Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

Ning waved his arm, and the table before him became filled with Immortal nectar and spirit-fruit.

“Although the wine and the fruit are a bit lacking, I suppose they are edible.” The white-robed youth took a step forward and sat down in front of Ning. Picking up a gourd of wine, he took two sips.

“Senior, might I ask why you have come to see me?” Ning asked nervously.





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Book 12, Chapter 39 - The Most Mysterious Daofather


The white-robed youth laughed as he spoke. “Young friend Ji Ning, you are a bit too nervous. You don’t even know who I am, but you are asking me what I’m doing here. Aren’t you being a bit too impatient?”

Ning muttered to himself. Nervous? A Pure Yang True Immortal had just sat down in front of him. How could he not be nervous? After this Conclave, Ning had come to understand quite well that unless a True Immortal or an Empyrean God had taken a fancy to you, they wouldn’t pay you any heed, even if you were a so-called genius. After all, there were far too many ‘geniuses’, but how many would be able to overcome the Celestial Tribulation to become a Celestial Immortal? Much less become a Pure Yang True Immortal.

“Dare I ask who you are, senior?” Ning asked.

“A carefree figure of the Three Realms, born in the era of the ancient Primordial World, where I gained my Dao. I am Lord Jiang.” The white-robed youth said with a sigh, “I rarely roam the outside world, and even when I do I rarely use my own name. Thus, there are very, very few people who know of me.”

He then winked towards Ning. “I just told you my real name.”

Ning relaxed a little bit. It seemed as though this person bore him no ill-will.

“Also, don’t addresss me as senior this and senior that. You can just address me as brother Jiang,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said.

Ning was startled. Brother Jiang? For a Pure Yang True Immortal to tell him to refer to him as just ‘brother’…Ning was no fool. He naturally understood the meaning hidden within these words.

“But it seems if I don’t spell things out, you won’t be able to calm down.” The white-robed Lord Jiang glanced sideways at Little Qing and the Whitewater Hound. “Have your two spirit-beasts step back for now.”

“Alright,” Ning immediately said. He had Uncle White and Little Qing temporarily leave. A Pure Yang True Immortal could crush him to death; Ning was naturally going to listen to his instructions with obedience.

……

Within the courtyard, only Ji Ning and Lord Jiang were present. They were seated facing each other.

“I imagine that you have already guessed that I have come today per the orders of my master to receive you,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said with a smile. “In other words, my master wishes to take you on as a disciple, and you shall become my junior apprentice-brother.”

Ning could barely breathe. He couldn’t help but ask, “Then brother Jiang, your master is…?”

“He is naturally one of the most supreme major powers of the Three Realms, a Daofather-level figure,” the white-robed Lord Jiang said.

Ning’s eyes lit up. It was as he had thought. When this person had instructed him to refer to himself as ‘brother Jiang’, Ning had already been able to guess at what this was about. But upon hearing the full explanation, he still couldn’t help but feel that this was inconceivable.

A Daofather!

He had fought and clawed to become the champion of this Conclave, but in the end, Daofather Crimsonbright still did not choose him to be his disciple. The Sloppy Daoist, in turn, was chosen as a disciple by Grand Emperor Xuanwu. There was nothing Ning could do about these things, and he had already resigned himself to becoming the disciple of a lower-ranked Pure Yang True Immortal. But now, a Pure Yang True Immortal named Lord Jiang had appeared, saying that he represented his master!

“Ji Ning.” The giant yellow bear’s voice suddenly rang out in Ning’s mind. “Lord Jiang said that he was born in the Primordial Era, and gained his Dao in that era as well! But…I’ve never even heard of him. And he says his master is a Daofather…you need to figure out exactly which Daofather it is. Some of the Daofathers of the Three Realms were good friends of my master, Daoist Threelives…but some of them were his mortal enemies! Don’t end up becoming an apprentice to one of his mortal enemies. Given a Daofather’s vision, if you learn the Dao from him, he will sooner or later see hints of the truth and discover that there is a relationship between you and Daoist Threelives. If you become apprenticed to one of his mortal enemies, then you’ll be throwing yourself up for capture.”

Ning instantly came to his senses. He felt as though someone had just poured a bucket of ice water over him!

“Dare I ask which Daofather it is?” Ning asked.

Lord Jiang’s eyes had a look of reverence in them as he spoke.

“Master was born from the primordial chaos, and was good friends with Pangu and Nuwa.”

“He became famous in the Primordial Era, and has killed many Fiendgod Daofathers.”

“His name is known throughout the Three Realms, but very few have ever seen him.”

“The Buddhist Sangha, the Daoist Path; he is a master of both. With but a dream, he knows of all the affairs of the Three Realms.”

“He has many disciples, but very few know this.”

“In terms of who is the most mysterious figure in the Three Realms…it is my master!”

The white-robed Lord Jiang nodded as he spoke.

Ning, hearing this, was stunned. “Who on earth is he?”

“Mount Innerheart [1. In Chinese, this was ‘fangcun’, which literally means a square inch, but metaphorically refers to the workings of a person’s inner heart.], the Tristar Crescent Abode…Patriarch Subhuti!” [2. Subhuti is not only a famous disciple of Gautama Buddha in real history, he is also extremely famous as being the teacher of Sun Wukong, the person who taught Sun Wukong Daoist magic and his legendary 72 Transformations.] The white-robed Lord Jiang’s eyes lit up, and he smiled as he looked at Ning.

“It’s him. It’s him! The Tristar Crescent Abode…the most mysterious Daofather…the most secretive Daofather! Ji Ning, you’ve hit the jackpot. I…ahahaha…you really hit the jackpot! Patriarch Subhuti actually knows about you. He actually knows about your existence. How in the world does he know?!” The voice of the giant yellow bear rang out within Ning’s mind. Clearly, he was incomparably excited.

“…is it really necessary for you to be so worked up?” Ning asked mentally.

“Of course! You have no idea how mighty he is! Ji Ning, let me put it to you this way…in terms of teaching disciples, Patriarch Subhuti is definitely one of the absolute most peerless figures of the Three Realms. What this Lord Jiang said earlier was absolutely correct; Patriarch Subhuti truly has produced many formidable disciples. However, Patriarch Subhuti has a rule; whenever the disciples he has taught leaves his side, unless he gives permission, they are forbidden from telling others that he is their master. Thus, even back in the Primordial Era, there were already many powerful and seemingly unaffiliated wandering Immortals who were actually under the command of Patriarch Subhuti!” [3. This is a play off what happened in Journey to the West. When Sun Wukong left Subhuti’s tutelage, Subhuti ordered him not to tell anyone that he had been Sun Wukong’s master; he knew how unruly this monkey was and was afraid he would lose face/be implicated if others realized that he was the one who had taught Sun Wukong.]

“Ordinary people don’t know about this, but my master, Daofather Threelives, did. He knew exactly how formidable Patriarch Subhuti is.” The giant yellow bear was extremely excited right now.