pine Waves Nourishing Qi Art is a must-learn."

"Additionally, although Pine Waves Student allows me to absorb the pine wave energy on the mountain at any time, this behavior, while seemingly taking advantage on the surface, may actually have a greater cost."

Free things are always the most expensive!

"Therefore, I still need to find pine trees myself, plant them, and strive for self-sufficiency."

Here, the review ended.

Ning Zhuo summoned Kitchen Old, gave him the Ghost Path Jin Dan, and told him to go out and purchase pine trees, as well as related cultivation materials and tools.

"Literary aura is so important; it is a necessary item for my future cultivation."

"Why not just choose an empty cabin in the Ten Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon and plant pine trees there."

After several months, following the Spirit-Hidden Willow, Ning Zhuo began constructing the Ten Thousand Mile Wandering Dragon again.

Ning Zhuo took out the jade slip of the Pine Waves Nourishing Qi Art.

"Undoubtedly, it was a reward specifically customized for me by the Confucian cultivator group. However, my performance this time should not have made things difficult for them."

This was also Ning Zhuo secretly showing his sincerity in cooperation!

Ning Zhuo sat cross-legged like a pine tree.

On the desk in front of him, the Intuition Brush lay still like a dormant dragon, and the Bitter Ink in the inkstone was as deep as solidified night. Inside the Shu Yu Study, Sun Lingtong sat upright in front of the water vortex array, his eyes shooting out spiritual light, seeing the Luoshu pages, allowing Ning Zhuo to share the profound power of the Dao artifact.

He took a deep breath, his gaze as steady as an ancient pool.

"Suspend hair from the beam!"

The sea of consciousness shook, the hemp rope pulled at his hair, his scalp tightened, and various distracting thoughts in his sea of consciousness were swept away like dust.

"Pierce thigh with an awl!"

The wooden awl pierced into his thigh, the sharp pain like a red-hot iron rod penetrating into his bone marrow!

His mind was instantly like a tightened bowstring.

Sharp thoughts arose one after another, following in succession.

Ning Zhuo slowly extended his arm and reached out to hold the brush.

The Intuition Brush touched the Bitter Ink, the warm, glowing light of the brush body and the deep, dark black of the ink intertwined.

The brush tip was saturated with the heavy, mercury-like dark brown ink, and as Ning Zhuo lowered the brush, it fell heavily onto the paper.

What Ning Zhuo wrote first was the general outline of the Pine Waves Nourishing Qi Art.

"Heaven and Earth have righteous energy, which is bestowed upon all forms. Pines and cypresses possess firmness and strength, and in the cold of winter, their spirit is revealed—"

The brush tip fell and moved with difficulty across the paper. For Ning Zhuo, the style of Confucian cultivation arts was unfamiliar, and as a beginner, it was harder than a hunchback climbing a mountain.

The words and sentences were profound and obscure, the literary language ancient. "Righteous energy," "flowing forms," "firmness and strength"—and other information swarmed in chaotically, making it hard for Ning Zhuo to grasp the key points.

The meaning conveyed to his heart by the Intuition Brush, however, formed a sharp contrast with Ning Zhuo’s understanding.

It was continuous, but overall, it was blurry.

Ning Zhuo felt it vaguely, but he was not anxious, knowing full well that this was just the beginning of his accumulation.

This was only the first time he was copying it.

The sluggishness of the Bitter Ink was particularly intense; every word written consumed immense mental effort, as if trudging through a quagmire, his mind unable to catch its breath under the heavy "bitterness."

Fortunately, Ning Zhuo was good at enduring hardship and had great tenacity, so he forcibly memorized the shapes of the words, giving it his all.

The word count of the Pine Waves Nourishing Qi Art was not large. After Ning Zhuo finished the first copy, he had gained much, but he was also extremely exhausted.

He closed his eyes to meditate and rested for a long time before slowly opening them and starting the second time.

When he wrote a section of the "Literary Pine" chapter: "The literary pine emits clear sounds, like reciting the classics of the sages. Its energy rises like mist, its color like jade—", the meaning accumulated in Ning Zhuo’s heart reached a qualitative change from a quantitative one.

The Intuition Brush became somewhat "clear and transcendent," the heaviness of the Bitter Ink remained, but the brushwork of his copying became a few degrees firmer.

Ning Zhuo’s understanding rose to a new level: "The so-called wind of pine waves is the mixing and rhythm of energy."

When he wrote a section in the "Martial Pine" chapter: "The martial pine shakes metal and iron, as if hearing the sound of war drums. Its energy is biting and cold, its color like dark iron—" the Intuition Brush clearly conveyed a completely different "implication," making Ning Zhuo feel as if he saw pine branches dancing wildly in the whistling wind like a warrior brandishing a spear! An image of raging pine waves and clashing weapons.

His understanding went a level deeper: "Literary energy, martial energy—literature and martial arts share the same origin but flow in different streams!"

The second copying ended, and Ning Zhuo’s rest time was half of what it had been before.

The third copying.

He wrote a passage: "Literature nourishes the heart, martial arts temper the form. Heart and form aid each other, and the Dao can be achieved."

At this moment, far away in the Shu Yu Study, Sun Lingtong seemed to see the Luoshu pages vibrate slightly!

The Luoshu brought Ning Zhuo the most correct deduction, making Ning Zhuo deepen his understanding again: "Firm and fierce power needs a flexible heart to drive it, and a flexible heart also needs a firm and fierce will to support it! Just like the pine and cypress, the branches are firm and strong enough to resist wind and snow (martial), while the pine needles are flexible and can remain evergreen throughout the four seasons (literary)!"

"So, heart and form aiding each other is the core true meaning of this art!!"

With this, Ning Zhuo finally had his first personal, hazy realization of the core mysteries of the Pine Waves Nourishing Qi Art.

The brush tip stopped with difficulty at the words "Righteous energy resides within, why fear the floating life."

The third copying ended!

Ning Zhuo slowly set down his brush, his face pale, his body and mind both exhausted. The sharp pain in his legs surged up clearly at this moment, and his whole body was drenched in cold sweat.

The literary aura that had originally surrounded his whole body had been completely exhausted during the second copying.

The paper was soaked through by the Bitter Ink and completely destroyed, and his thighs were a bloody mess.

His scalp was sore, and many broken hairs were scattered beside him.

"The 'moistening' of literary energy, the 'tempering' of martial energy, the 'stillness' of the mind, the 'movement' of the form—so these pine waves, this heaven and earth, and the person himself, all reside within these two words 'nourishing energy,' operating endlessly according to the principle of firm and soft aiding each other."

Ning Zhuo closed his eyes, as if he could hear the sound of the pine waves on the mountain that day.

This sound of waves was already different in his heart. It was no longer just a sound, but a grand movement containing vivid energy and revealing the ultimate principles of heaven and earth.

Carrying a feeling of joy, Ning Zhuo fell asleep directly this time.

When he woke up, he was refreshed again.

"This method of learning is not something an ordinary person can endure."

"Fortunately, my foundation is sufficient!"

"The paper is not good enough; that is a shortcoming. Otherwise, the Intuition Brush and Bitter Ink could bring even more help."

Ning Zhuo did not go to solve this problem himself.

He had a feeling—the Confucian cultivator group of the Myriad Phenomena Sect would very likely solve this weakness for him in the next Cloud-Raising Small Trial.

"First the Intuition Brush, then the Bitter Ink—"

"The Pine Waves Nourishing Qi Art might have been an impromptu decision by Pine Waves Student to add as a gift to me."

"The brush, ink, paper, and inkstone are likely coming in that order."

"Let's look forward to it for now."

Ning Zhuo got up, walked out of the cave dwelling, and headed toward the previous Pine Mountain Confucian Temple.

This mountain peak had long since activated its array, prohibiting outsiders from entering, but Ning Zhuo was unimpeded.

He arrived at the Confucian Temple and saw that the temple doors were open, and there was no one inside.

Ning Zhuo sat in his previous position and tried to activate the Pine Waves Nourishing Qi Art. His Five Elements magic power was not suited for this art, and it would consume more to achieve the same power as Confucian magic power.

A large amount of wind energy was absorbed by Ning Zhuo and added to himself.

This time, it was not just literary wind, but also martial wind.

"I absorb more literary wind, and it is easier, and it consumes much less magic power!"

"So this Confucian Temple also has corresponding support for me to perform Confucian cultivation arts."

Ning Zhuo discovered this secret and finally understood that the convenience Pine Waves Student had given him was more than what was said on the surface. He secretly hid this gratitude in his heart.

"If I study here, can I also receive the support of the Confucian Temple?"

Ning Zhuo thought and acted, but just as he started, he felt an invisible force pushing him out the door.

Although this force was gentle and small, Ning Zhuo went with the flow and walked out of the Confucian Temple.

The Confucian Temple doors closed behind him.

Ning Zhuo was definitely not Pan Si Niangzi; he had been a righteous person since he was a child, and he immediately understood the limits.

"It seems that giving me the convenience of collecting pine wind is already the limit for this group of Confucian cultivators."

"If I were to study in the Confucian Temple, that would break the limit and involve the Confucian cultivators."

"Since they don't want that, I cannot force it."

Up to now, Ning Zhuo’s cooperation with the Confucian cultivator group was quite tacit, and the feeling was very good, so he naturally did not want to sour this relationship.

Ning Zhuo left this mountain peak, returned to his own cave dwelling, and received the latest intelligence.

"Green Reed Child is going to hold the second trial?"

"Hmm—need to prepare the Mother-Sound Bamboo Puppets in advance."

"Every type of reed component in the 'Mother-Sound Reed Book' must be produced."

"This is not difficult!"

Ning Zhuo immediately focused his attention on this matter.

Green Reed Child’s Cloud-Raising Small Trial was different from others.

He aimed at inheritance, and its value was undoubtedly the highest at the moment.