Chapter 3 My Master, Ji Ning

“Meng Yan?” Ji Ning’s eyes lit up. Although he had only spent a few days with Meng Yan on the way to Anchan City, he had taken a liking to him. Moreover, for someone who would risk his own life for others, Ji Ning felt it was worth giving him a hand.

“Yunzhou!” Ji Ning called out loudly.

Soon Yunzhou hurried over and bowed: “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, you called for me?”

Ji Ning nodded, then turned to look at Beishan Baiwei beside him: “Baiwei, take Yunzhou with you when you leave. Then send your men to take Yunzhou to Meng Yan. Have Yunzhou bring Meng Yan back to the Black-White College.”

“Fine.” Beishan Baiwei nodded.

“Yunzhou, do you understand?” Ji Ning looked at Yunzhou. The reason he sent Yunzhou was because he could tell that Yunzhou was a very lively person who knew how to read the situation; whatever he instructed, Yunzhou would carry out perfectly.

Yunzhou quickly said: “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, rest assured, I will definitely invite Junior apprentice-brother Meng Yan here.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded.

Beishan Baiwei smiled: “I’ve done what my father instructed. Next is the gift I prepared for you myself.”

“Baiwei, you…” Ji Ning was about to refuse.

“Don’t refuse.” Beishan Baiwei quickly said, “We are brothers. You’ve entered the Black-White College and shone brilliantly in the Dao Debate Hall. How could I, as your brother, not have a congratulatory gift? Rest assured, because my father restricts me, I’m not as wealthy as he is, so this gift isn’t too valuable.”

Ji Ning smiled. Since Beishan Baiwei had put it that way, what else could he do?

Beishan Baiwei flipped his hand, revealing a thick book that looked ordinary. Although the material seemed decent, Ji Ning couldn’t see anything special at first glance.

“I guess it won’t be long before you go out and explore. Cultivators must undergo life-and-death trials again and again to go further on this path of immortality.” Beishan Baiwei smiled. “So I prepared this map for you. It’s a map of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.”

“A map of the Grand Xia Dynasty?” Ji Ning exclaimed.

How vast was the Grand Xia Dynasty?

“Don’t get excited. The Grand Xia Dynasty is enormous. On this map, only the description of our Anchan Commandery is detailed. The rest of the Grand Xia, which is thousands or tens of thousands of times larger, is just an overview so you don’t get lost.” Beishan Baiwei said helplessly. “I can’t even get my hands on a truly detailed map of the entire Grand Xia Dynasty.”

Ji Ning was secretly moved.

For cultivators, when venturing out and taking risks, the importance of a map was self-evident. This endless land had far too many mysterious, dangerous, and terrifying places. If one went in ignorant and stumbled into a death trap, dying would be too unjust.

“Everything’s settled, so I’ll take my leave now.” Beishan Baiwei stood up and smiled. “I know your training time as a genius is very tight.”

“Leaving so soon?” Ji Ning also stood up.

“Your Black-White College is right in Anchan City; I can come anytime I want.” Beishan Baiwei then left with his servants and Yunzhou.

…

Ji Ning watched as Beishan Baiwei and the others turned into streaks of light and disappeared into the sky, then looked down at the many treasures laid out on six jade plates beside him.

“My Thousand Swords Formation was short on flying swords, and now I’ve received two sets.” Ji Ning looked at the two sets of flying swords—one set of seventy-two swords and one set of eighteen swords. The set of eighteen was clearly of superior quality. “Although I haven’t used the Thousand Swords Formation often, Beishan Heihu knew long ago that I need a large number of flying swords. As expected of one of the candidates for the next Marquis of Anchan—his information is indeed well-informed.”

“Now that I’m at the Zifu stage, it’s not hard to gather over seven hundred Mortal-rank flying swords.”

“But when I reach the Wanxiang stage, I’ll need over seven hundred Earth-rank flying swords. At the Yuan Shen stage, that would be Heaven-rank flying swords.” Ji Ning sighed. The Thousand Swords Formation had made the immortal Juhua wary, and with his “Nuwa Painting” and his path as a sword immortal, it was indeed suitable for him to use the Thousand Swords Formation. He believed that in his hands, it would be even stronger than when the Thousand Swords Immortal had wielded it.

The problem was gathering so many flying swords—it was too difficult.

Ji Ning continued to look.

“Wings?” Ji Ning looked at the black wings on the jade plate. “They’re much better than the ones I got from killing that Snowdragon Mountain disciple.”

The wings weren’t of much use to Ji Ning; they were mainly for disguising the “Wind Wings Evasion” technique.

This was a divine ability gifted to the Yuchi clan’s ancestor by a Celestial Immortal he had saved. Given that the entire Black-White College had only five divine abilities, their value was evident. No wonder the Yuchi clan used wing-type magic treasures to conceal it.

“A boat!” Ji Ning looked at the fourth gift and smiled. “A top-grade Mortal-rank magic treasure. It’ll make travel much faster.”

He reached out and easily refined the wings and the boat.

“A miasma treasure.” Ji Ning looked at the fifth gift and picked up the white jade bottle. After refining it, he found a white pearl inside, surrounded by thick white miasma.

“All of you, retreat. Far away.”

Ji Ning swept his gaze around. Yun Lu, standing not far away, quickly retreated far back, even leaving the courtyard.

“Rise.”

Ji Ning willed it.

Instantly, the courtyard was filled with thick white miasma, spreading dozens of feet. It was so dense that even Ji Ning, with his Fiendgod body’s eyesight, could barely see his own fingers. It even stirred the surrounding natural energy, making it impossible for Ji Ning to sense his surroundings.

“It’s said that miasma treasures are good for escape because, first, the naked eye can’t see, and second, one can’t sense the surroundings.” Ji Ning nodded lightly. “Indeed it’s true. Even I, who released the miasma, can’t see the surroundings. As soon as the miasma is released, friend and foe alike are blind. Just pick a direction and flee.”

Miasma doesn’t distinguish between friend and foe.

What Ji Ning refined was the jade bottle and the pearl inside; the miasma only existed within the pearl.

“I wonder if divine sense can see through it.” Ji Ning willed it.

Whoosh!

Divine sense spread out, instantly covering the entire courtyard.

“Oh?” Ji Ning showed a hint of joy. Although the miasma was powerful enough to stir the power of heaven and earth, under divine sense, everything was still clearly visible.

“Good.” Ji Ning was overjoyed.

“For others, this miasma treasure is just for escape, but for me, I can release the miasma to confuse the enemy and then engage in close combat.” This strategy instantly formed in Ji Ning’s mind. With his divine sense unaffected by the miasma, dealing with Wanxiang Adepts would be much easier.

“Another trump card.” Ji Ning smiled.

Ji Ning then looked at the sixth jade bottle: a thousand jin of liquid elemental essence. This was a staggering fortune. An ordinary Earth-rank magic treasure cost ten jin of liquid elemental essence, meaning this thousand jin could buy a hundred ordinary Earth-rank treasures, or eight or ten of the better ones.

When Beishan Baiwei and Beishan Hu had gambled with red eyes, the stakes were only ninety jin of liquid elemental essence.

“Beishan Heihu is really generous.” Ji Ning hesitated no longer. He put away the treasures, picked up the jade bottle, and walked toward the meditation room.

…

In the meditation room.

The jade bottle was placed in front, its stopper removed.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged on the jade bed, calming his mind. With a thought, he opened his mouth, and liquid elemental essence flew out of the bottle, drawn into his body.

“Rumble…” In the void of his Zifu, the source at the bottom of the huge lake began to gush out vast amounts of pure elemental power. The entire lake churned and began to expand at an astonishing speed.

The outermost edge of the lake continuously expanded, spreading outward.

The lake grew larger and larger, occupying more and more of the void, spilling into the depths of the void.

Expand!

Keep expanding!

One hundred jin of liquid elemental essence, two hundred jin, three hundred jin… Ji Ning did not hesitate, continuously refining. With his solid foundation, sufficient enlightenment, strong soul, and clear sword-heart, he could push straight through to the early Wanxiang stage.

The Zifu lake expanded continuously, its area becoming increasingly astonishing, even expanding from the category of a lake to that of a sea.

The Zifu Sea!

Six hundred jin, seven hundred jin!

“Last time I used eighty jin of liquid elemental essence. This time, refining another seven hundred and twenty jin should be about right.” Ji Ning thought. According to the “Water Source Manual,” if one refined eight hundred jin of liquid elemental essence at the Zifu stage, the foundation laid would be a “Celestial Immortal foundation.” The resulting dharma image would also be of the highest quality.

“Whoosh, whoosh…”

Seven hundred and ten jin, seven hundred and twenty jin, seven hundred and thirty jin.

“Why doesn’t my Zifu feel like it’s reached its limit?” Ji Ning was a bit puzzled. He slowed down the refining. Some inferior qi-refining methods meant the Zifu lake could only hold a hundred jin at best. But Ji Ning had already refined over eight hundred jin in total.

Seven hundred and forty jin… seven hundred and eighty jin… eight hundred jin!

Ji Ning opened his eyes and stopped refining.

“Last time I refined eighty jin, and now another eight hundred jin. And my Zifu can still hold more?” Ji Ning frowned. Although the “Water Source Manual” didn’t detail the exact limit—since everyone’s limit varies slightly—usually, after exceeding eight hundred jin, the limit should come quickly.

“Let me stop for now. I’ll ask my master when I see him in two days.” Ji Ning ceased his training.

…

While Ji Ning was training, in a quiet mansion in the eastern part of Anchan City, Meng Yan was also sitting cross-legged on his bed, gently nurturing his Zifu. His Zifu had been injured before, so it needed proper rest and recovery.

“Stone, Stone, come out quickly!” An anxious voice came.

“Uncle Ming?”

Meng Yan stopped and got off the bed, walking out.

“Uncle Ming, what’s wrong?” Meng Yan pushed open the door and saw a bald middle-aged man with a worried face outside. Meng Yan was grateful to Uncle Ming, who at least let him stay here.

“Did you cause trouble? Offend someone? There are guards from the Marquis of Anchan’s mansion looking for you.” The bald middle-aged man, Uncle Ming, was very anxious.

“Ah.” Meng Yan shook his head. “No, I didn’t.”

“Don’t say anymore. Go see them quickly.” The bald man urged. Although he had settled in Anchan City and owned a quiet little mansion, compared to the lofty Marquis of Anchan’s mansion, he was like an ant before a divine dragon—no, not even an ant, just a grain of sand.

Full of doubts and unease, Meng Yan soon arrived at the front gate of the mansion. Outside stood two Zifu guards in armor, and beside them a white-robed youth. The two guards stood behind the white-robed youth.

Meng Yan looked, and though fearful, a trace of bitterness rose in his heart.

“To have guards of the Marquis of Anchan standing by his side… when will I ever be like that?” Meng Yan thought bitterly. “I can’t even join a sect; no sect wants me. When will I be able to continue on this path of immortality!”

The tall, thin white-robed youth saw Meng Yan and immediately smiled: “Are you Brother Meng Yan?”

“Brother… Meng Yan?” Meng Yan’s eyes widened.

The bald middle-aged man beside him was also stunned, then quickly said: “Yes, he is Meng Yan.”

“My name is Yunzhou. I am here on the orders of my master, Ji Ning, to invite Brother Meng Yan to the Black-White College.” The tall, thin white-robed youth said with a smile.