Chapter 37: Emerging from the Ten Thousand Lotus Cave

Jiuling was truly astonished. Although she admired Ji Ning, the boy with a delicate, youthful face was like a younger brother to her. Even his habit of lying in a small boat drifting on Serpentwing Lake touched a soft spot in Jiuling's heart... She had always harbored a maternal affection for Ji Ning.

She knew Ji Ning was highly gifted, but she never imagined he could be this extraordinary, this monstrous. Yes, he was monstrous beyond her imagination.

Among the Wanxiang disciples of the Black-White College, there were three reincarnated immortals. Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei had the shortest cultivation time, while the other two had cultivated for over ninety years. Ji Ning had only cultivated for thirty years, yet he already rivaled those two reincarnated immortals, and might even be stronger! Jiuling suddenly felt a pang of panic.

It was as if her Ji Ning was no longer within her control, beyond her grasp.

What's wrong with me?

Why am I panicking? Why am I uneasy?

Jiuling immediately realized her emotions were off. 'Ji Ning growing stronger is a good thing. Why am I panicking and uneasy?'

She questioned her own heart again and again.

She interrogated herself repeatedly.

Having been trapped in the Ten Thousand Lotus Cave for nearly nine years, she had also been constantly challenging the great formation left by Patriarch Dongyan that reflected the Dao-heart. She was already very close to the step of 'illuminating her true heart.' Now, the fact that Ji Ning could make a perfected Soul cultivator retreat and yield triggered an involuntary panic and unease in her... finally breaking through the last barrier.

'Is this me?' Jiuling suddenly calmed down. Her eyes were no longer confused, only as serene as the vast ocean. 'So this is the real me.'

'I am used to being in control.'

'I like to control everything.'

'I want everything around me to be within my control. I want to lead the Dongyan clan to greater heights and leave my name across the entire Great Xia Dynasty.' Jiuling murmured to herself. She had always been ambitious since childhood, but she had never illuminated her true heart; all her past actions were subconscious choices.

Joining the Black-White College as a disciple was to prove herself—to prove that even without Patriarch Dongyan's help, she could enter a sect that only accepted the most exceptional geniuses.

She never felt attracted to Chen Jin because the 'Chen clan' behind him was beyond her control, and her subconscious resisted it.

She was attracted to Ji Ning precisely because his tribe, the Ji clan, was weak and entirely within her control. Moreover, Ji Ning himself was highly talented but still within the bounds of her future leadership of the Dongyan clan. As long as he didn't become a Celestial Immortal, he would remain under her control.

Ji Ning's background also touched her heart, making her want to protect him.

'He is stronger than I expected.' After illuminating her true heart, Jiuling calmed down. 'But even if he eventually becomes a Celestial Immortal, that will be a very, very long time from now. Over such a long period, his feelings for me will surely become incredibly deep.'

Jiuling, at her core, didn't believe in love at first sight.

She believed more in... love that grows over time.

'The Patriarch said that a Dao companion is someone for whom you would die.' Jiuling silently thought. 'Maybe I can't do that now, but after a thousand years, I believe I will be willing to die for him from the bottom of my heart, and he will be willing to die for me.'

Jiuling no longer hesitated and walked straight toward the great formation.

...

The great formation that reflected the Dao-heart had blocked Jiuling for nearly nine years, but this time it couldn't stop her.

Jiuling emerged from the Ten Thousand Lotus Cave.

'Mistress.' The maidservant outside saw Jiuling come out and immediately knelt in joy. 'Congratulations, mistress! Congratulations!'

Jiuling smiled faintly.

That very day,

Jiuling left the Dongyan Mountain Range in Shangshui Commandery and headed for Yan Mountain in Anchan Commandery.

...

Under the bright sunlight, Patriarch Dongyan, who was leisurely fishing in a canyon, revealed a look of surprise and murmured to himself, 'Ruyin, although she looks like you and her surface personality seems similar, her true heart is completely opposite. This Jiuling's heart is much tougher than yours. She is a born leader. It seems my choice of her as the leader of the Dongyan clan might bring great benefits to the clan.'

...

On Serpentwing Lake in Yan Mountain, Mingxin Island.

Beishan Baiwei and Ji Ning sat facing each other, clinking cups and chatting animatedly.

'By the way, there's something I've never told you.' Beishan Baiwei quickly said.

'What is it?' Ji Ning smiled.

'It was you who killed Yu Tong and Canyue Zhenren, right?' Beishan Baiwei first cast a spell around them to block sound, then lowered his voice.

Ji Ning didn't hesitate and nodded.

He had asked Beishan Baiwei to help him gather intelligence on Yu Tong, Shui Yi, and Dong Qi back then, so it wasn't surprising that Beishan Baiwei could guess.

'Canyue Zhenren's background is quite unusual.' Beishan Baiwei said in a low voice.

'What background?' Ji Ning was startled. He had guessed as much earlier, which was why he had been so cautious.

'Canyue Zhenren was a retired cultivator from the 'Xuan Army,' one of the secret cultivator armies of my Beishan clan.' Beishan Baiwei said solemnly. 'You know, in the army, going through life-and-death situations repeatedly fosters deep bonds. Those who truly survive to retirement are few and far between. If a retired cultivator is brutally killed, his old brothers will surely step forward, and the entire Xuan Army will support them because they must ensure that retired cultivators can enjoy their later years in peace.'

Ji Ning was shocked.

So that was it—indeed, it was the secret cultivator army of Anchan Beishan clan.

'With the Beishan clan's intelligence, they should have traced it back to me, right?' Ji Ning frowned.

'If they had traced it to you, you wouldn't have had these ten years of peace.' Beishan Baiwei shook his head. Ji Ning had already been at Serpentwing Lake for a year when he fought Chen Jin, and nearly nine years had passed since then... so he had indeed been back at Serpentwing Lake for about ten years.

Beishan Baiwei lowered his voice. 'The Xuan Army traced it to my Beishan Black Tiger Manor. But no matter what, the Xuan Army serves my Anchan Beishan clan. They wouldn't dare to trouble my Beishan Black Tiger Manor. My manor handled the matter and sent them back. The Xuan Army had no choice but to give up and couldn't investigate further.'

Ji Ning understood.

So it was Beishan Black Tiger Manor that helped.

But Ji Ning didn't know that an army's loyalty was crucial, and the Anchan Beishan clan had to consider the emotions of the cultivators in the army. So it wasn't as simple as Beishan Baiwei made it sound. Beishan Baiwei himself had taken the blame, letting the Xuan Army know that it was done by the eldest son, Beishan Baiwei, without his knowledge. The Xuan Army couldn't go after the eldest son of the Beishan clan, so they had to give up.

Ji Ning, whether in his past life or this one, didn't understand such matters well, so he naturally didn't realize the sacrifice Beishan Baiwei had made.

'Thank you, Brother Baiwei, and thank you, Uncle.' Ji Ning quickly said.

'It's nothing, nothing.' Beishan Baiwei waved his hand with a smile, then lowered his voice. 'Brother Ji Ning, I've heard some things about you and your senior apprentice-sister Jiuling.'

'You know about that?' Ji Ning was surprised.

Beishan Baiwei nodded. 'Once, while drinking at Wuyou Cave, I invited Huosheng, and Chen Jin was there too. The topic came up about you. I thought you were fellow disciples, so mentioning your name might help build rapport. But Chen Jin's face turned ugly, and he soon left. Later, I asked Huosheng and learned the details.'

Ji Ning understood and shook his head with a smile. 'It's ridiculous. Jiuling never had feelings for Chen Jin; it was all one-sided on his part. He insisted on targeting me... but ended up being dealt with by me instead!'

Beishan Baiwei shook his head. 'I can see he bears a heavy grudge against you. With such a narrow mind, he's unlikely to achieve great things. Chen Jin is a member of the Chen clan of Shangshui Commandery, yet he's so petty. It seems the Chen clan's education of Chen Jin is quite mediocre. He's probably not the next clan leader.'

Major clans place great importance on the education and training of their leaders.

They must train and cultivate a qualified leader!

Clearly, Chen Jin was very unqualified.

'Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning!'

Suddenly, a clear voice rang out across the entire Serpentwing Lake.

'Ha!' Ji Ning quickly stood up, his face full of joy.

'Who is it that makes you so happy?' Beishan Baiwei was surprised.

'It's my junior apprentice-brother Shuo.' Ji Ning said happily.

...

Ji Ning and Beishan Baiwei immediately flew into the air to greet them. A group of cultivators flew down from the approaching dragon-boat warship.

'So many people.' Ji Ning was also startled.

These were all Wanxiang-level fellow disciples. Even Senior Apprentice-Brother Xueying and Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei had come. They were all elites of the Black-White College. Counting carefully, there were fifteen of them!

'Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.' Mu Zishuo was the first to fly to Ji Ning's side, excitedly punching Ji Ning's chest. 'Impressive! You even drove away an old perfected Soul cultivator. Back when we encountered the Dragon Whale Demon King, we had a tough time.'

'We didn't really settle the fight back then.' Ji Ning quickly defended.

Senior Apprentice-Brother Xueying, with white hair and white robes, spoke up. 'Junior apprentice-brother, no need to be modest. You practice the divine body cultivation path, while Xueyu Daoren practices the qi cultivation path. When strength is equal, qi cultivators generally dare not fight divine body cultivators to the death. He retreated because he was afraid of you, afraid of dying at your hands.'

Seeing this, Ji Ning stopped defending.

'Junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning.' A stunningly beautiful black-clad girl looked at Ji Ning.

'Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei.' Ji Ning quickly responded.

Back in the Dao Discussion Hall battle, it was Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei who had defeated him. Moreover, over the past nine years, when he went to the Yinglong Guard branch to take missions, he had heard news about 'Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei.' She had also shone brightly in these nine years, even defeating a mid-stage Soul cultivator. Her fame was no less than his.

'If we fought again, I might not be able to defeat you.' The black-clad girl smiled.

'Senior apprentice-sister is too modest.' Ji Ning quickly said.

'Let me introduce you. You probably don't know him.' The black-clad girl pointed to a gray-robed man with deep eyes beside her. 'This is Senior Apprentice-Brother Cangjiang. He often travels and wanders outside. By chance, he was at the Black-White College this time, so he came with us to meet you.'

Ji Ning was startled.

Senior Apprentice-Brother Cangjiang? Among the Wanxiang disciples, there were three reincarnated immortals. Yu Wei was one, and Cangjiang Zhenren was another. Moreover, Cangjiang Zhenren had cultivated for much longer and was rarely seen. This was indeed the first time Ji Ning had met him.