Beyond the Divine States

Chapter 21 The Realm

The woman finally noticed that behind the curtain, a young man and a young woman wearing the Taoist robe were sitting there, both of whom were about 15 or 16 years old. They still looked somewhat childish.

Ning Xiaoling who was in a trance suddenly became spirited and then gasped in admiration, "What an immortal cultivator! You've recovered so fast after being so seriously injured."

Ning Changjiu looked at the woman's vigilant eyes and explained, "We found you unconscious in the yard before. My fellow disciple and I carried you inside. I boiled the water and bought the medicine while she helped apply the medicine to your wounds and bind them up for you. Don't worry about it."

He talked unhurriedly with unquestionable calmness.

The woman tried to sit up but the pain of being torn apart just siphoned away her strength bit by bit, pressing her back on the bed.

She looked at the young man and young girl seriously, saying, "Thank you for saving me. If I go back to the sect, I will try my best to send you a reward."

After saying that, she couldn't help huddling, hiding her face in the shadow of the curtain of the bed.

Ning Xiaoling asked in confusion, "You are so beautiful. Why do you have to put on a mask?"

In the shadow under the curtain, the woman's face appeared even colder and more aloof. "As a cultivator of the Heaven Realm, I need tranquil and peace, so I surely have to isolate myself from the secular world."

Ning Xiaoling moved the chair to the right so as to see the woman's pretty and flawless face clearly, saying smilingly with her chin rested on her hand, "You are already so isolated. No need to be more isolated."

The woman was slightly swayed.

She knew that she was pretty. Since she started cultivating, she had noticed that some fellow disciples were hiding in the distance and peeping at her when she was listening to the spring and washing her sword.

As a reserved woman, she seemed to be silent with her head lowered but she actually knew everything. As she grew older, her fellow disciples or the young people of the other immortal sects of the South Continent often expressed their affection for her. Due to her sophisticated sword mind, she could see through those romantic feelings. Then she just devoted herself to cultivation and paid no heed to others' affection or just pretended that she didn't recognize it.

As her realm was enhanced, plus her stunning swordsmanship, fewer and fewer people expressed their affection for her. Instead, they increasingly regarded her with reverence and admiration.

Now, listening to the girl's compliment, she finally had a faint smile on her cold face, saying, "You are so adorable. Have you ever cultivated? What realm are you at now?"

Ning Xiaoling thought and said, "It has been one year since I started to learn from my master. However, he has passed away before I could learn anything."

The woman looked at the young girl and increasingly felt that she was a hard-to-get talent for Taoism cultivation with a righteous bearing and a lovable temperament. She said in a deep voice, "Come closer. Let me take a look at you."

Ning Xiaoling walked over obediently and sat by her bed.

The woman raised her hand with difficulty, put it against Ning Xiaoling's forehead and closed her eyes in meditation. After a while, she slightly withdrew her fingers. When she opened her eyes, there was a clearly surprised glint in her eyes.

"You are such a hard-won good talent for Taoism cultivation, even hard to find in the cultivation sects. It is a pity that you followed your master for cultivation," she said.

Ning Xiaoling touched her own forehead and said smilingly, "I don't know I'm that good."

The woman looked at Ning Changjiu on the other side, thinking that their master was good at picking disciples. These two disciples looked clean and pretty, who must be extraordinary at one glance. She couldn't understand how the envoys sent by the immortals missed such a young man and young girl at the same time so that an old Taoist priest took them as his disciples.

She beckoned to Ning Changjiu and put her hand on his forehead too.

Ning Changjiu asked with a smile, "Miss Immortal, how is it?"

The woman opened her eyes and felt a bit disappointed. The young man's acupoints were all blocked up and his sea of Qi was tightly shrunken. He could hardly cultivate in an ordinary way. It would be lucky for him if he could reach the Profound Realm. Although for ordinary people, it would be great enough to cultivate, but among the cultivators, he was only average...

She was not good at lying so she said, "In terms of immortal cultivation, it is much harder for you than your fellow disciple."

To her surprise, the young man didn't look disappointed.

He had quite a good temperament.

The woman suddenly thought of one thing and looked at them, saying seriously, "You've done a great favor for me. Since you've lost your master, how about joining the Oracle Sword Heavenly Sect? If you don't mind, I would like to take you as my disciples."

The generous offer took Ning Xiaoling by surprise. Never had she heard of the Oracle Sword Heavenly Sect, but it was definitely because she was ignorant and ill-informed. Being able to join a cultivation school referred to as a sect was the pinnacle of cultivation in the South Continent, which was the hard-won lucky chance for ordinary people. With her lips slightly trembling, she felt somewhat confused.

The woman waited for them to reply quietly. In her heart, her sect was quite important to her and it was also a dream place of cultivation for numerous people. Since her master was in the closed-door training, regarding disciple recruitment, only some accomplished fellow disciples could enroll some outer disciples. Now that she was willing to make an exception and bring them back to the sect, ordinary people would say yes gratefully without hesitation.

It was fair enough to repay their favor of saving her life in this way.

However, these two young people were still hesitant about giving a response.

The woman was a bit surprised to look at them, wondering whether they knew what Oracle Sword Heavenly Sect meant.

She asked in a gentle voice, "Are you doubting the strength of the sect just because I'm so seriously injured?"

Ning Xiaoling hastened to shake her head. "I did see you turn into a streak of sword Qi and rise before the imperial palace, which was quite impressive. I'm afraid that I can't be as good as you even after I cultivate for a lifetime."

Looking at this lovely young girl, the woman gave a smile. Yet, at the thought of the evil fox which had entered the city, her slightly better mood became gloomy again. She heaved a sigh. "I'm still less competent."

Ning Changjiu asked, "May I ask who injured you?"

The woman said with a cold voice, "A fox spirit... A very strong one. I can be sure that it is still incomplete. Notwithstanding, I'm still no match for it. According to the fox spirit, it had lived for a few centuries. It used to be a great evil in the Five Realms..."

"Five Realms?" Ning Changjiu was slightly astonished.

The woman came to her senses. Generally, ordinary cultivators knew very little about the elementary immortal skills. How could they know the realm division of basically the pinnacle of the secular world?

She explained, "Legend has it that above the realm of Purple Court, there is a kind of realm beyond imagination, referred to as Five Realms. The Five Realms are Human Realm, Heaven Realm, Evil Realm, Hell Realm and Ghost Realm. These are five cultivation paths in the secular world. It is said that as long as you pick one and cultivate to perfection, with a suitable opportunity, you can make it to the Five Realms. I used to take it as a legend. Even our sovereign also remains at the peak of the realm of Purple Court for 60 years."

Then she smiled lightly. "I shouldn't tell you this now. It may be too distant for you. Profound Realm, Immortal Realm and the realm of Long Life are the Three Great Realms on the road of cultivation in the true sense. Above the Three Great Realms is the realm of Purple Court. Purple Court has three stages. Although one may reach the realm of Purple Court after breaking through the Three Great Realms, he won't know it is extremely difficult to reach the realm of Purple Court until he really starts cultivating... After you join the sect with me and cultivate for ten years, you will be expected to reach for Taoism if you can cross the threshold of the Immortal Realm."

She seemed certain that they wouldn't reject her offer. Now, just like teaching her disciples, she slowly introduced the knowledge to them.

Ning Xiaoling listened to her in a daze and kept what she said in mind, asking, "Why is the realm of Long Life named in this way? Does it mean prolonging life?"

The woman answered, "If you can reach the realm of Long Life, you can prolong your life by 100 years, but it is extremely difficult for most people. According to my master, I'm the most gifted one he has ever met over the past 100 years. Since I joined the sect at the age of four, I've been cultivating for 20 years. By now, I've only been at the realm of Long Life. Besides, I can foresee that I can't break through the bottleneck of Purple Court within ten years."

Ning Changjiu was not thinking about this. Based on his vague recollection of his last life, it was recorded in the book that there were six realms. Where was the remaining one realm?

Ning Xiaoling said worriedly, "But Miss Sword Immortal, now that the evil is so strong that even you can't defeat it, how can we get out of the city?"

The woman said, "Before it is fully recovered, we must find a way to go back to the imperial palace and fetch the blue-and-white sedan. Then I can send you away."

Ning Changjiu said, "Something is happening in the imperial palace. We shouldn't go back there for now."

Ning Xiaoling said lightly, "If the old fox comes here now..."

Ning Changjiu interrupts, "Rest assured. The primary goal of the old fox is not her or us. Supposedly, it will go to the imperial palace first, but I don't know how long Zhao Xiang'er can insist."

The woman shook her head with a grin. "The old fox's evil power is strong beyond imagination. In the whole South Continent, no one can kill it but the sovereign. Besides, the sovereign has got a heavenly inspiration and decided to go to the Central Land--Shenzhou to seek an opportunity to break through the realm of Purple Court and enter the Five Realms."

She only felt that her sword mind was unstable again. After composing herself, she looked at the two young people with a serious countenance. "By the way, may I have your names?"

Ning Changjiu said, "My fellow disciple and I were bought by our master, so we both use his family name, Ning. My given name is Changjiu, which means longevity, and my fellow disciple is Xiaoling, which means generations by generations."

Ning Xiaoling nodded aside, totally having no idea that her name contained such a special meaning. She kept it in mind in secret and wanted to use it when she made a self-introduction to others. Looking at the woman whose face took on an unhealthy whitish hue yet still appeared stunningly beautiful, she asked curiously,

"What's your name then?"

Then, the woman had an awkward glint in her bright eyes. She puckered her lips lightly and seemed to have a bone in the throat.