Desolate Era (Book 11 - Book 15)

Ning led Uncle White out of Stillwater City, returning to Swallow Mountain.

On this trip to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain, he had gotten the answer he had come for; the Ba-Serpent Formation was a formation often used by the assassins of Bloodcloud Hall. The twelve who had tried to assassinate Ning were then most likely assassins of Bloodcloud Hall. As for who had invited Bloodcloud Hall to do the deed…the first thought Ning had was of the Youngflame clan. Aside from them, Ning could think of no others.

After returning to Swallow Mountain, Uncle White continued to lay down new formations. He had previously only laid down a single one of the supreme killing formations; there were two more that had yet to be laid down. As for Ning, he focused on comprehending the Dao and training. He would alternate between working on his sword-arts and training archery, in accordance with [Houyi’s Archery].

……

Ning was living a peaceful life, but the world of the Grand Xia as a whole wasn’t peaceful at all.

In almost every commandery, and even in the four seas, the Seamless Gate continuously fanned the flames of chaos. Everyone, including the members of the imperial Xia clan as well as the various marquisates, began to grow cautious. This was because they couldn’t tell who their enemy was; in fact, they couldn’t even find out where their enemy was located.

And during this period of time…the Youngflame clan was investigating Ji Ning.

“Even Bloodcloud Hall demanded twenty top-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasures! Although they went too far in what they asked for, based on how Bloodcloud Hall usually prices their assassination missions, this high request suggests exactly how difficult the target is to deal with. Ji Ning’s power must be even greater than what we believed it to be; otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to withstand Bloodcloud Hall’s first attempt.”

“In thirty or so short years, he has increased his power immeasurably, compared to back during the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. If he is permitted to continue to develop like this…I’m afraid that in thirty more years, it will be extremely difficult for our Youngflame clan to kill him.”

“He has to be eliminated as soon as possible. Otherwise…he will cause a disaster.”

“Since Bloodcloud Hall has named such a high price…let’s do it ourselves. We have to succeed on our first try.”

“Right. We have to plan this perfectly; we need to treat Ji Ning as we would a supreme Celestial Immortal.”

Everyone within the Youngflame clan acknowledged the threat Ji Ning posed to them. In truth, ever since the Youngflame clan sent people to attempt to wipe out the Ji clan, the hatred between the two sides had increased to a very high level. The assassination attempt in the imperial capital of the Grand Xia caused this feud to become even more difficult to result.

As for this assassination attempt by Bloodcloud Hall, since Ji Ning had no other major enemies in the Grand Xia Dynasty aside from the Youngflame clan, he would probably quickly arrive at the right conclusion…

“Get rid of him.”

“Get rid of him as soon as possible.”

The Youngflame clan began their investigations, but Swallow Mountain was completely impregnable. The terrifying formations surrounding it were even more frightening than the ones surrounding the Youngflame clan’s headquarters.

“There’s no way to assassinate him within Swallow Mountain.”

“Ji Ning is in Swallow Mountain right now. We have to wait.”

“Let’s wait.”

……

Ning’s life in Swallow Mountain wa quite relaxed. No matter how much turmoil there was in the outside world, he just quietly trained at home.

Winter passed. Spring came. Then summer. Then late autumn.

Ning stayed at Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain this entire time!

Actually, this entire time, Ning had wanted to make a trip to the Eastwoods mountain range; after all, he had suffered an attack there, and that was the only base belonging to the mysterious power that he knew about. In addition, based on what he saw, he believed that his opponents shouldn’t be able to do anything to him. He naturally wanted to go back! And by relying on his Seventy-Two Transformations, there was no need for him to worry about his identity being exposed; he could effortlessly penetrate their defenses.

But…

Ning hadn’t gone. This was because he was waiting for something; for his breakthrough in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]! He had reached the fifteenth level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] more than ten years ago; during recent years, aside from training in sword-arts and archery, he also trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] every single day. Because of the power of his body, energy from the Solar Star and the Lunar Star was filling his body at a truly shocking rate…but at his current level, each new breakthrough required a similarly shocking amount of divine power. However, Ning could feel as though his breakthrough was coming soon.

This was why he had refrained from going to the Eastwoods mountain range; after he made a new breakthrough and his power increased dramatically, he would have a better chance in his investigations!

“Autumn Leaf, I’m going to rest a bit on the lake. I’ll come back at night. Prepare some good food,” Ning said with a grin.

“Right.” Autumn Leaf nodded repeatedly.

Ning was standing by the beach. As he waved his hand, a little boat appeared on the surface of the lake. Ning took a single step forward, stepping into the boat. The little boat then floated away towards the depths of Serpentwing Lake.

Autumn Leaf watched from afar. After watching for quite some time, she saw that Ning had completely disappeared within the distant mist. Only then did she turn and go back home.

……

The boat floated on the lake. Ning lay down within the boat, almost subconsciously beginning to absorb energy from the Solar Star and the Lunar Star.

Suddenly…as if sensing something, Ning opened his eyes. He could sense that the divine power in his body had reached a limit. He was about to make his breakthrough! He immediately rose to his feet, then took a single step forward, leaving the little boat and coming to stand on the waters of the lake.

Rumble…

Rumble…

From infinitely far away, the two Supreme Stars in the void, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star, instantly began to transmit their power through the void, all the way down until it reached Ji Ning’s body…





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Book 14, Chapter 28 - Just a Tenth


The Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo on Ji Ning’s back began to become even more profound and complicated. They were shining brightly, and in the area around Ning, a golden crow that was surrounded by flames began to fly about in a circling manner. At the same time, a jade rabbit appeared as well, filled with an icy aura as it stared upwards into the void, as though seeing the Lunar Star deep within the depths of infinity.

The distant Solar Star and Lunar Star continued to transmit a large amount of Lunar Truewater and Solar Truefire.

Whoooooosh.

Water and fire meshed together like threads being woven into a fabric. Soon, Ning became completely surrounded by them, as though he was within a giant egg. Within the egg, through a mysterious method that Ning couldn’t understand, energy was being transmitted straight into his body, rapidly and frantically changing it. His body once more began a fundamental transformation, a transformation brought on by advancing to a separate level in power. Even his Divine Solar Tattoo and Divine Lunar Tattoo were beginning to transform.

……

Above the calm surface of Serpentwing Lake, a three meter high ‘egg’ was hovering in the air. One could vaguely make out that the egg was bi-colored. Although it emanated an invisible field of terrifying power, it didn’t disturb the surface of the water in the slightest.