Chapter 64

From the Winged Snake Lake to the Black Tooth Tribe, the journey is long. Even with the Black Sly Beast as a mount, traveling day and night, it takes three days to reach.

Night.

The bonfire burned, and Ji Ning and Qiu Ye were by the fire, while Mo Wu kept watch around to prevent any uninvited beasts from disturbing their young master.

"I haven't even had a chance to look through all the miscellaneous items I obtained in the Water Mansion." Ji Ning suddenly remembered that he had examined the treasures and miscellaneous items he obtained in the first and second stages of the Water Mansion corridor, but in the third stage, he had obtained thousands of magical treasures and a large amount of miscellaneous items. After refining the magical treasures, he fought the black monster puppet, and then met the black old ox, so he didn't have time to go through them one by one.

"Among the miscellaneous items obtained in the first and second stages, there was a secret manual that could rival the 'Drip Water Scripture.' The miscellaneous items obtained in the third stage are several times more than those from the previous stages." Ji Ning made various items appear in his hand, examined them, and then made them disappear again.

Qiu Ye watched curiously from the side.

After a long time...

"Another secret manual, 'The Clear Wind Chapter'?" Ji Ning's eyes lit up as he read it. "It turns out to be a sword technique manual, seemingly a method that directly points to the true meaning of the Dao. It is on par with the 'Drip Water Scripture.'"

Ji Ning's discernment was now much sharper. After all, he had comprehended the true meaning of the Dao. After a careful examination, he quickly sensed that the ultimate goal of this sword technique was to point directly to the 'Clear Wind True Meaning.' The corridor where he obtained these items was only inhabited by innate spirits, so how profound could the secret manuals they carried be?

Actually, a secret manual like 'The Clear Wind Chapter' should not be carried around. Ji Ning himself did not carry the 'Drip Water Scripture' or the 'Thunderfire Sword Residual Edition.' This suggests that the owners of these secret manuals might have come from some even more powerful top tribes, and their control over the confidentiality of such manuals was not very strict.

...

The miscellaneous items obtained in the third stage of the Water Mansion corridor were indeed much more numerous, and there were also many treasures. Ji Ning found three powerful techniques. After reading the secret manuals, he began to examine other miscellaneous items that didn't look like secret manuals.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning suddenly pulled out a jade statue!

This was a two-foot-tall square jade block, with a statue of an old man with a long beard carved on it.

"Something's not right!" Ji Ning's eyes lit up as he examined it closely. At first glance, it just looked like a statue, but upon closer inspection, he noticed that the square jade block was actually covered with tiny characters and small diagrams. These pictographic characters were the script of the Great Xia Dynasty.

The characters were very small! An ordinary person might not be able to see them clearly, but Ji Ning was not an ordinary person. His vision was astonishing, able to see a fly ten miles away! With such vision, he could naturally see the tiny characters on the jade block.

"Truly amazing."

"There must be hundreds of thousands of characters carved on this jade block, and countless tiny characters form the statue of an old man with a long beard." Ji Ning was first amazed, then he began to search for the beginning of the text. He quickly found the top-left corner, where there were four protruding characters—

'The Nine Volumes of Array Techniques'!

Ji Ning's eyes lit up as he began to read carefully.

"I, Dao Yan, have studied array techniques for over eighty thousand years. I survived the last great calamity, but I fear I will not survive the next one in nine hundred years. I am unwilling for my array techniques to be lost, so I have recorded my nine volumes of array techniques here! I hope that those who find them will carefully study and understand them!" The opening words made Ji Ning happy. Someone who could live for over eighty thousand years and endure the three disasters and nine calamities was almost certainly a wandering immortal.

Ji Hua Immortal could last for millions of years, but ordinary wandering immortals couldn't live that long. The three disasters and nine calamities were easy to avoid, but hard to escape. The great calamity every nine hundred years became increasingly severe, and even a celestial immortal might not be able to withstand the final calamity of a wandering immortal like Jihua Immortal.

"A wandering immortal's array techniques, this is no less valuable than the 'Small Thousand Sword Array' or the 'Wind Wing Escape Technique.'" Ji Ning immediately understood its value. "To have obtained such array techniques and still dare to venture into the Water Mansion corridor, that's really..."

The person who originally obtained these array techniques might not have been skilled in array techniques. After all, array techniques are profound and difficult to understand. Most cultivators only know how to set up arrays and do not understand the principles behind them. Like Ji Ning, when he performed the 'Small Thousand Sword Array,' he simply followed the steps. Cultivators generally prefer to spend time refining powerful magical treasures or practicing powerful techniques, and few are willing to study array techniques!

Moreover, array techniques are inherently mysterious and difficult to understand, so there are even fewer researchers!

The original owner might have found it difficult to understand and made little progress, so they ventured into the Water Mansion corridor.

There is another possibility, like Ji Ning, who was simply passing by the Winged Snake Lake and was forcibly transported into the Water Mansion, only to die inside.

"Regardless of the reason, the 'Nine Volumes of Array Techniques' now belong to me. I see, thousands of storage magical treasures, clearly thousands of people died inside. Could it be that none of them carried valuable treasures?" Ji Ning was very pleased. "Finally, I have obtained a valuable treasure. I'll take a good look."

He immediately lowered his head and began to read the 'Nine Volumes of Array Techniques.'

Array techniques involve utilizing everything that can be utilized, and even the most profound arrays consider the heavens and earth as part of the array!

"Interesting." While most people find the nine volumes of array techniques dull, Ji Ning read with a smile. Entering the world of array techniques tests one's mental calculation ability, and one must be able to calculate! In his previous life, Ji Ning was very intelligent. Due to illness, he couldn't attend school and was completely self-taught. He learned through books and the internet, and his intelligence far exceeded that of his peers, especially in science, where he could earn a fortune at a young age!

In this life, with the 'Nüwa Diagram,' he can multitask, and his mind is even more agile and quick!

His previous life on Earth gave him a way of thinking. Although Earth was just one of the countless small worlds, its education far surpassed that of this world. In Yan Mountain, it was still the tribal era... even the children of a clan like the Ji Clan could only read and write, and ordinary tribes couldn't even recognize characters.

This level of education made it impossible for them to study array techniques, leaving them all at a loss.

One could say that the excellent science students of the Earth era, while not necessarily becoming array technique experts, could at least be considered potential array technique talents.

...

His previous life gave Ji Ning a way of thinking, like software. This life gave him a powerful divine soul, like hardware!

Naturally, he had a good foundation for learning array techniques!

"Originally, it was like this." Ji Ning read with a smile from time to time. "The Yin-Yang Two Qi Array and similar arrays are really crude, completely relying on the power of the heavens and earth, with no technique at all."

The more he read, the more delighted Ji Ning became.

But gradually, Ji Ning's face lost its smile, and he sometimes frowned in deep thought, and other times stared blankly.

"Indeed, one cannot underestimate array techniques." Ji Ning nodded. "The path of array techniques is vast like the sea. I have only just entered and understood the basics, and even a slightly more profound part leaves me confused. It makes sense; although most people on this vast land are a bit dull, there are still geniuses. Once they study for hundreds, thousands, or tens of thousands of years, they can far surpass those on Earth."

"Master, it's morning, we should set off." Qiu Ye suddenly called out.

"Ah." Ji Ning then realized that it was already morning.

*****

The path of array techniques is vast like the sea. Once the first volume of the 'Nine Volumes of Array Techniques' is comprehended, one can be considered an array technique expert. Unfortunately, Ji Ning couldn't even comprehend the first volume, which made him more humble.

"Studying array techniques can give me another means."

"Moreover, when performing the Small Thousand Sword Array, I can be more flexible and not so rigid." Although Ji Ning was now just a beginner in array techniques, he understood that the essence of array techniques lies in leading. Controlling hundreds of flying swords simultaneously and meticulously controlling each one is extremely draining.

Fortunately, his divine soul was strong enough to easily perform the fourth level of the Small Thousand Sword Array.

If he were an array technique expert, he would only need to lead some key flying swords, which would greatly reduce the burden on his divine soul and allow him to perform the Small Thousand Sword Array with greater power.

...

"Master, we are approaching the Black Tooth Tribe." Qiu Ye called out.

Ji Ning stopped pondering the array techniques and looked up. Some sentries on the Black Tooth Tribe seemed to have noticed them.

"It's the young master of the Ji Clan."

"Quick, go report to the leader."

The people of the Black Tooth Tribe had seen Ji Ning once before. This time, it was still three Black Sly Beasts and three people. They quickly recognized them.

When Ji Ning and his two companions arrived at the tribe's gate, Black Tooth himself came to welcome them.

"Pay respects to the young master." Black Tooth, followed by a large group of his people, all knelt down.

"Hmm." Ji Ning nodded. "Take me to Chuncao."

"Yes." Black Tooth replied. The only connection between the Black Tooth Tribe and Ji Ning was Chuncao.

Ji Ning suddenly glanced at the thin, sickly child behind Black Tooth, who bore a striking resemblance to Chuncao. Ji Ning remembered seeing this child the last time he came and immediately asked, "What's your name?"

The child was taken aback.

Black Tooth, following Ji Ning's gaze, turned his head to see his son and said, "Quickly answer the young master."

The child, trembling, replied, "My name is Qing Shi!"

"Qing Shi, Qing Shi..." Ji Ning murmured softly.