Grinding Cultivation Toward Martial Saint

According to his understanding, only the True Immortal Realm possesses the trait of being forgotten upon sight.

Once, his realm was insufficient; no matter how many times he saw the Moon Palace lady, he would forget in a flash.

Yet this time is different.

After becoming an Immortal of the Primordial Spirit, he discovered he could no longer forget the face of the Moon Palace lady.

If this Moon Palace lady belongs to the True Immortal Realm of the Third Realm of Immortal Dao, it implies that in her eyes, the Martial Path pursued by the Martial Saint is only limited by lifespan; with enough lifespan, the Martial Saint could reach the level of a True Immortal comparable to the Third Realm of Immortal Dao.

From this point, he could also understand why the Martial Saint was so strong; the potential to be on par with True Immortals means that at peak strength, one is likely to possess the combat power of the Second Realm of Immortal Dao, the Heavenly Immortal Realm!

"I wonder if senior’s realm used to be the Third Realm of Immortal Dao, the True Immortal Realm?" Jiang Ning composed his heart spirit and asked.

"Correct!" The Moon Palace lady nodded slightly.

"Then should the junior continue on the path of Martial Arts?" Jiang Ning asked indirectly.

"You may!" the lady nodded and continued, "In this era, continuing on the path of Martial Arts is the best choice."

"Does Senior know about the fusion of the Ten Domains?" Jiang Ning asked again.

"Naturally, I do!" The lady nodded, "I have spoken with the will of the Heavenly Dao of this world; how could I not be aware of the great changes to occur in the future?"

At this point, the lady looked at Jiang Ning again: "In the near future, the fusion of the Ten Domains will result in great changes to the world, and the celestial path will restart. Hence, your Immortal Dao foundation cannot be neglected. Currently, you use Yang-Yin as your foundation, with Nine Layers of Profound Light, making it an excellent Immortal Foundation, apt for a True Immortal."

"When the celestial path restarts in the future, you might embark on the immortal path, having the chance to stand beside me."

"If you use the Taiyin and Taiyang origin to temper your Primordial Spirit and enhance your foundation, should you embark on the immortal path one day, you would surely open the Yin-Yang Dao flower and condense the Yin-Yang Dao fruit, with a ten out of ten chance of achieving True Immortal. In the future, you will have two choices."

"But..." the lady paused, continuing, "The path of Martial Arts, in my view, has great potential. After the path walked by the Martial Saint, its potential is not inferior to that of the Immortal Dao. It seeks internally rather than externally, does not rely on the external environment, and no matter how the world changes, the great power within oneself remains unaffected. The ultimate potential of that path is yet to be realized; the Martial Saint did not reach the end of the path."

A brief moment later.

Jiang Ning’s figure slowly appeared within the hall, before the Divine Woman statue.

The words of the Moon Palace lady still echoed in his mind, her incomparable visage still lingering, not forgotten like before.

"Greetings, Dongling Marquis!" Xiao Emei, seeing Jiang Ning appear, immediately saluted.

Jiang Ning nodded, his eyes still introspective.

Coming to the Water Moon Sword Palace and entering the Grotto Heaven within the Divine Woman statue was to verify some of his thoughts and indirectly gather some information.

What he ultimately gained satisfied him.

On one hand, it corroborated some of his thoughts; on the other, he received some unexpected guidance from the Moon Palace lady’s mouth.

The Taiyin and Taiyang origin could further advance his Primordial Spirit foundation.

After further advancement, if the celestial path restarts and he embarks on the immortal path, he would surely achieve the True Immortal Realm.

This is the Third Realm among the four realms of Immortal Dao.

Just this point alone made the journey worthwhile.

All the thoughts and musings in his mind flashed by in an instant.

He then slightly calmed his heart spirit and looked at Xiao Emei who appeared within the hall.

"How long have you been here?"

"Replying to the Marquis, I just arrived!" Xiao Emei, dressed in a plain white palace robe, replied respectfully to Jiang Ning, with a hint of aloofness.

"Take good care of the Water Moon Sword Palace, I have other matters to attend to." Jiang Ning spoke, his gaze toward the direction of the Royal Capital.

He knew it was time for him to return.

Yesterday, he left the Royal Capital with the Martial Saint to visit the Demon Country, but the dispute between Ji Xuan and him had not ended.

Now having reached the realm of the Immortal of the Primordial Spirit, he felt more confident and it was time to return to address the matter.

"Yes, Marquis!" Xiao Emei respectfully responded to Jiang Ning.

In the next moment.

He saw Jiang Ning transform into a stream of black and white profound light, soaring into the sky.

By the time she realized it, Jiang Ning had disappeared from her sight.

Her figure swayed as she reached the outside of the hall.

In her view, Jiang Ning’s figure was nowhere to be seen.

Only the end of the sky was connected by a line formed from the black and white shadow flying out of the hall.

...

Royal Capital.

Imperial Palace.

Chengqian Hall.

The confrontation of three top Martial Arts Strongmen, although merely in words, an intangible sense of oppression had already quietly permeated.

The entire scene was silent.

Even the only remaining imperial princes, Ji Minghao and Ji Mingyuan, dared not speak more at this moment.

On the palace wall.

The Beicang King slowly spoke, "General Shen, what the Divine Might King said is very true. Before His Majesty fell into a coma, he entrusted the court affairs to the Joint King and us, also intending to maintain the situation and prevent internal chaos from losing control. The struggle between the princes depends on their means; life and death are determined by destiny, success or failure by the heavens. If you and I directly engage in combat, this Royal Capital, this Great Xia, would instantly become a battlefield of the strongest, resulting in devastation and the collapse of the nation. These rules must not be broken."

Shen Xiao’s face was solemn.

How could he not know these rules?

Once top Martial Arts strongmen directly intervene in the fight for the imperial throne, the ensuing chain reaction could shake the foundations of the nation.

In the history of the struggle for the imperial throne, strongmen like them have never made a move, at most standing behind a prince to state their stance.

For strongmen like them, even if they stood wrongly, changing to another prince taking the throne had no impact on them.

Their Martial Arts strength gave them such composure.

He appeared today with the intention to deter, to be the last shield of protection for Ji Minghao, but if it came to real combat, facing the Beicang King and the Divine Might King, both at the peak of Martial Arts, he had no chance of winning and would completely disrupt the balance.

The reason he reached this point was due to the persistent pleas of his daughter in recent days.

Initially, he had no intention of getting involved in the struggle for the throne.

His gaze instinctively turned to his daughter.

Shen Mengyun bit her lip hard, her face slightly pale, and her hand gripping the sword trembled due to force.

She looked at Ji Minghao again, the young Eighth Prince’s back was straight, his expression calm, but the deep-seated resolve and unwillingness in his eyes could not be hidden from her and her father’s eyes.

Seeing this, Shen Xiao sighed inwardly again.

The reason he supported Ji Minghao was indeed partly due to his daughter’s affection, but more so because of Ji Minghao’s close relationship with Dongling Marquis Jiang Ning, who was valued by the Martial Saint.

If Ji Minghao assumed the throne, leveraging Jiang Ning’s potential influence and the residual greatness of the Martial Saint, they might stabilize Great Xia in future chaotic times.

But now, the Beicang King and Divine Might King clearly sided with Ji Mingyuan, or at least tacitly approved of his actions.

These two princes, one defending the Northern Territory, resisting the Barbarians, with countless cavalry under his command.

The other was from the Martial Saint Mansion, the Martial Saint’s first disciple, in command of the Mystic Sky Army.

Their stance, to some extent, represented the will of some powerful figures.

Like the Beicang King staying in the Royal Capital for so long without any northern disturbances, it was apparent he had communicated with Prince Zhenbei.

As for Li Tianwen, it was even more different.

In the lineage of the Martial Saint Mansion, Li Tianwen was the senior student.

"Father!" Shen Mengyun couldn’t help but call out softly, her eyes full of pleading.

She knew if her father retreated due to rules and pressure, Ji Minghao had no chance of survival today.

Ji Mingyuan had schemed until this point; if he killed his brothers, he would never leave the Eighth Prince, this most threatening opponent, alive.

Shen Xiao raised his hand, stopping his daughter’s words.

He looked up at the Beicang King and Divine Might King on the palace wall and said in a deep voice, "What the two princes said, Shen knows. The rules, Shen also understands. But..." He changed his tone sharply, looking sharply at Ji Mingyuan, "The Fifth Prince harms his siblings, acting with cruelty and ruthlessness. If such a person ascends to the throne, how would it be a blessing to the nation and the common people? Rules are dead, but people are alive. If today we allow such fratricide to succeed, where would Great Xia’s legal order be? Where would morality stand?"

Upon hearing this, Ji Mingyuan cupped his hands toward Shen Xiao: "General Shen, it has always been the victor who reigns since ancient times. Eighth brother’s misstep today means he lost!"