Chapter 11 The Murderer Ji Ning

After refining the storage treasure of the Waning Moon Adept, they took out the items one by one, and the sight of them made Ji Ning and the others change color.

"This is!"

Ji Ning and the others fixed their gazes on a blood-red robe among them. The entire robe exuded a bloody aura, and on the cuff was embroidered the pattern of a gray flying sword.

"A uniform battle robe." Mu Zishuo said in a low voice. "This blood robe also has many talisman patterns and functions as a puppet treasure... If my guess is correct, a group of people wearing this robe could activate it together, forming a single entity and unleashing some powerful combined formation."

Mu Zishuo was a genius on the path of puppetry and saw through it instantly.

Although Ji Ning was not as quick as his junior brother Mu Zishuo to see through it at a glance, he was also well-versed in formations and realized that this battle robe was similar to 'Dao-soldier armor'.

"Given the complexity of the talisman patterns on this blood robe, it's definitely not something an ordinary force could develop." Mu Zishuo frowned. "A sect like Snowdragon Mountain could never produce a uniform battle robe like this... Even my master might not be able to develop it."

"He had a Northmount blood token." Ji Ning said in a low voice. "It's likely related to the Northmont clan of Anchan."

"Look." Qingqing pointed at the animal hide beside them.

Among the many items taken from the storage treasure, there were indeed several pieces of animal hide.

"Don't touch any of these with your hands." Ji Ning shouted, then carefully examined the contents on that piece of animal hide.

"Second Brother, I've retired too, but I'm staying in the 'Heavenly Realm' and don't want to go back. I have no ties... After years of campaigning in the Heavenly Realm, I've grown used to it. There are still so many old brothers here; I really don't want to leave. Forget about your invitation to come to Waning Moon Mountain. If Second Brother has nothing to do, you can come to the Heavenly Realm..."

The contents on the animal hide made Ji Ning's scalp tingle.

Retired?

Second Brother?

Heavenly Realm?

"Retired?" Mu Zishuo exclaimed. "That Waning Moon Adept must have been part of an army before, and look at that blood robe... It should be the battle robe he wore back then! Because he was old and nearing the end of his lifespan, he came back to enjoy his retirement."

"Second Brother?" The Whitewater Hound also spoke. "This Waning Moon lived so long; among his surviving brothers, he was probably considered older, so they called him Second Brother. But this Heavenly Realm..."

"Heavenly Realm?" Ji Ning frowned.

"Could it be one of the countless minor worlds?" Mu Zishuo said in a low voice.

The Three Realms were vast beyond measure, especially the mortal world, which was the most expansive. It could be divided into three thousand major worlds and countless minor worlds. Some of these countless minor worlds were naturally formed, while others were directly created by great powers!

"Campaigning in the Heavenly Realm?" Ji Ning thought to himself. "Northmount blood token?"

Ji Ning pondered.

At the same time, he carefully examined the other animal hides. Some bore maps of foreign lands, others were letters. Ji Ning also looked at the other items.

Gradually...

A conjecture formed in Ji Ning's mind.

The Northmont clan of Anchan likely had a secret army, and the Waning Moon Adept was probably a member of that army! Ji Ning was not surprised that the Northmont clan of Anchan had a secret army, because in the history of the Xia Dynasty, there had even been examples of feudal lords rebelling. Since they dared to rebel, it showed how deep their foundations were.

From the age of gods and demons to the present, it had been an extremely long time.

No one knew how deep the foundations of the feudal lords were; having some secret armies was perfectly normal.

As for the 'Heavenly Realm', it should be one of the countless minor worlds, or an independent space opened up by a great power. In any case, there should be life living there, which was why 'campaigning' was necessary.

"Senior apprentice-brother, what should we do?" Mu Zishuo said in a low voice. "Now it seems that the Waning Moon Adept was likely a member of some secret army of the Northmont clan of Anchan, and from the looks of it, they had been campaigning abroad for many years... The bonds between brothers who fought through life and death must be extremely strong."

Ji Ning nodded.

After years of campaigning, the brotherhood in the army was easy to imagine! Now that he had returned to Waning Moon Mountain to enjoy his retirement but was killed, how could those people let it go?

"Trouble." Ji Ning frowned.

Even knowing the background, Ji Ning would still have struck. The Waning Moon Adept had returned to Waning Moon Mountain to enjoy his retirement, but he still caused great harm. In the information about 'Yu Tong' that Ji Ning had obtained from the Skylotus Treasure Pavilion, the description of the Waning Moon Adept was merely... a cold and petty man who had offended many people.

Perhaps he had been suppressed for too long, so after retiring from the secret army, he returned and, relying on his strength, revealed his true nature!

Ji Ning would not show mercy to such a person.

"Ning'er, what now?" The Whitewater Hound looked at Ji Ning.

"Master?" Qingqing also looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning frowned and said, "We keep the liquefied elemental essence, and put all other items, including treasures, back into the storage treasure. Then, Qingqing... use your void-shifting ability to go deep underground and throw this storage treasure into the depths of the geomagnetic field."

"Depths of the geomagnetic field?" Qingqing nodded. "Understood."

Then they only kept the liquefied elemental essence, which was a bit over two thousand catties. They even threw away the jade bottle that held the essence. Only the liquefied elemental essence was pure enough to leave no trace; all other treasures and items could potentially have marks.

"I'm off."

The little green snake flickered in the air, easily shifting through void and disappearing.

Deep underground, where the geomagnetic field was vast and geomagnetic divine light was visible, Qingqing carefully threw the unbound storage treasure directly into the geomagnetic divine light.

...

After the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

Qingqing returned.

"Already thrown." Qingqing looked at Ji Ning.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded, then said, "Everyone think carefully, have we missed anything?"

"Senior apprentice-brother, when we appeared at Waning Moon Mountain earlier... could the servants, disciples, and others there have noticed our traces?" Mu Zishuo asked worriedly.

Ji Ning shook his head: "Don't worry. My divine sense covered the entire Waning Moon Mountain, and I observed everything. Only three people inadvertently caught sight of our dragon-headed warship. But at that time, the warship had already changed its appearance and color. Just seeing a warship, they can't trace it back to us."

"Mm." Mu Zishuo nodded. This trip was secret, so the warship had naturally been changed to the most common style. "Just seeing the warship, they absolutely cannot trace it to us."

"Good." Ji Ning nodded. "Does anyone think we've missed anything?"

Everyone shook their heads.

When they came, they had been extremely cautious. They hadn't even used a teleportation array but had flown through the clouds all the way. Only three people at Waning Moon Mountain had seen their faces: the Waning Moon Adept, Yu Tong, and Yue Wei. And those three were already dead.

"Junior apprentice-brother, I'm going to deal with Shui Yi now. You don't have to come." Ji Ning said. "Dealing with Shui Yi will be much harder than dealing with Yu Tong. Although Shui Yi is only at the perfect Zifu stage, he's inside the Dong clan."

"I have no ties, so don't say any more, senior apprentice-brother." Mu Zishuo said solemnly.

Ji Ning nodded lightly.

"Alright, but what do you all think about how to deal with Shui Yi?" Ji Ning looked around.

Qingqing quickly said, "Simple, Master. You have divine sense and can easily cover the entire Dong clan. Just find an opportunity and kill Shui Yi directly."

"It's not that simple." Mu Zishuo shook his head. "That's the home base of the Dong clan, and the hometown of a Primal Daoist. They definitely have many clan-protecting measures; it's absolutely impossible for an outsider to infiltrate silently..."

Ji Ning also nodded: "Even a fool could guess that there are layers of formations there; it's impossible to enter silently."

Qingqing pouted.

"Ning'er." The Whitewater Hound said, "It's difficult for us to enter the Dong clan to kill Shui Yi... So why not lure Shui Yi out?"

"Lure Shui Yi out?" Ji Ning's eyes lit up.

"Right." Mu Zishuo also called out in approval.

Ji Ning quickly thought, and the extensive information on Shui Yi flashed through his mind. Soon he came up with a plan.

"Since it's hard to go in and kill him, we'll lure him out." Ji Ning nodded. "Alright, let's set off now..."

"Let's go."

The dark warship, now in its ordinary form, quickly disappeared into the depths of the clouds.

...

Having killed the Waning Moon Adept, Ji Ning and the others had done everything they could; there was nothing else they could do.

But just as they feared...

The old brothers of the Waning Moon Adept would not let him die like that! And the entire 'Dark Army' would not allow an old brother who had returned to retire to die like that! The cultivators of the Dark Army had campaigned abroad for years, and countless had died. Those who lived to retire were actually very, very few.

If someone could be killed without a trace while in retirement, how could that be allowed?

"Don't worry, our old brothers of the Dark Army won't die in vain. The Skylotus Treasure Pavilion's intelligence is formidable elsewhere, but in Anchan Commandery... our Northmont clan of Anchan has the best intelligence!" At a branch of the Dark Army, a red-haired elder spoke loudly to a group of blood-robed men.

...

Anchan Commandery was the fief of the Northmont clan.

The Northmont clan of Anchan was truly deeply rooted.

Only half a day later.

At the estate of Northmont Blacktiger in Anchan City.

"Hm?" Northmont Baiwei, who was sitting drinking wine and listening to music, frowned as he heard footsteps outside.

"I'm listening to music; who dares to disturb me?" There was a hint of anger in Northmont Baiwei's brow.

Suddenly the courtyard door was pushed open directly, and a tall, sturdy, bald man in black robes walked in, followed by a pale, beardless old man with triangular eyes who always wore a faint smile that sent chills down one's spine.

"Father!" Northmont Baiwei quickly stood up.

In front of his father, Northmont Baiwei always felt nervous involuntarily.

"Baiwei." Northmont Blacktiger's gaze was deep like an endless cold pool. "I ask you, did you send someone to the Skylotus Treasure Pavilion earlier to obtain information on 'Yu Tong', 'Shui Yi', and 'Dong Qi'?"

"Yes." Northmont Baiwei nodded.

"Why?" Northmont Blacktiger asked.

Northmont Baiwei quickly replied respectfully, "It was for my brother Ji Ning and his junior apprentice-brother Mu Zishuo, who came to ask for my help. He didn't want the Skylotus Treasure Pavilion to know... So I was very cautious. Apart from the person who handled the matter and myself, no one else knows."

"Oh?" Northmont Blacktiger's eyes were cold and deep, and he said calmly, "It seems the murderer is Ji Ning and the others."