Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

The question of who Ning had taken on his master was indeed quite an intriguing one. This was because any power who took on Ning as a disciple would have at least somewhat offended Daofather Crimsonbright’s side!

Still…the Crimsonbright League wouldn’t hold anything against Ning personally. This was because if one was to take on a disciple, the disciple had to be willing! True Immortals, Empyrean Gods, Daofathers…anyone taking on a disciple had to ask if the disciple was willing to accept him as a master! If Ning was unwilling, nobody could force him. For Ning to willingly run off with someone else and take him or her as his master only meant that the Grand Xia Emperor would have to suffer this loss in silence.

“If you are free, young friend Ji Ning, you can pay a visit to the marquisate of Stillwater,” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont said with a chortle.

“Definitely,” Ning said.

“Right. I won’t interrupt your reunion with your comrades any longer.” Celestial Immortal Hunchmont immediately turned, still-leaning on his gnarled staff, and gracefully departed.

Within the hall.

“Ji Ning, Stillwater Commandery is a bit chaotic right now. You need to be careful. Although our Black-White College stands on the side of the Northmont clan of Stillwater…we can’t just stupidly offer ourselves up and die for them for no reason,” Immortal Fivecraze said in a low voice. All the other Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals present all nodded and looked towards Ning.

Ji Ning and the Sloppy Daoist were the two mighty future pillars of their Black-White College! They didn’t wish for Ning to be taken advantage of.

Ning nodded. “I understand. Right…has my master returned to the Black-White College?”

“Your master came back just a few days ago. He’s in closed-door meditation right now; most likely, he is going to attempt his Celestial Tribulation soon,” Immortal Fivecraze said.

“Tribulation?” Ning was surprised.





* * *





Book 14, Chapter 3 - Blood God Church


Soon, Ji Ning met with Immortal Diancai.

Within a quiet, secluded courtyard. There was a gourd of Immortal wine, two wine cups, a master, and a disciple. The two were drinking wine and chatting with each other.

“Master, I didn’t disturb your meditations, did I?” Ning asked.

“I was just engaging in ordinary meditation; I wasn’t in a prajna-state of sudden enlightenment. What’s there to disturb?” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning, then nodded with satisfaction. “Ji Ning, you are far more powerful than you were in the past. When you first entered my tutelage, you were a piece of unpolished jade; you were quite young. But now, your divine sense is a bit more powerful than even mine; you truly are the peerless genius who became the champion of the Conclave after having trained for merely thirty or so years.”

“If you keep praising me this much, Master, I’m going to start wiggling with delight,” Ning joked with a laugh.

“You little punk…” Immortal Diancai laughed, then shook his head.

Ning said seriously, “Master, are you truly planning to take on your Celestial Tribulation soon? This is something that you need to be extremely cautious about; you can’t be the slightest bit over-confident in handling it.”

“I know that. Of course I know that. There are countless Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, but it’s rare for the entire Grand Xia world to produce a single Celestial Immortal in a million years.” Immortal Diancai continued, “But times are changing. In the past twenty, thirty years, there were multiple Earth Immortals who successfully overcame their Celestial Tribulation and became Celestial Immortals in the Grand Xia world.”

“Multiple?!” Ning was surprised.

“Right.” Immortal Diancai nodded. “The greater a storm, the more experts are born from within! And during my previous period of training, my subconscious was telling me…that a great storm is coming. If I want to overcome my tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal, I have to do so before this storm comes. Only then will I have a chance. If I delay…I’ll probably die within it.”

Ning was secretly shocked.

An Immortal’s subconscious senses were usually very accurate. In truth, ever since he had returned to the Grand Xia world, Ning himself had subconsciously felt as though a terrifying tempest was about to erupt. However…he didn’t sense that he needed to make his breakthrough before it. Clearly, with his success in training the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning’s chances of survival were much greater than Immortal Diancai’s.

“Master.” Ning suddenly waved his hand, and a man-high pile of books suddenly appeared.

“What’s this?” Immortal Diancai said, puzzled.

“A Dao-Repository,” Ning said. “You can look at these three books, Master.”

Ning pulled out three thick tomes from the pile.

Immortal Diancai immediately accepted the three books, then began to flip through them. These had been acquired by Ning in the Crescent world after killing the monster kings and the evil Patriarch! It must be understood that these powerful figures were generally extremely self-confident; in order to prevent other powers from destroying their Dao-Repositories, they would generally carry a copy with them at all times. When the Flamewing King had destroyed the Qi Empire, he had acquired a portion of the Qi Empire’s Dao-Repository, which Ning now naturally had as well.

“A fine sword-art. A fine sword-art!” Immortal Diancai’s eyes were shining as he flipped through a second book. He said excitedly, “This directly guides one through the Grand Dao!”

Ning laughed.

It must be understood that the Qi Empire needed only a few tens of thousands of years to establish an Empire that spanned a million kilometers. How incredible had its Dao-Repository been? The Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows and the evil Patriarch were all comparable to Celestial Immortals; the Dao-Repositories they had built up were similarly astonishing. Although there was no way they could come close to comparing to Mount Innerheart’s, their repositories were ten times superior to the Black-White College’s!

“Ji Ning, these Dao-Repositories…?” Immortal Diancai looked towards Ning.

“Don’t worry, Master. Your disciple acquired them with his own power; they don’t come with any strings attached. I prepared them for you, Master, and for the Black-White College,” Ning said. Because of the rules of the Old Patriarch, the supreme arts of Mount Innerheart were absolutely not to be taught to any outsiders. There were no such restrictions, however, on the techniques Ning had acquired from the monster kings and the evil Patriarch.

The Black-White College had ten-plus Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals, all of which were extraordinary. With these Dao-Repositories, their level of power would rise once again.

As for the Ji clan?

Ning had used an ink technique to duplicate copies for the Ji clan. In addition…Ning believed that as he grew increasingly powerful, the Dao-Repositories he would acquire would also become increasingly formidable. For the dreams of his father, for the dreams of the deceased Patriarch Ninefire and the others, and for the sake of himself as a descendant of the Ji clan, he would naturally do everything he could to make the Ji clan flourish.

“Good, good, good. These Dao-Repositories are all quite incredible.” Immortal Diancai was truly excited. “The three sword-arts manuals you picked out are all of great help to me and have given me insight. I need to immediately go into closed-door meditation and ponder on them. My chances of overcoming the tribulation are now a bit greater.”

Ning nodded.

These three sword-arts manuals were all comparable to the complete [Three-Foot Sword]; they were truly superb tomes on the Dao of the Sword! In the current Black-White College, there were only two Sword Immortals at the Void level; Ji Ning and Immortal Diancai. No one would fight with Immortal Diancai over these tomes.

……