Forefather Zhou could no longer suppress himself after a moment and said, “If you are really able to help me, I will repay you. I can tell you the cultivation method I comprehended from this moon.”

Hearing this, Ding Ning’s expression was still calm but disdain rose like wildfire inside him. He could not see Forefather Zhou’s abdomen underneath the fox skin jacket, but he could imagine that the energy sea of this forefather would be swelled, and the vital energy in his jade palace as hard as steel.

“This cold moon may be the problem.” He looked regretfully at Forefather Zhou and said, “I feel that this method itself has problems.”

Forefather Zhou sank into true amazement.

He took a deep breath and did his best to disguise his true emotions. He even put on a humble attitude and asked, “What problem do you feel there is?”

Ding Ning’s brow furrowed slightly. He said, “Why is it not a rising sun but a cold moon?”

Forefather Zhou instinctive thought of the painting in puzzlement.

Ding Ning continued, “The painting has dark and light parts. If there is a cold moon, then just like the cold night right now, the distant mountains should all be pitch black. It should not be possible to see anything clearly, to see the white clouds turn into rain, to see rocks falling off the mountain and the fish tails splash.”

Forefather Zhou changed expression and said in shock, “You mean, the painting is clearly during daytime, and that cold moon is not correct?”

Ding Ning smiled coldly inside. In reality, the grandmaster that left behind the Painting Remnant Scroll had great meaning in his actions.

Distant scenes could be clearly seen when the moon was full. This was to have people in the future guess why it was not a full moon so they could detect the most important seal and the deepest true meaning that the grandmaster wanted to expression.

But Forefather Zhou had studied for so many years and could not understand this. His cultivation, conduct, and mental state were far lesser than the grandmaster who had left behind the Painting Remnant Scroll. After thinking so hard for many years, his mind was most likely a muddle.

So even though his words contained some true meaning, he did not worry at that Forefather Zhou could obtain true comprehension. He smirked inside but his expression remained unusually calm.

“The presence of this crescent moon is too cold.” He nodded and said, “Woman as yin, man as yang. So I suspect that this method in this corner may be a method only women can cultivate.”

Forefather Zhou’s face turned white. He said in shock, “A method only women can cultivate?”

Ding Ning said apologetically, “This junior doesn’t know if the feeling is right or now .. but this scroll is full of tactics to use against enemies except for here, where it is a cultivation method. The corner of this crescent moon is so far away I suspect that the grandmaster who left this painting is likely to be a woman. Her intention was that other places in this painting can be comprehended and studied, but this corner, related to the cultivation of vital energy, is something only women can cultivate.”

Forefather Zhou’s breathing almost completely stopped. His body trembled constantly.

Countless sharp voices roared in his mind, laughing in disdain … had all his cultivation been a joke to cultivate something only women could cultivate?

His mental power instinctively touched his completely solidified jade palace. Feeling the swollenness and heaviness of his abdomen, his heart felt a flash of pain. Light seemed to flash through his mind.

Cold moon … cold moon … monthly!

Was it really so? This was yin and fiendish energy that had knotted together. If a woman cultivated, they would possibly expel this during their monthly and their body would be fine.

Was this the true meaning of this cold moon?

His breathing sped up, his presence shaking and causing the entire underground palace to rumble.

The entire courtyard started to tremble. The turbulent air squeezed uncomfortably into Ding Ning’s ears. He coughed and covered his ears.

Forefather Zhou laughed bitterly. But he was a formidable person and controlled his emotions at this moment.

“Apologies.” He looked at Ding Ning and said softly, “I have let you seen a joke. Thinking of my century of comprehension being wrong from the start, I am too disappointed.”

Ding Ning gave a shallow bow, and said, “This junior is terrified. These are just my thoughts, and may not be right.”

“This possibility is built on the foundation of my many years of comprehension, so it is very likely.” Forefather Zhou also bowed and said bitterly, “I comprehended the vital energy method and sword method here in my hundredth year. During my preliminary tries, it was extremely powerful, but after a certain period of time, my jade palace started to solidify. I thought that this was unique to the method and it would transform in the future. But the situation grew increasingly worse. If I was wrong from the start and this is a method only women can cultivate, what method do you think I can use to recover?”

Ding Ning’s eyes flashed imperceptibly. He bowed his head and said, “If it really is so, to recover … Elder, your understanding of cultivation should far surpass mine. If this is extreme yin, in my view, you can only use extreme yang to go against it.”

Forefather Zhou felt slightly reassured. He reflected and felt that he had lost his calm. Then he felt a thread of hope rise from his disappointment.

If things with extreme yang could resolve the vital energy block in his jade palace … if he could once again use the vital energy in his jade palace, even if he would never again use the cultivation method on this painting and that sword essence, with his presence cultivation he could still surpass his past peak and rise again in Changling!

“For things with extreme yang to enter the energy sea, one needs to merge in the physical energies.”

Forefather Zhou looked at Ding Ning and said in a discussing whisper, “Then I will need natural spirit medicines with great yang energy.”

Ding Ning said calmly, “I think it is so.”

Forefather Zhou remained silent in thought. A moment later, he recovered his benevolent and harmonious expression. He said, “I will send you out now.”

After turning and taking several steps, as his energy collided with the energy of the black door which opened again, Forefather Zhou stopped in his steps and said softly, “If you feel it is useful, I can tell you the cultivation method I obtained from this corner. While only women can cultivate this, according to you, it is powerful, and it will not cause any harm if you do not cultivate to a certain degree and for a long time. For you, you may be able to use this in the short term.”

You really have such a good heart? You will not even spare an unfamiliar youth that may have helped you … you only want me to cultivate this method as well, and see if I will search and find any means useful to you once I end up in the same state as you. Ding Ning smirked inside but he showed natural shock in his expression. He said in a trembling voice, “Is this possible?”

Forefather Zhou smiled slightly and said, “I received a report as you entered Ink Garden. I know that you are on the Book of Talents and attending the Min Mountain Sword Trials this summer. I think that the cultivation method that I comprehended from this corner of the Painting Remnant Scroll will be of great use to you in the Min Mountain Sword Trials. Of course, after I tell you, you can consider whether you should practice it or not.”

Ding Ning inhaled, looked at his back, and said, “How can I repay Elder’s favor?”

Forefather Zhou smiled and said, “When I think of a place where you can help me, you can just do your best.”

This sounded bold and free, but his eyes were filled with coldness and ruthlessness.

The night descended and the sky was full of stars.

Xie Changsheng, Zhang Yi and the others were slightly worried, especially when the ground had trembled shortly before. They did not know what had happened and couldn’t help but worry for Ding Ning’s safety.

At this time, a female attendant of the Zhou Family came holding a lantern. She bowed gracefully to the people in front of the Painting Remnant Scroll and said, “The forefather is personally guiding Mister Ding in cultivating. It may take some more time. Forefather has ordered the Elegant Pavilion of Ink Garden to prepare a banquet for everyone. Sirs, you may first go to eat, and then he will come back with Mister Ding.”

“Even Forefather Zhou is personally teaching him cultivation methods, Ding Ning really is …” Xie Changsheng and the others that did not understand thought that Forefather Zhou liked Ding Ning’s talent and were full of admiration.

—

In a silent room of the courtyard, Ding Ning closed his eyes and sat as Forefather Zhou slowly talked. In the span of a few breaths, that clear meridian diagram appeared in Ding Ning’s mind. In his internal perception, the twelve meridians in his body were separated out.

The important meridian points were connected like silver beads on the twelve channels marked on the diagram from the Painting Remnant Scroll’s corner piece. These resonated with the lines in his mind. In his perception, countless threads of white lights appeared in the world around him.

He opened his body and these white threads of light connected to the silvery bead-like meridian points in his body. The moment they connected, he felt dots of primal energies of the universe slide into the meridian points in his body along the white threads of light.

Those meridian points shone like bright lanterns.

When all the meridian points were ignited, the primal energies of the universe connected into one and started to flow, turning into a cold and murderous stream of energy that was extremely heavy like metal.

His meridians constantly absorbed these dots of primal energies. The cold and murderous stream of energy grew stronger and started to give off a dark black color in his perception.

Following his thoughts, this black stream of energy was completely suppressed into a meridian point. With a boom, this black flow of energy compressed and changed into a thin black crystal that sank into the meridian point.

The thin crystal looked like a small icy sword, or a crystal seal.

Translator Ramblings: Forefather Zhou is a wily, cunning man.