Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

Could it be that Ning would go and ambush and kill other Wanxiang Daoists?

As the saying goes, if one always walks by the side of the river, eventually, one’s shoes would get wet. Perhaps Ning would encounter a low-profile yet incredibly powerful Wanxiang Adept, or one with a tremendously powerful magic treasure. In that case, he truly would die! Thus, generally speaking, unless there were special circumstances, one wouldn’t go waylay and kill other Immortal cultivators. If one did so repeatedly, one might be successful for a time, but sooner or later, one would be finished.

“No rush. For now, in terms of both comprehension as well as in the Dao of the Sword, I’m not good enough yet. Breaking through to the Primal stage won’t be for some time to come.” Ning once more began to ponder on his swordplay and began to meditate.

Time flowed past, and soon, it was light outside. It was dawn, and Northson had come.

“Senior apprentice-brother, senior apprentice-brother,” Northson called out, appearing to be in uncommonly high spirits. ‘I went all the way to the peak of the Wanxiang stage, and still have quite a bit of liquefied elemental essence left.”

“Why so smug? I’m at the peak of the Wanxiang level as well!” Qingqing stared at him. Northson was shocked. “You? With just that little bit of liquefied elemental essence? Previously, you were like me, at the middle of the Wanxiang level; I used up far more liquefied elemental essence than you.”

Qingqing pursed her lips. “I spent three hundred kilograms to reach the late Wanxiang stage, then another 2250 to reach the peak of the Wanxiang stage. Clearly, previously I was already quite close to the late Wanxiang stage and was much stronger than you.”

Ning sat there to the side, sipping on some wine and laughing while the two bickered.

“Senior apprentice-brother, how about you?” Northson sat down as well. “Late Wanxiang level,” Ning said with a calm laugh.

“Late?” Northson was shocked. “Why only late?”

“My son Ning and I are both at the late Wanxiang stage now.” A white-haired, white-robed man walked in through the gate. Northson, upon hearing this, instantly understood. Ning must have given his liquefied elemental essence to the Whitewater Hound, who had previously only been at the peak of the Zifu level. Otherwise, how could the hound have trained all the way to the late Wanxiang stage at one go?

“Uncle White had an extremely high level of comprehension with regards to the Dao of formations. Thus, with enough liquefied elemental essence, he was able to advance considerably. If one doesn’t have a sufficiently high level of comprehension and a strong enough Dao-heart, even if one has liquefied elemental essence, it won’t make a difference.” Ning looked at Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother, are you going to go visit your master? If you don’t, we’ll head out right now.”

“No,” Northson said, shaking his head. “You didn’t go visit your master either, right?” Ning nodded. They had just said their farewells last time…it had only been three months. Ning hadn’t improved that much in terms of swordplay, and so he didn’t need to be in a rush to see his master.

“Let’s eat breakfast, then head out,” Ning said. “All of you, sit down. Uncle White, Little Qing, sit.” Northson, Qingqing, Uncle White, and Ning all sat there, chatting, laughing, and eating. That very day, after the sun fully rose, Ning’s group once more left the Black-White College…and after this departure, it would be a long time before they returned.

Ning had encountered quite a few people after returning to the Black-White College, and so those who were interested in him naturally learned quite quickly that he was back.

“Whoosh.” Ninelotus waved her hand, and a watery mirror appeared in front of her. She stared at herself in front of the mirror.

“Eh?” Ninelotus frowned slightly. The style of her blue robes began to change, and even the embroidery of the robes began to change. As a set of magic robes, it naturally could change in coloration. A short time later, Ninelotus finally smiled. With a wave of her hand, she dismissed the watery mirror in front of her.

Whoosh. A snowy white lotus flower appeared. Ninelotus stepped onto the snowy white lotus flower, then flew straight into the air, leaving her estate.

A short while later. Ninelotus, aboard the snowy white lotus flower, saw the distant Darknorth Peak. After flying a bit closer, she finally spoke out: “I heard that junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has returned. I wonder if we can meet?” Her voice echoed in the air above Darknorth Peak.

Soon, a swarthy, black-skinned man and an alluring woman appeared. It was Meng Roch and Cloudjade. Roch hurriedly bowed. “Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus, senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning returned yesterday, but he left again this morning.” The nearby Cloudjade stared up at Ninelotus, who stood upon her snowy white lotus flower. She felt as though Ninelotus were a beautiful, Immortal fairy, and she couldn’t help but feel envious.

“He’s gone?” Ninelotus was stunned. “When will he be back?” She asked.

“We don’t know.” Roch shook his head. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning said that this time, he probably wouldn’t be back for a long time.”

“A long time?”

Ninelotus nodded slowly, a hint of disappointment in her eyes. And then, still atop her magic treasure, she departed, disappearing into the distant horizons.





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Book 9, Chapter 5 - Never Forget


Ji Ning didn’t know that Ninelotus had come to his place shortly after his departure. At this moment in time, he was on a journey with his junior apprentice-brother, Uncle White, and Qingqing to go apprehend some criminals.

Thanks to the intelligence reports provided by the Raindragon Guard, after roughly a month or so wandering through various regions, Ning’s group finally arrived at the location where an evil cultivator known as Adept Blackhorn was hiding. This Adept Blackhorn relied on a ‘Ghostfetus King’ to do battle, and no one had ever been able to overcome him.

Unfortunately, this time, he encountered Ning’s group.

First, Uncle White stealthily set down a formation, making it so that Adept Blackhorn had nowhere to run. Next, Ning’s group revealed themselves. Ning didn’t even fight; he let Mu Northson reveal his ‘Fiendish Skyeater Serpents’ and use his constructs to grind the Ghostfetus King to death. Without the protection of the Ghostfetus King, Adept Blackhorn was instantly thrown into a state of terror and was effortless killed.

“Junior apprentice-brother, your power has clearly increased,” Ning praised. “You were able to kill the infamous Adept Blackhorn with such ease.”

“Heh heh.” Northson scratched his head. “I’m at the peak of the Wanxiang level, after all, and my Fiendish Skyeater Serpents were upgraded considerably after I acquired quite a few materials at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Naturally, their power has increased substantially.

Ning understood. The Dao of Constructs…it required significant amounts of resources and precious items. “Let’s go. Let’s go take down the next criminal,” Ning said.

“With us four Wanxiang Adepts working together, taking down this type of criminal is truly effortless.” The nearby Qingqing was quite smug as well. As for the Whitewater Hound, he just stood there quietly, smiling.

Swoosh! The dragon-headed warship once more soared into the skies, and Ning’s group once more embarked on a journey. They would go after the next criminal – Adept Qiandou!