Chapter 1291: Chapter 1291: I, the Gourd Master, am the Supreme Inversion’s First Withering!

Ning Fan and Nanke the Old Immortal had just met, but for some reason, Ning Fan felt a sense of familiarity from Nanke’s presence.

He must have seen this Ancestor of the Enlightenment Tree somewhere...

So, while pondering, the karma of the world seemed to turn into a vast stream of information, fleetingly passing before Ning Fan’s eyes.

Suddenly, a thread of karma overlapped with Nanke’s figure, plucked by Ning Fan from the boundless torrent.

Then, he suddenly understood everything.

In the Ziwei Beiji Palace, there was an ancient sycamore tree, a place where Ning Fan had previously secluded himself. This tree was forty-three billion years old, its trunk thicker than the Celestial Pillars, and even a single fallen leaf was enough to cover a mortal city. On the tree’s body was a face resembling a kind old man, with a beard streaked with grey, each strand several hundred miles long... hm, he should have noticed it earlier, this Nanke the Old Immortal indeed bore an uncanny resemblance to that face on the ancient tree...

But why were the bone ages of two beings in different reincarnations the same... The bone age of the Ancient Tree with a Human Face was forty-three billion years, and Nanke the Old Immortal before him was also forty-three billion years old; there was no difference in bone age between the two. If they were the same person, there would surely be precedence, yet they were equal...

Moreover, the Ancient Tree possessed Life Immortal cultivations, and Nanke the Old Immortal before him had Life Immortal cultivations as well... The Ancient Tree could be forgiven, as it had little life force left, slumbering year after year with a faint presence; yet, Nanke the Old Immortal before him made Ning Fan feel a sense of oppression faced only from beings like Saint Taibai and others!

Life Immortal was comparable to Saints, how was this possible...

"Whether it be bone age or cultivations, all are set in an instant, this is my [Eternity]..." Nanke the Old Immortal seemed able to see through Ning Fan’s thoughts, explaining.

Eternity?

Ning Fan was surprised; it was not the first time he had encountered this term. He now understood the meaning of eternity and had even practiced an Eternal technique.

The sixth in the Chiwei Daoism, the Chiwei Flower Blooming, Chi Ming Eternity, which recorded the method of teaching one to cultivate the Dao Fruit of Eternity. During this period, Ning Fan had initially mastered the Chiwei Six Paths, though only at the entry level, it showed he was no longer ignorant of eternity.

The so-called eternity refers to not being destructible or perishable, but throughout history, only Reverse Saints could truly cultivate to be indestructible. Those who hadn’t entered the Fourth Step but wished to testify to eternity, had to pay a price for equivalence...

For Nanke the Old Immortal to testify to eternity in his Life Immortal state, he must have paid an unimaginable price...

Moreover, while eternity might bring indestructibility, it also means that bone age, cultivations, Daoism, and everything is halted at this moment and unable to progress further. For the weak, gaining an indestructible body in the Second Step could massively increase battle power; but for those with the qualification to enter Saint or Reverse realms, attaining eternity too soon was not a gain but a loss that couldn’t be undone, and the qualification to reach supreme heights would be completely stripped away...

This person does not seem like the kind of ordinary being who cannot progress further after reaching the Life Immortal realm, then why did he choose to steal eternity at the Life Immortal stage... Was there a reason for such determination, or perhaps he was calculated against, mistakenly falling into the abyss of eternity...

"Hehe, it was my own choice, but the reason, for now, cannot be revealed. If one day, you grow to the heights of your teachers Purple Dou and Yin Yang, you can come to me as they did, and hear the ancient stories..." Nanke reminisced.

He actually knew the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign!

But this is illogical, for the cycle world of the Saint Heir trials simulates the time when Ziwei attained enlightenment, yet Ziwei had not achieved enlightenment at this time, and the term Purple Dou should not exist... because the name Purple Dou came after the Purple Dou Immortal Sovereign unified the regions of Ziwei and the Northern Dipper...

As for the name Yin Yang... the Yin Yang Sage was the True Realm body of Teacher Han Yuanji... The teacher had visited Nanke the Old Immortal to hear stories? The karma of it all remained elusive...

"Because I have already transformed into eternity, how could I be blinded by the fog of reincarnation... The world I see is the one you will see in the future..." Nanke’s smile was benevolent, with eyes shining like the stars of the Ancient Country, yet without any sense of separation, looking at Ning Fan just as a senior looks at a junior.

But this wasn’t about using his Life Immortal status to take advantage of Ning Fan, but rather that this person truly had the qualification.

He was the adopted son of Divine King Niyue from the Ancient Country, and he interacted as equals with Purple Dou and Yin Yang. Faced with the disciples of old friends, he did not act as a senior; how else should he behave?

However, he regarded the Northern Barbarian God as his adopted sister, and the Five Spirit Flowers of the Northern Barbarians Kingdom were all born from Nanke’s Enlightenment Tree. The red lotus, white flower, and green lotus leaf were essentially brother-sister relationships. Claiming the Northern Barbarian God as his adopted sister was not an overstatement.

Considering that this butterfly and his family’s sister had been entangled in karma for countless lifetimes... If such affection could finally blossom into fruit, the matters of seniority then would be difficult to resolve...

Hehe, eternity is indeed intriguing; indeed, if you live long enough, you will encounter all sorts of things...

"May I go see the Northern Barbarian God..." Although shocked at Nanke the Old Immortal’s acquaintance with Purple Dou and Yin Yang, Ning Fan was not in the mood to listen to those ancient stories.

The Immortal Stone was quite interested in the ancient stories but was equally concerned about Fifth Brother Shi Gui, wishing to see Shi Gui’s condition.

And when he saw Fifth Brother’s current state, even with Ning Fan’s prior warning to "prepare himself mentally," he lost composure completely...

Shi Gui True Person was severely corroded by Calamity Thought, now recognizing no one, having fallen into madness, even attempting to kill his family upon seeing the Immortal Stone to prove his Dao, which was utterly ludicrous! Fortunately, Nanke the Old Immortal had placed a Demon Spirit Seal to imprison him, temporarily preserving Shi Gui’s life, preventing him from acting irrationally. However, rescuing Shi Gui was fraught with difficulties...

Seeing Fifth Brother reduced to such a state, the Immortal Stone felt utterly hopeless, kneeling outside the seal and wailing loudly, constantly slapping himself in the face, blaming himself for not being with Fifth Brother and failing to fulfill his duties as a big brother...

Ning Fan wasn’t particularly grieved, as he was not truly Lu Bei and had only limited friendship with Shi Gui through past chess games and tea; moreover, considering Nanke’s expression, Shi Gui’s situation seemed to have a chance for resolution. Although challenging, it was not truly beyond salvation...

But when Ning Fan approached the Northern Barbarian God, regardless of how firm his spirit sense was, it instantly cracked, with uncontrollable pain and anger pouring out from the fracture...

The person before him was not a woman, but a dying lotus pierced with countless wounds... The cause of this suffering was the calculations of all the Saints and the Reverse, yet the sword that pierced this red lotus was held by the Ziwei Demon Monarch!

Yet even as a dying lotus, upon sensing Ning Fan’s approach, it seemed joyful, and relieved, gently swaying her lotus leaf...

Ning Fan extended his hand, only to stop halfway, afraid to touch the battered red lotus. Even the lightest touch might shatter her petals and leaves, already on the brink of decay...

"I’m sorry, this time, I came too late..."

Previously, Ning Fan only thought that two parallel lines never intersecting was the greatest cruelty of the world. But now he realized that more crushing than never meeting was finally meeting but arriving too late...

In a blur, countless scenes appeared before Ning Fan’s eyes, each depicting a journey of desperate searching, each leading ultimately to a tragedy, until all scenes consolidated into one final moment:

In the vast Sea of Reincarnation, two fish longed to escape. He and she finally made it to the shore, only to face death from lack of water.

Better to moisten each other with wetness, better to support each other with saliva, than to... let each other fade into the rivers and lakes...

Yet even if they forget each other, what then...

He could use his last strength to push her back into the Sea of Reincarnation, but waiting in the sea are not homes, only countless predators...

Entering the sea means suffering upon suffering, leaving the sea means eternally falling into unreturnable abyss. To her, the world offers only a little kindness, but an overwhelming amount of malice, and she has no water to rely on, no branch to cling to, no home to return to...

Then it’s better to fall into the unreturnable abyss forever! But it cannot be her, it can only be him!

He neither returns to the shore nor enters the sea. He wants to fly to the sky, break through the firmament, and then turn into wind and rain, offering those fish escaping the sea... a glimmer of hope!

"Oh? Your Rain Intent has achieved completion?" Nanke the Old Immortal slightly surprised.

This child merely glanced at the Hongling Enlightenment Flower, and yet achieved Control Position Mastery? Although this flower is a coveted treasure among the saints, without consuming it, it should be useless.

So, is it not due to the Hongling Enlightenment Flower, but because this child has comprehended the causal cycle of reincarnation and realized his own source of rain...

According to the standards of the Spiritual Juncture Holy Sect, a method’s intensity exceeding five hundred Spiritual Junctures can be considered Control Position Mastery. This child’s current Rain Intent is, well, slightly above five hundred Spiritual Junctures...

"Has your Rain Intent truly achieved completion? It seems so..." Ning Fan shook his head, without consciously contemplating Rain Intent just now.

He merely saw some reincarnation causality, and then felt a rebellious thought, only wanting to transform into wind and rain to save someone... but unexpectedly, the Control Position of rain that was slightly lacking, was completed at this moment, achieving mastery without intention...

"What a pity, you achieved Control Position Mastery in the Immeasurable Catastrophe grounds. Lesser Trials should avoid Greater Tribulations. You will struggle to induce the phenomenon of the Position Sky Map here and miss out on many heavenly blessings..." Nanke the Old Immortal regrettably said.

"Heavenly blessings? Even without the interference from the Immeasurable Catastrophe, this time, they might not approach because of my rebellious thoughts..." Ning Fan shook his head.

"You misunderstand heaven. To you, the heaven of today seems cold and ruthless, but that’s only because heaven has lost its lord, and the authority of the Great Dao has fallen into the hands of mere mortals... But in the past, heaven was not like this. Heaven selflessly bestowed glory upon all generations, nurtured all living things to support mankind, but mankind offered nothing to thank heaven, instead, repaid with swords and knives... Thus, the red sun fell, never to rise, the black moon died, never to live, the stars were stolen, never to return to their master..."

At this point, Nanke the Old Immortal halted his words, speaking no more. To continue would entail discussing ancient secrets, which would be harmful rather than beneficial to the current Ning Fan.

If one knows too much, they will have a difficult end... Is it not because of his extensive knowledge that he was calculated into this Immeasurable Catastrophe?

No, perhaps those eyes high above are wary not of him, but of his master slumbering through the eons of night.

The Ancient Country’s Divine King, Niyue... even in the return to eternal extinction, those people are still shocked and terrified, unwilling to let him go?

How pathetic! How laughable! How hateful!

Niku loved the people, and yet he was slaughtered by them! Nijun protected the Dao, and yet he was betrayed by it! Niyue had spirit, and yet was abandoned by all spirits!

Thus the crane lost its heart, the crow lost its blood, the sparrow lost its spirit, and the Ancient Country ceased to exist!

The one who stole the heart posed as the bright sky, truly believing they’d become the sun; the one who stole the blood posed as the Great Dao, truly believing they’d become the master of the three thousand Great Daos; the one who stole the spirit posed as reincarnation, truly believing they’d wield equality over all beings...

Of the Three Ancient Gods, only one remains, but even this final one has fallen into the dust tribulation, eternally losing their true self, becoming a cold machine that only knows slaughter and hatred...

What happened afterward...

Then a monkey appeared, insistent on joining the Oblique Moon Three Stars Cave, but Nanke knew that this monkey was a pawn in the calculation of the rebels, aiming to find the dream where Divine King Niyue hid...

Nanke was unwilling for this to happen, but the Divine King seemed to have foreseen something, thus awakening from eternal extinction and giving the monkey a chance...

Later, those traitors found Niyue, once again slaying this Divine King...

But the monkey ultimately became Niyue’s contingency plan, after a long cycle of reincarnation, uniting Ziwei Beidou, even nearly calling back Nijun...

Yet, sadly, what made Nijun irretrievable was, in the end, Nijun himself...

In the end, the monkey had to walk the path of Niku, like Niku, despite having unparalleled might, he extinguished his own light of protection for all beings...

And now, yet another butterfly has arrived...

This butterfly does not appear to be a backup left by Purple Dou; instead, it seems more like a reckless youth. Though being completely ignorant of the monumental causality here, it is still fearless in stepping onto this road of no return...

Niku loved the world, Nijun loved the Great Dao, Niyue loved all spirits, Purple Dou loved ideals...

Yet what this butterfly loves is only a woman, and the countless phantoms she left behind in the Sea of Reincarnation...

Compared with those supreme existences, the reason for this butterfly’s fight seems tiny, yet it is more pure, more obsessive...

Perhaps he can become one of the five spirits awaited by the master, or perhaps he will not be able to reach the heights of the former Divine King, unable to participate in the Five Spirits’ plan...

But no matter what, he came too late... otherwise, the Divine King Niyue might have awakened from eternal extinction as he did once for Purple Dou, leaving this child some assistance...

"Red sun, black moon, stars..." Ning Fan could feel that the words of Nanke the Old Immortal carried immense weight, and the causality within them was incomprehensible, even to those at the Third Realm of Tianren, unable to probe an iota!

Countless star-holding hands joined forces to conceal everything.

So he stopped delving into the matter and began considering ways to save the Northern Barbarian God.

As if trying it out, Ning Fan activated the Art of Red Kennedia Blooming that he had just recently learned.

Chiwei blooming, Chi Ming eternal!

To attain eternity, one must hold to enlightenment!

To achieve enlightenment, one must light the lamps of life!

Closing his eyes, darkness enveloped him, and suddenly a light appeared, then a second, a third... the seventh.

These were the Life Lanterns Ning Fan cultivated, and the cultivator of Life Lanterns could only have up to seven.

Lamps can be lit or extinguished. Extinguishing is easy, lighting is exceedingly difficult. As a person’s life ends, their lamp extinguishes; reincarnation blows it alight again. But if all seven lamps of an immortal go out, their thoughts scatter...

Upon opening his eyes, Ning Fan looked at the red lotus body of the Northern Barbarian God, only to see it perforated with countless holes; closing his eyes, he could see the Life Lanterns of the Northern Barbarian God.

Unlike Ning Fan’s seven brightly lit lamps, the Northern Barbarian God had already extinguished six of his. The last lamp burned weakly, about to be snuffed out.

Then, at the cost of extinguishing three lamps, Ning Fan restored the remaining lamp of the Northern Barbarian God, returning it to its original state.

In this way, though only one lamp remained for the Northern Barbarian God, as long as one flame endured, he could avoid death...

Yet, with Ning Fan’s current cultivation mastery, he couldn’t sacrifice lamps to ignite the Northern Barbarian God’s second Life Lantern.

The degree of cultivation proficiency is too low!

The lack of proficiency is due to the Chiwei Daoism being too high-grade, only possible to self-study and cultivate without external aid. The Black Wind Gourd, which could enhance the proficiency of divine skills, couldn’t be used for the complete Immortal Emperor Dao Technique due to its level disparity.

Could it be that the gourd’s grade itself wasn’t high enough, or the blood spirit inside was too inferior... Must I capture some Saints to refine into blood spirits for the gourd and assist in cultivating the Immortal Emperor Dao Technique? Forget it, perhaps that’s a bit too whimsical...

"This technique was learned to save your shattered soul, yet unexpectedly, it is at this moment that I save your shadow of reincarnation, so it wasn’t wasted..." Ning Fan mused secretly.

"Hiss! You just extinguished three Life Lanterns as you pleased!" Nanke the Old Immortal drew a sharp breath.

What is happening!

This butterfly only has seven Life Lanterns, yet it just started by extinguishing three, playing this big!

Are the cultivators of this era already this headstrong!

I understand you’re eager to save, but why don’t you ask me if there’s a smaller price, a better way to save?

"Senior, don’t worry, these mere lamps just need a little time, a little price, and they can be repaired again." Ning Fan explained.

Nanke was stunned.

Goodness!

Since when were Life Lanterns called mere!

You know you’ve learned some Fourth Step Dao techniques that can repair Life Lanterns, but that repair is never easy, and certainly not enough to treat life with disdain!

This felt like a conversation between two people, Jia and Yi, with Jia asking Yi: Brother, you’re deeply wounded, is it worth it for a woman!

Yi says: A mere mortal wound, not worth mentioning!

If this isn’t headstrong, what is!

It’s said that rigid easily breaks, but your rigidity is somewhat fleeting!

Is this really a disciple of Purple Dou? Doesn’t seem like it, doesn’t seem like it at all! This child resembles Two Elements more, and that little guy of Two Elements is indeed a reckless ironhead for eons...

Dare to plant the Niyue plum blossom, just adopted Niku’s crane feather, daring to record Nijun’s methods, daring to be overly familiar with Purple Dou, even daring to stake all his cultivation on a butterfly of unknown significance that even Purple Dou doesn’t take seriously...

Convinced, convinced! Can’t afford to provoke, can’t afford!

Such a headstrong person could never be someone who plays chess obediently, and the position of one of the Five Spirit Cultivators required by the Five Spirits Chessboard could never fall on this child.

Using the Five Spirits Chessboard to reverse the will of destiny? Is this master-disciple duo likely to follow the rules and play chess obediently?

Have you not heard Han Yuanji’s response to the Five Spirits Chessboard’s invitation back then!

Nanke: Little friend of Two Elements, with your demeanor, entering the reversal is a cinch; once you enter, one of the five spirits in the chessboard, none but you! Only you can save all beings and destiny!

Han Yuanji: Huh? Considering our acquaintance, helping you deal with destiny isn’t impossible, but, why is it chess? I clearly have two fists!

Nanke: ?

Han Yuanji: You say hammer here, I’ll hammer here! You say overturn the table, I’ll overturn the table! Play chess? I’ll beat him so badly he can’t hold his chess piece! Hahahaha!

Nanke: Forget it, I’ll still represent my master and wait for the next possibility...

And so he waited and waited, for one small possibility after another, but never again was there a peerless genius like Yin Yang who could reach the threshold of the Reverse Path.

Among the Purple Astral Immortal Cultivators, there were naturally many outstanding individuals, but none of them could go far on this path...

The Dongming Little Demon came seeking the Dao, he taught him the Yin Yang Moon technique, gifted him the Niyue Wine Gourd, but he failed to make good use of these items and was eventually outwitted, fished out and eliminated beyond the reincarnation shore...

The Immortal Benevolent Corpse came seeking the Dao, he taught him the Black Moon Puppetry, but this one was ultimately just a benevolent corpse, unable to tread the Saint Road...

Countless outstanding individuals came seeking the Dao, he, as the Ancestor of Enlightenment, selected those who seemed promising and taught them, but no one blossomed, no one bore fruit...

And now, a butterfly with excellent aptitude like the Yin Yang has appeared, but like Yin Yang, it’s stubborn and unusable...

However...

The butterfly, though unusable, seems to carry a fragrance similar to the Chiwei Flower, perhaps...

But that is for later; for now, we must abide by the butterfly’s wishes and prioritize saving the Northern Barbarian God. This is also Nanke’s wish.

"You indeed have the self-sacrifice technique, exchanging three for one, retrieving one Life Lantern of Hongling, but do you have twenty-one Life Lanterns to retrieve all her light?" asked Nanke the Old Immortal.

"Not as of now..." but perhaps with some methods, he might have them, Ning Fan mused.

Wait, Nanke calls the Northern Barbarian God Hongling... Is Hongling her name at this time...

"Don’t get distracted! The cost is too high, the gain too low! I have a better way, next time ask first, if even I have no solution, then you may act impetuously without worry," Nanke admonished, but his rebuke contained much concern; his heart was indeed very kind.

Nanke’s weakness is indeed his kindness; if not for having too much compassion always thinking to save others, with his capabilities and eternal body, who could lead him into calamity.

"Uh, senior sure knows best..." For some reason, facing Nanke who was merely in the Life Immortal Realm, Ning Fan felt a long-lost sense of pressure like facing a mentor.

It was unrelated to cultivation; this aura like a mentor was honed by Nanke after teaching countless outstanding individuals. Even the uninitiated Purple Dou and Yin Yang would stand obediently for training when they saw Nanke, and Ning Fan’s turn of training was nothing unusual. Ancestor of the Enlightenment Tree, is that a joke?

Under Communication with All Things, Ning Fan could clearly sense the pure, almost colossal kindness within Nanke.

However, excessive kindness will also become a weakness. With Ning Fan’s eyes in the Third Realm of Tianren, he could even see the fate of Nanke without intervention in the cycles of reincarnation.

The Northern Barbarian Country fell into the Immeasurable Catastrophe, the Northern Barbarian God was slain on the spot, Nanke wished to save the spirits yet ended up, together with North Pole Mountain, being seized by Zi Wei on the spot...

Wait a moment...

Currently, the Northern Barbarian God has not been slain on the spot, nor has Nanke been seized on the spot!

Why is this...

Then Ning Fan saw many causations and understood everything.

That’s right, on that day when Zi Wei sensed my arrival, he intended to stop me, yet it was not completely successful. While he despised me, he was wary of my next arrival! In Zi Wei’s eyes, while I am but an insignificant variable, even the smallest change is not to be ignored in the grand affair of sainthood. Thus, when he took North Pole Mountain, he did so hastily and decisively, without contemplating battle nor wasting time to wholly eliminate the Northern Barbarian God nor seeking to seize Nanke after taking North Pole Mountain...

Moreover, due to my intervention, while the Soul-Seizing Chess descended early, it did not significantly impair the combat strength of the Northern Barbarian Country, especially the Northern Barbarian God, who faced significantly reduced depletion within the Soul-Seizing Chess, thus gaining considerable power to protect itself when facing Zi Wei, successfully retaining a Life Lantern...

Therefore...

Though I arrived late, I still managed to alter some things... Thus, all that I have done bears significance and is not in vain!

"Yes, young man! Both the old me and Hongling are able to be here now because of you! This cycle of reincarnation is a world that exists because of you! So, don’t feel guilty, don’t blame yourself, don’t hesitate, don’t be confused, just as the Supreme Inversion King among the Three Reverse Kings said, this is a world where belief can bring existence!"

"Alright, next we must begin preparations for the four treasures old me requires!"

"Originally I required five treasures, but since you’ve preserved Hongling’s last Life Lantern, things have become much simpler, though the cost has increased considerably..."

"Of the two items required, according to my calculations, one should already be with you. One is the Refining God Cauldron, the other is the Melting Refinement Furnace. With these two ancient artifacts, the difficulty of healing Hongling can be reduced by fifty percent... In addition to these two items, you also need to obtain two other items. Among the surviving members of the Northern Barbarian Fan Family, one holds an ancient country’s millstone, try borrowing it; the last item is your Black Wind Gourd. The story of this item is significant, it was borrowed from me by the Dongming Little Demon when he sought the Dao, it should now be returned. If you’re reluctant to part with this treasure, I won’t forcibly seize it, though it would be a bit of a pity. This was my Master’s wine gourd from days past; before the Dongming Little Demon encountered harm, he intended to return this gourd to an old acquaintance, yet due to Black Wind Child’s betrayal, the matter fell through...given our happenstance, I intend to retrieve it and offer it before my master’s spirit; as compensation, I will endeavor to find another long-sought gourd for you and lend it to you..."

Just as Nanke finished speaking, another angry voice resonated from somewhere within the formation.

"Nanke the treacherous tree, do not overreach! I, Gourd Master, am the prime general under the master, the supreme inverted king’s ancient treasure of the nation! Beneath the heavens, I am invincible, above the heavens, one exchange for one! How dare you lend me out without the master’s consent! You’re reckless!"

With Gourd Master’s anger, a sudden burst of endless blood light soared, transforming into an immense giant face-shaped gourd shadow, overlooking all life from above!

Yet he was not looking at all life, but at... Ning Fan!

What kind of joke is this!

Gourd Master only wishes to follow my master Niyue into the Fourth Step of battle! An insignificant Nascent Soul phase acquired deity, dreaming of controlling me, is just wishful thinking!

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