Desolate Era (Book 6 - Book 10)

They had already killed Adept Mooncrescent. There was nothing else they could do about that now! However, just as they were afraid of…Adept Mooncrescent’s group of old friends wouldn’t let the matter of his death rest! The entire Shadow Army wouldn’t let one of its old, retired brothers die in such a manner! The members of the Shadow Army had all battled for many years together, and too many of them had died. Very, very few survived to retire. If even their retirees could be killed without rhyme or reason…how could they accept this?

“Don’t worry. The old brothers of our Shadow Army won’t be killed for no rhyme or reason, just like this! In other places, the intelligence reports of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain might be formidable, but here in Stillwater Commandery…the intelligence reports of our Northmont clan are even more superior!” Within the headquarters of the Shadow Army, a red-haired old man was speaking to a group of blood-robed men in a loud voice.

Stillwater Commandery was the territory of the Northmont clan. Here, the Northmont clan’s roots were the deepest.

Just half a day later….

Stillwater City. Northmont Blacktiger’s Estate.

“Eh?” Northmont Baiwei, who was drinking some wine and listening to music, suddenly frowned. He heard footsteps from outside. “I’m listening to music. Who dares disturb me?” A hint of anger could be seen in Baiwei’s furrowed brows.

Suddenly, the door was pushed open, and a muscular, bald man dressed in an ornate black uniform walked in. Next to him was a pale-faced, beardless old man with triangular pupils. The triangle-eyed old man seemed to have a hint of laughter on his face, but it made others shiver.

“Father!” Baiwei shot to his feet. In the face of his father, Biawei always felt uncontrollably nervous. “Baiwei.” Northmont Blacktiger’s deep, hooded gaze was like an infinitely cold pool of ice. “I ask you this – was it you who sent people to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain for an intelligence report on Yu Dong, Shui Yi, and Dong Seven?”

“Yes.” Baiwei nodded. “Why?” Blacktiger asked. Baiwei immediately said respectfully, “It was for the sake of my brother, Ji Ning, who brought his fellow disciple, Mu Northson, and asked me to assist. He didn’t wish for the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to find out, so I was extremely careful as well. Aside from myself and the our servants who carried the orders out, no one else knows.”

“Oh?” Blacktiger’s eyes were dark and cold. He said calmly, “It seems, then, that the culprits are Ji Ning and his group.”





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Book 9, Chapter 12 - Father and Son


“The culprit is Ji Ning?” Northmont Baiwei said, frantic, “Father, what are you talking about? What ‘culprit’? What are you saying?”

“Can’t you guess?” Northmont Blacktiger looked at his son. This was the son who he had entrusted all his hopes to, the one whom he had always strove to train. If he hadn’t placed all of his hopes on Baiwei, he would’ve left Baiwei to his own devices and let him become a carefree, ignorant, wastrel descendant. However, Blacktiger had instead always been very strict and exacting with him.

“Father, are you saying…” Baiwei was no fool. Frowning he said, “Brother Ji Ning didn’t want for the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to know it was him, so he must’ve been carrying out something he couldn’t let others know about! He went to kill an enemy with a powerful background? Dong Seven, Yu Dong, Shui Yi…of the three of them, the only one with a bit of a background is Dong Seven! Can it be that he killed Dong Seven? But Dong Seven has a mere Primal Daoist backing him; he isn’t worthy of you, Father, acting like this.”

Blacktiger nodded. “It isn’t Dong Seven. He killed Yu Dong.” Baiwen shook his head. “Yu Dong? He’s just a minor figure.”

“But Yudong’s master, Adept Mooncrescent, was present at the time as well. Thus, most likely because he tried to stop Ji Ning, he was caught up in the fray and killed by Ji Ning as well.” Blacktiger stared at his son. “And Adept Mooncrescent was a retired Immortal cultivator who belonged to one of the armies under the control of our Northmont clan of Stillwater, the Shadow Army.”

“What?!” Baiwei’s face instantly changed. Naturally, he knew that his own clan, the Northmont clan, had some hidden, powerful armies of Immortal cultivators. Every single Marquis had some armies of their own.

The Grand Xia Dynasty knew this as well. However, the exact number of secret armies, how many individuals were in each army, and how powerful the members of the armies were…those were the true secrets.

“A retired cultivator of the Shadow Army?” Baiwei began to mumble to himself, “A retiree? Then he must have fought for many, many years…he must have many old friends and brothers-in-arms. The retirees…they are the most sensitive figures for these Immortal armies.”

“Right. Just so!” Blacktiger growled, “They battle for the sake of our Northmont clan, and countless numbers of them have perished. Very, very few are able to survive and retire. If the retired cultivators are killed…the cultivators of the entire army will naturally be enraged! They absolutely will not permit this sort of event to occur, and if it were to occur, they will find out who the killer was, then take revenge for their old brother!”

“This is a sensitive, sore spot for Immortal cultivator armies! Those who touch it will die!” Blacktiger’s eyes were filled with solemnity as well. This was one of the unspoken rules of the armies; they wouldn’t permit their old, retired brethren to suffer! Absolutely not!

“Ji Ning’s group acted very cleanly and professionally,” Blacktiger said. “The intelligence division of the Shadow Army has begun their investigations, they have already searched the memories of many of the ordinary mortals who lived on Mount Mooncrescent. They’ve even found the blood-robe which Adept Mooncrescent once wore; it had been cast deep into the magnetic depths of the world.”

“However, because a total of three people had died, being Mooncrescent, his disciple Yu Dong, and his daughter Yue Wei, the Shadow Army’s intelligence division has already begun to investigate Yu Dong and Yue Wei as well. Soon, they found that someone has recently asked the Heavenly Treasures Mountain for a copy of the report on Yu Dong.”

Blacktiger stared at his son. “Following this clue, the Shadow Army’s investigations led them to my estate; the Northmont Blacktiger Estate! That is how I learned of this.”

“What should we do, then?” Baiwei was worried now. “The Shadow Army is currently following up on several leads,” Blacktiger said, “But if Shui Yi and Dong Seven both die as well, then the Shadow Army will definitely grow convinced that the culprit had purchased intelligence reports on these three figures at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.”

Baiwei said, frantic, “Then I’ll immediately send someone to seek out Brother Ji Ning and have him temporarily avoid killing Shui Yi and Dong Seven?”

Blacktiger shook his head. “No use. They’ll soon be able to rule out the other leads, at which point in time, they will make inquiries to us regarding this matter.”

“Then what should I do?” Baiwei said, worried. “There are two options,” Blacktiger said. Baiwei looked towards his father.

“The first option is to give up Ji Ning,” Blacktiger said. “That way, we’ll avoid all trouble.”

“Impossible.” Baiwei shook his head.

Blacktiger, seeing this, actually began to laugh. “Hahaha, that’s my boy. Right; don’t easily give up or betray your good friends and brothers! If you can so easily sacrifice them…then you’ll never be able to make any true friends and brothers! If you wish for others to be willing to risk their lives for you, you have to treat them with sincerity, understood?”

Baiwei was startled.