Chapter 39: Lend It to Me for Half a Month

The five-colored void bridge continuously extended forward, traversing the barriers of time and space. In just a moment, a world resembling a fairyland appeared ahead, vast and boundless at a glance.

"This is the Three-Leaf Realm. Back when I was in the Dark Bitter Sea, I casually found a place and opened up this world. I have lived here for endless ages," the Alchemist said coolly. "The Three-Leaf Realm is quite hidden; you probably haven't heard of it outside. If you wish to come in the future, you may come anytime."

Ji Ning felt relieved inside. This mysterious mighty figure seemed to have a decent attitude toward him: "Senior, do you intend to let me leave?"

"If you don't go out and explore, do you think you can succeed in the Dao and achieve eternity while staying in the Three-Leaf Realm?" The Alchemist glanced at Ji Ning. "Relax, I brought you here for other matters. Once those matters are done, I naturally won't hinder you. You can come or go as you please! Although it's hard for others to enter my Three-Leaf Realm, you are after all a disciple of an old acquaintance, and thus my junior."

Ji Ning said, "Thank you, Senior."

Only then did Ji Ning have the mood to properly appreciate the Three-Leaf Realm before him. From the outside, it looked like three enormous leaves unfurled, supporting a vast world. This world was far larger than ordinary floating continents by an immeasurable margin.

"Do you know why it's called the Three-Leaf Realm?" the Alchemist suddenly asked.

"Is it because three enormous leaves support this world, hence the name Three-Leaf Realm?" Ji Ning guessed.

The Alchemist gently shook her head but said no more.

Swoosh!

The Alchemist, with Ji Ning in tow, flew into that fairyland-like world.

...

Ancient Domain, Origin Source, Outer Domain.

A fiery red streak suddenly flew out from a hidden place. Su Youji, clad in a fiery red robe, was bathed in flames, manifesting the phantom of a flying bird.

"I can't sense my master anymore. How did I suddenly lose contact? I could clearly sense him in the Inner Domain just before," Su Youji said, looking into the distance toward the Inner Domain, her eyes filled with worry and unease. The moment the Alchemist had taken Ji Ning away, she lost her connection to him.

Ji Ning had a communication talisman with her, and she had also left one with him.

Both could sense each other's location and could reunite at any time.

"How did I suddenly lose contact... What should I do, what should I do?" Su Youji was extremely uneasy. Because of her inner turmoil, she couldn't continue her adventure in the hidden place and gave up that opportunity.

Su Youji transformed into a streak of light, occasionally tearing through the void, rapidly approaching the Inner Domain world.

A moment later.

"Firejin." At one end of a primal chaos chain, a group of cultivators had gathered, including Firejin Waterlord.

"Daoist Firejin." Su Youji immediately descended and hurriedly greeted him.

"Fire Fairy?" Firejin Waterlord stood up and asked curiously, "Fire Fairy, why have you come here? You look anxious. What happened?"

"It's my master," Su Youji said worriedly. "I sensed that my master has disappeared. I'm uneasy, so I rushed over. Have you seen my master, Daoist Firejin?"

Firejin shook his head: "I haven't seen Northmont since he went to the Inner Domain world. You say you suddenly lost contact with him?"

"Yes," Su Youji nodded quickly. "But my master's communication talisman is still with me, and it's completely intact."

If Ji Ning had died, the talisman would have sensed it and split apart.

"The talisman didn't break?" Firejin pressed.

"No," Su Youji nodded.

"The Inner Domain world is full of dangers," Firejin said. "After all, it's the origin place of a universe. Northmont might have fallen into some dangerous place. That place cut off your connection, but your master might still be alive. Of course, being able to block your connection means it's no ordinary danger. Your master might also..."

Su Youji's heart trembled.

She was worried about that too. Ji Ning had been in the Inner Domain for so long, and she could always sense him. Feng Yixin had been in there for a long time too, and his follower Yanxian the Immortal could always sense him. Even Prince Qingheng had gone to the Inner Domain, and his follower Tianshang the World God could sense him.

But now she suddenly couldn't sense Ji Ning's location. This was very abnormal!

"Wait a bit longer. I've heard that World-level cultivators don't stay in the Inner Domain for too long," Firejin said. "Wait a few thousand or ten thousand years and see if Northmont shows up."

"Yes," Su Youji nodded softly. She could only wait.

"Thank you, Daoist Firejin." Su Youji chose a corner and sat down cross-legged in silence. Her mind was unsettled, and she wasn't fit to continue adventuring. But she had already gained remarkable rewards in the Outer Domain.

"Master, you must survive." Su Youji's feelings for Ji Ning were complex. Ji Ning's strength and the times he had saved her from desperate situations made her admire him, even love him. But she also sensed that Ji Ning's heart was always preoccupied with someone else, which made her hesitate and never dare to speak up.

...

The Three-Leaf Realm world deep within the Dark Bitter Sea.

An ancient, pitch-black cave mansion rippled, and two figures emerged from the ripples: the Alchemist and Ji Ning.

"This is my cave mansion," the Alchemist said calmly as she walked ahead.

Ji Ning followed behind, curious: "Senior, why don't I see any other cultivators in this cave mansion?"

There wasn't even a gatekeeper, which was strange.

"I like quiet and don't like to be disturbed," the Alchemist said coolly.

"Oh," Ji Ning nodded.

If the other mighty figures of the Three-Leaf Realm discovered that their supreme commander, the Alchemist, was having a normal conversation with a World-level cultivator, they would all be stunned. Because the Alchemist was famously 'cold'! Even an Eternal Emperor would generally be ignored by her.

Emperor Fubo was an exception because he was extremely powerful and also desperately wanted to revive his disciple, which earned him the Alchemist's regard.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh~

Ahead was a massive cauldron.

Beside the cauldron was a lake a hundred miles wide, with a waterfall cascading into it.

"That..." Ji Ning stared at the lake in shock. "Is that all... all primal chaos liquid?"

A hundred-mile-wide lake of primal chaos liquid? Ji Ning was stunned. How much primal chaos liquid was that?

"You don't understand alchemy?" the Alchemist looked at Ji Ning.

"No," Ji Ning shook his head.

"If you understood alchemy, you would know that primal chaos liquid plays a huge role in alchemy. It gives pills their miraculous properties. It can give rise to life and all things; it's an indispensable auxiliary ingredient in alchemy," the Alchemist said. "When refining some extremely precious pills, the consumption of primal chaos liquid is enormous. So I simply made this lake, making it easy to draw from when refining."

Ji Ning was inwardly astounded.

The deceased Dominator had given him, his nominal disciple, fifty million cubes of primal chaos liquid. But compared to this hundred-mile-wide lake of primal chaos liquid, it was nothing.

The Alchemist walked on and soon reached a stone platform in front of the massive cauldron. She sat down cross-legged, her gaze falling on Ji Ning.

"I have a favor to ask of you," the Alchemist said.

"Please instruct me, Senior," Ji Ning said respectfully.

"I know you received the Dominator's inheritance. You should have one of the Dominator's armor pieces with you," the Alchemist said.

Ji Ning was shocked. She even knew that?

"Yes," Ji Ning replied, not daring to play tricks, and nodded.

"Lend me this armor... lend it to me for half a month," the Alchemist said after a moment's hesitation.

"Lend?" Ji Ning muttered inwardly. Even if you took it by force, I couldn't resist.

With a thought, Ji Ning caused the flowing light on his body to gather in his hand, forming a simple, deep-colored armor. As soon as the armor appeared, it exuded an endless, profound aura, as if a massive mountain rested in Ji Ning's palm.

When the Alchemist saw the simple armor in Ji Ning's palm, her body trembled.

"Senior." Ji Ning extended his hand, and the simple armor flew over.

The Alchemist gently took it and placed it on her knees. She stroked it with both hands, her fingers trembling uncontrollably, and murmured softly, but Ji Ning couldn't hear her words.

"Can you tell me what the Dominator said when he taught you? Did he mention anyone?" the Alchemist asked softly.

"When the Dominator taught me, he said nothing else, only one sentence," Ji Ning said honestly. "He said—'My disciple, if you achieve eternity through the Dao, repay the grace of my teaching today to the Alchemist.'"

Until now, Ji Ning didn't know that the woman in black gauze before him was the Alchemist.

The Alchemist's heart trembled.

Two crystal-clear teardrops suddenly fell, landing on the armor and splintering into fragments. But with the misty haze, Ji Ning didn't see them.