Chapter 57

" Fifth master? " Ji Ning was surprised, "Me?"

The black old ox's eyes were filled with a smile as it strolled over. Its figure was faintly ethereal, after all, it was not a physical entity but the spirit of a magical treasure.

"Of course, it's you," said the black old ox.

"I didn't mean that. I mean... I'm just the fifth master?" Ji Ning asked, "Was Immortal Juhua not the first?"

He had once discovered a letter made of divine willow bark, and from his deductions, after Immortal Juhua's death, this immortal residence should not have been passed on to anyone.

"Immortal Juhua was the third master of this immortal residence," the black old ox said.

"Who was the fourth?" Ji Ning pressed.

The black old ox's eyes had a hint of reminiscence, and it slowly said, "In his time, Immortal Juhua was renowned far and wide, standing at the pinnacle in the Great Xia Dynasty. A transcendent immortal living for millions of years was a miracle. The three calamities and nine tribulations of cultivation became more severe with each passing one. He lived too long, and the tribulations had reached a terrifying level, even celestial immortals might not be able to withstand them. The longer he lived, the more people in the Great Xia Dynasty knew of his terrifying power."

"Immortal Juhua knew his days were numbered, so he wanted to take a disciple and spread the news... It had to be someone who practiced the divine body cultivation method, at least a Nativelife being, and at most a Purple Mansion cultivator. At that time, some of the major tribes in the Great Xia Dynasty, if they had any reliable information, would send their young members to challenge the corridor."

"There were two corridors, one for Nativelife beings to challenge, and one for Purple Mansion cultivators to challenge."

"One by one, the young people died. Finally, a Purple Mansion cultivator named Leizhan passed the three trials in the corridor. Leizhan became the fourth master of this immortal residence."

Ji Ning nodded.

Immortal Juhua was the third.

Leizhan was the fourth.

"Unfortunately," the black old ox shook its head, "Under the endless three calamities and nine tribulations, Immortal Juhua finally died. Not long after Immortal Juhua's death... Leizhan, who was only at the Daoist of Myriad Phenomena realm at the time, also died. As for how he died and where, it's unclear. Since Leizhan's death, this immortal residence has had no master."

Ji Ning nodded, then asked in confusion, "Didn't Leizhan carry the immortal residence with him?"

"Carry it with him?" the black old ox said in a low voice, "He couldn't even fully refine the immortal residence, how could he carry it?"

"Even a Daoist of Myriad Phenomena couldn't refine it?" Ji Ning asked.

The black old ox said, "Little boy, don't underestimate this immortal residence. This immortal residence has an extraordinary origin, and refining it is particularly difficult. You should know, the more powerful a magical treasure is, the harder it is to refine. This immortal residence is actually a type of cave residence magical treasure... Only by becoming a True Spirit Immortal can you barely refine and carry it with you."

"Even a True Spirit Immortal can only barely refine it, and still cannot fully control the immortal residence. Some secret places within the immortal residence remain inaccessible. Only by becoming an Earth Immortal or a Transcendent Immortal can you truly control this immortal residence."

Ji Ning understood. It made sense; a magical treasure that could directly teleport people through space would be strange if it were easy to refine.

"Little boy, do you understand the extraordinary nature of this immortal residence?" the black old ox said proudly.

"Senior, you can call me Ji Ning," Ji Ning said.

"Ji Ning, little boy," the black old ox stepped on the giant cushion on the ground, "Look at this cushion. Each cushion is a hundred feet wide. Can you think of anything?"

Ji Ning thought and said, "Senior, when I first came to this hall, I was very puzzled. An immortal's residence wouldn't need such large cushions. I suspected... this immortal residence was once occupied by a group of giants or another race."

"Although Immortal Juhua was just a transcendent immortal, he lived for millions of years before dying," the black old ox sighed, "Among the transcendent immortals who lived so long, I only know of Immortal Juhua! Why was Immortal Juhua so powerful, and why did he live so long before dying? It was because of this—this immortal residence!"

"This immortal residence has an unknown age. According to Juhua's guess, it was originally the cave residence of a powerful divine being, which is why it was built so large. The cushions, beds, corridors, and everything else were made so huge," the black old ox said, "When Juhua was young, he passed the three trials and became the third master here."

"Juhua also passed the three trials?" Ji Ning was shocked.

"These three trials were set by the first master of the immortal residence! That first master was likely an extremely powerful divine being. Judging by the arrangement of the cushions in the hall, this divine being would lecture from above, and many divine beings would listen below. Ha ha, these are all things of the past, the age of divine beings has passed."

...

The black old ox and Ji Ning conversed for a long time.

Ji Ning finally couldn't help but ask, "Now that I am the fifth master of this immortal residence, what benefits do I get?"

The black old ox blinked.

"Immortal Juhua lived for millions of years as a transcendent immortal. He must have left something behind, right?" Ji Ning continued to ask.

The black old ox remained silent.

"You..."

"Alas!" the black old ox finally sighed, "The third and fourth masters are both dead, and it's been too long. Juhua left some treasures for Leizhan, but Leizhan died outside, and after countless years, you can't get Leizhan's benefits. Juhua did leave some magical treasures and other things in the immortal residence, but you can't get them now."

"Why can't I get them?" Ji Ning asked, "Aren't I the master of the immortal residence?"

The black old ox shook its head, "You are the master of a storage magical treasure, but you can't refine it. Can you get the treasures inside? This immortal residence is a type of cave residence magical treasure. If you don't refine it, you can't enter many places. Now, you can only stay in this hall; you can't enter any other place."

"Only in this hall?" Ji Ning was taken aback.

"You should have noticed that you can only stay in the hall, and you can't enter any other place in the immortal residence," the black old ox said, "First, become a Purple Mansion cultivator, then you can refine a token. Once you refine the token, the benefits will be many. You can enter many places in the immortal residence, and you can also enter the immortal residence from the outside, such as from the Winged Snake Lake."

Snap!

A deep gray token appeared out of nowhere, falling to the ground and landing on the cushion with a sound.

"This is the token," the black old ox said, "Only the successive masters can obtain the token. Quickly put it away. Once you become a Purple Mansion cultivator, you can refine it. After refining it, come back to the immortal residence. Now, you can't enter any place, and you can't get any benefits."

Ji Ning picked up the token.

The token was rough, with an ancient and complex character on it—'Right'! Although Ji Ning had never learned this character, he naturally understood it upon seeing it.

"Token?" Ji Ning put it away in his storage magical treasure.

"Alright. You have the token, and I've told you everything. You can leave now," the black old ox said, "I'll send you away, directly teleporting you back to the island in the Winged Snake Lake."

Ji Ning shouted, "Wait!"

The black old ox looked at Ji Ning, "What else?"

"Like this... you're just letting me go?" Ji Ning couldn't help but say, "I risked my life to come in, and I'm just leaving with a token?"

The black old ox blinked twice, "Who made the previous masters die? If they were alive, they might have guided and helped you. But I'm just the spirit of a magical treasure... I don't have any magical treasures or rare items. You already have a cultivation method, the *Nine Heavens Diagram of Chiming* is the best method for divine beings, better than Juhua's cultivation method. What else can I give you? Oh! You don't have a visualization method, right?"

"Visualization method?" Ji Ning was stunned.

The visualization method *Nuwa Diagram* was taught to him by Lord Cui.

"Visualization methods can condense and strengthen the soul," the black old ox said, "They are only found in the top major tribes. I remember one visualization method, I'll pass it on to you."

"Pass it on?" Ji Ning was curious.

"Get some ink and brush," the black old ox urged.

Ji Ning took out a brush, ink, and a large piece of fur, and began grinding the ink.

The black old ox looked at the brush, which floated in the air, "I'm the spirit of a magical treasure, having cultivated for countless years, my divine sense might not be as strong as yours. But holding a brush is not difficult." It controlled the brush, dipped it in ink, and began to draw on the smooth fur paper. Soon, a compassionate Buddha appeared on the paper.

This Buddha had the sun and moon hanging behind it, radiating endless light.

Ji Ning felt a subtle touch just by looking at it.

"How is it?" the black old ox casually flicked the brush aside, proud, "This is the true image of the Buddha, the Buddha of Sun and Moon Light! *Inner Visualization of the Buddha of Sun and Moon Light* was Juhua's visualization method. I watched the Buddha's image every day, so I naturally remembered it. Although I can't draw it as well as the original, if you visualize this Buddha image regularly... you will surely condense your soul."

Ji Ning was puzzled, "Inner visualization of the Buddha?"

"Those who achieve the Great Dao, their external appearance contains the mysteries of the Dao," the black old ox said.

Ji Ning could only feel helpless in his heart. Compared to the *Nuwa Diagram*, this was far inferior. The *Nuwa Diagram* was directly transmitted into his soul memory by Lord Cui, making it more vivid and clear. This old ox had only drawn a Buddha image from memory.

"Or do you have a visualization method?" the black old ox noticed Ji Ning's lack of excitement and nodded, "That makes sense, with such a strong soul, you should have a visualization method. Hmm..."

The black old ox pondered deeply.

Ji Ning waited.

This old ox was a powerful spirit of a magical treasure, having followed Juhua for countless years, and should know a lot.

"I remember, didn't you control thousands of magical treasures before? I have a sword array secret technique that should suit you," the black old ox suddenly thought, "A major enemy Juhua killed once used a large number of flying swords to form an array to fight. Juhua also obtained his sword array technique and studied it carefully. Although I only read it once, I remember it all. I'll copy it for you."

Ji Ning took out a large amount of animal skin.

The black old ox then controlled the brush and began to write.

At the top of the fur was the title—*Small Thousand Sword Array*!