Desolate Era (Book 1 - Book 5)

The first thing was to train in accordance to the visualization technique – Nuwa’s Painting. His soul had become strong and sturdy, to the point where he now had photographic memory. Just half a month ago, he had even been able to reach the level of dividing his mind into two.

What did dividing his mind into two meant? For example, he could simultaneously use his left hand to write an essay while using his right hand to paint a painting. It was as though his consciousness had been divided into two parts which didn’t interfere with each other.

Actually, this wasn’t particularly miraculous. According to the books, those who trained in the path to become an Immortal could all use their minds to accomplish multiple things at once. They would be able to use several treasures to attack at the same time. The true brilliance of the Nuwa Painting was that Ji Ning was able to divide his mind in two after visualizing it for just two years.

The second thing he had done was to read!

Half a year after his birth, when Ning was able to form some words, he had hugged a book and pointed at what looked lke some words in it and said, “This, this, this…” Spring Grass and Autumn Leaf, being personal maids, all knew how to read. Naturally, they didn’t dare to not reply. With their help and with guesswork, he soon learned how to recognize the words.

And then, his reading began!

As the saying goes, ‘spending time sharpening the knife makes the cutting go faster’. Although he was fully devoted to the idea of training to become an Immortal, Ning understood that sometimes, haste made for ineffectiveness. Reading was a way of ‘sharpening the knife’ to become an Immortal. First of all, he needed to understand what this world was like. He would also learn more about what it meant to become an Immortal, and what types of Immortals there were, and so on and so forth.

Only after learning about this would he know what the best choice for himself would be!

After reading many books, Ning came to know that the Ji clan of West Prefecture was a small power located within the vast expanse of land ruled over by the Grand Xia Dynasty!

The territory ruled over by the Ji clan of West Prefecture stretched for three thousand kilometers from north to south and five thousand kilometers from east to west. There were countless tribes who lived on this land, and all of them were ruled by the Ji clan!

What’s more, this was nothing more than the Ji clan of West Prefecture.

The Ji clan was an ancient clan. It was divided into the Central Prefecture, the East Prefecture, the West Prefecture, the North Prefecture, and the South Prefecture. All five Prefectures combined made up the entirety of the Ji clan!

However… the Grand Xia Dynasty was simply too large. Its territory was nearly limitless, and it was an ancient dynasty which was born during the ‘Fiendgod Era’. Over a trillion years had passed since the terrifying Fiendgod Era. For a dynasty to be able to last a trillion years was something which Ning found to be inconceivable.

The Ji clan was nothing more than a small power within the borders of the Grand Xia Dynasty, but to the countless local surrounding tribes, the Ji clan was definitely their absolute rulers!

“This truly is a world where Immortals and Devils abound.” Ji Ning sighed mentally. “Ordinary mortal realms find it hard for an Empire to sustain for even a thousand years, but in this ancient world, an ancient, large empire is something which is beyond my imagination.

“Right. It has been over two year since I was born, and I know very little about training to become an Immortal. It is time I begin.”

He had spent a year in the womb, and when he was born, it was winter, while a new year had come soon after that. Thus, he had lived in this world for over two years now.

….

That very night.

Both sides of the main hall were filled with lit lamps, and the entire hall was extremely bright. His father continued to sit where he usually sat, with his mother on the left and Ning on the right. The table was still covered with meat as well as plates of vegetables and grains.

“Nom nom nom.” Ning blew through the meat on the table like a twister, and then raised his head up. “Father, mother!”

“Hrm, what is it?” Yichuan looked at his son, and Snow did as well.

Although their son’s intelligence caused them boundless joy, it didn’t startle them too much, because in this vast world, there were plenty of people who were devilishly clever.

“I want to train!” Ning said seriously. “I wish to train to become an Immortal!”

Seeing the serious look on her son’s face, Snow began to laugh. “Train to become an Immortal? Yichuan, our son wishes to train to become an Immortal!”

“Immortal?” Yichuan looked at his son coolly. “Do you know what training to become an Immortal means?”





* * *





Book 1, Chapter 6 - The Path to Immortal Training


“I don’t know. Please instruct me, father,” Ning said respectfully.

Actually, after having read so many books, Ning had learned about it long ago. But as a four-year-old child, there was no need for him to appear so devilishly intelligent.

“Then I will tell you and let you understand.” Yichuan’s voice was like ice. “First, let’s talk about the seven major stages.”

“The first stage, Houtian. Lifespan of a hundred years.”

“The second stage, Xiantian. Lifespan of two hundred years”

“The third stage, Zifu, the ‘Violet Palace’. At this level, one will be addressed as Zifu Disciple. Lifespan of five hundred years.”

“The fourth stage, Wanxiang, ‘Manifestations’. At this level, one will be addressed as Wanxiang Adept. Lifespan of eight hundred years.”

“The fifth stage, Primal. Can be referred to as Primal Daoist.”

“The sixth stage, Void. Can be referred to as ‘Land Immortal’, or ‘Earth Immortal’. In the later levels of the Void stage, a heavenly tribulation will test them. If they fail, then they will die and their spirits will be extinguished. If a Primal’s body is destroyed but manages to escape with his soul, then he will become a ‘Loose Immortal’, whose power is roughly on par with the ‘Earth Immortals’.”

“The seventh stage, Celestial Immortal. Only at this stage can one be considered to have ascended beyond the Three Realms and no longer be formed by the Five Elements!”

Yichuan stared at Ning after speaking. He wanted to see the look of awe and surprise on his son’s face… but Ning was just listening intently.

“You say you wish to train to become an Immortal. Thus, I wish you to know how hard it is to become an Immortal.” Ji Yichuan’s voice sank down. “The first obstacle to becoming an Immortal… is to pass from the Houtian stage to the Xiantian stage!”

“What does Xiantian mean? Only a lifeform which was naturally born by the heavens and the earth can be described as a Xiantian lifeform. In the distant Fiendgod Era, there were Fiendgods that were born naturally by the heavens and by the earth and which possessed tremendous power from their birth. In addition, there are those who are reborn into the Heavenly Realms as ‘Devas’ or as ‘Asuras’. These Devas and Asuras are all birthed by nature itself, and thus by their very nature, they are a Xiantian lifeform. This makes it very fast for them to train, because only Xiantian lifeforms can train to become an Immortal!”

“It is impossible for mortals to train to become an Immortal… but the Heavens always leave a thread of hope. Thus, in the past, benevolent elders created a set of training techniques which can allow the bodies of ordinary people to become akin to the bodies of Xiantian lifeforms. Only then did it become possible for ordinary people to train to become an Immortal.”

“But for an ordinary person to become a Xiantian lifeform is against the natural laws of the universe, making it very hard! The success rate is lower than one in ten thousand! Tell me, is it hard or not?”