Chapter 22: Merit and Sin

The Chenyu Mountains stretched endlessly, nearly a million li in length, rivaling a cluster of minor worlds. A minor world like 'Earth' was only a few tens of thousands of li in circumference.

Deep in the mountains.

Three youths—two boys and a girl—were traveling together. One carried a long staff, another a giant axe, and the third a bow and arrows on her back.

“We must make the top ten of Giant Ape City in this trial,” said the broad-shouldered, sturdy youth gripping the giant axe, his fighting spirit blazing. “Only by being in the top ten can we participate in the entire tribe’s grand competition. If we perform well there, we’ll receive the tribe’s full guidance in training.”

“If we miss this chance, we’ll have to wait another ten years. We can’t afford that,” added the lean youth carrying the bow.

“Though we’re Xiantian, we’re still mortals… Only by opening the Zifu can we be considered cultivators,” the black-robed girl nodded.

The Shaoyan clan was far too powerful.

The tribe’s population was immense, so internal competition was equally fierce.

“Look, what’s that?” The sturdy youth with the giant axe looked up in shock into the distance.

“This…”

“A tidal wave…” The lean youth and the black-robed girl stared in terror at the distance.

In the distance, an endless colossal wave surged forward, stretching for thousands of li. With their Xiantian vision, they couldn’t see its end. The wave, taller than any mountain peak, rushed toward them from afar, and they were stunned!

Faced with such world-destroying power, these three Xiantian-level youths had no power to resist.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The seemingly majestic mountains shattered directly before the wave.

“No.”

“I won’t give up. I haven’t made a name for myself yet.”

“My mother’s revenge is still unavenged. I haven’t killed the city lord of Giant Ape City!”

Each of the three youths had their own wishes.

They had never left the Chenyu Mountains since childhood. Their activities as Xiantian beings were confined to a few tens of thousands of li around Giant Ape City. Naturally, their grudges were against other Shaoyan clan members! For the top-tier Sanxian and Earth Immortals, they were united, but for the lower-ranking Shaoyan clan members, there were many feuds.

Like in Ji Ning’s past life in China—though it was one country, internal grievances and entanglements were countless. So when a tribe grew to a certain size, internal enmity was equally astonishing.

If a monstrous genius truly emerged,

and that genius sought revenge by killing his own clansmen, the high-ranking Sanxian and Earth Immortals, even the Celestial Immortal ancestor, would back the genius! This would make the genius even more loyal… Within the Shaoyan clan, there might be many evildoers, but the clan’s explicit rules always required kind treatment of clansmen, providing basic living support to every member, even the impoverished, so that clansmen understood that the clan was good to them; it was only certain individuals within the clan who were bad!

“No—”

The three youths refused to accept it.

Rumble~~~

The surging waters of the ancient River Su rushed forth, but a thin stream of river water shot out first, directly enveloping the three youths.

“We…” The three youths were astonished.

They stared blankly around them. A thin stream of river water had completely wrapped them, like a giant bubble. This bubble protected them, while outside the bubble, the endless River Su was madly destroying everything—mountains shattered, earth churned.

“What kind of power is this? This is our Shaoyan territory. Who, who is attacking our Shaoyan clan?” The three youths knew that the tribe’s home base was supposed to be very safe; such a disaster was absolutely impossible. Only a truly legendary terrifying existence could do this.

“That is…” They suddenly saw a short, stout man standing in the high distance, at the center of the endless waves, like a demon god.

The youths felt that this endless river was controlled by that stout man.

“If I had such power…” The youths looked at the terrifying scene within their sight—mountains collapsing, earth churning, heaven and earth destroyed. Though terrified, they also felt longing.

…

Giant Ape City was one of the many cities in the Chenyu Mountains.

It was a dwelling for mortals. Within the Shaoyan clan, hierarchy was strict; some places were for mortals, others only for cultivators. The entire city of Giant Ape City had over ten million mortals, many Xiantian beings, and dozens of Zifu cultivators and one Wanxiang Adept managing the city.

“Heavens.”

“Who did this?”

“Who dares to treat our Shaoyan clan like this?” Countless people on the streets and in homes of Giant Ape City watched in terror as the raging wave in the distance rose as high as the sky. Outside the city, distant mountains instantly collapsed, and the earth churned.

The wave instantly swept over the city.

But a mass of River Su water enveloped the city, wrapping it in a ‘water ball,’ leaving it unharmed.

…

From Ji Ning’s perspective, that city of Giant Ape City was like a toy, bobbing up and down in the River Su within the water ball.

Since childhood, Ji Ning had been trained by his father to kill, and as a youth he had roamed and slaughtered. He would not be soft-hearted toward his enemy, the Shaoyan clan. However, first, these were mortals, and in great numbers. Killing mortals as a cultivator incurred heavy sin. His tribulation was already difficult enough; if he killed a large number of mortals and became burdened with sin, his heavenly tribulation would become terrifyingly severe. Second, no matter how deep his hatred, Ji Ning had his limits.

Just as when he avenged Chuncao, he killed Jiang He but spared Jiang He’s child.

Similarly…

Ji Ning’s pride made him disdain killing the countless mortals of the Shaoyan clan.

Would mortals become cultivators in the future? Become strong?

Then come. Make your move.

If you can kill me, Ji Ning, then I deserve it. But if anyone dares to attack me, I will show no mercy!

…

“Demon god.”

“Immortal?”

“Heavens.”

The countless mortals of the Shaoyan clan, having escaped disaster, looked up at everything, especially the stout man controlling the river, all in terror.

…

After killing the Old Demon Fufeng, Ji Ning immediately began to destroy heaven and earth, breaking all the array foundations. While he acted, Whitewater Hound, Xiaoqing, and Mu Zishuo also appeared at the palace of the Old Demon Fufeng. Though the palace was already destroyed, Whitewater Hound quickly set up arrays. First, he instantly laid a trapping array covering ten thousand li, then layer after layer of even more powerful formations!

This time, Ji Ning spared no expense, buying many rare items from the Treasure Hill of Heaven and Earth. In fact, the cost was no less than that of setting up the arrays at Mount Yan.

But because Whitewater Hound had too little time to set up arrays, he chose only those that could be deployed quickly.

Though not as powerful as the three great deadly arrays, Whitewater Hound planned to set up a total of ninety-two major arrays, all within a ten-thousand-li range. If the three great deadly arrays were excluded, even the arrays at Mount Yan were not this extreme!

“Flee.”

“Quick.”

Ji Ning did not kill mortals.

But he showed no mercy to cultivators. A large number of cultivators were swept away in the River Su. Ji Ning had no leisure to specially protect these cultivators.

“Kill, kill, kill!” Mu Zishuo was the most frenzied. He had rushed out of Whitewater Hound’s array range from the start, controlling the Winged Immortal puppet, releasing the Seven Wheels of Wind and Thunder, killing madly.

Yuan Shen Daoists? Wanxiang Adepts? Zifu cultivators?

Anyone from the Shaoyan clan—kill, kill, kill!

Ji Ning sighed inwardly but did not stop him. “If Cousin had come, she would probably vent like this too. But I can’t let Junior Brother kill too much; sin is already showing on him.” Ji Ning’s divine sense detected that Mu Zishuo’s merit and sin had been normal, but now a turbid aura of sin was gradually appearing.

Note that killing cultivators incurred very little sin.

But Mu Zishuo’s strength was too great; such a massacre still brought sin. And because he killed many, his sin increased considerably.

“Junior Brother is weak. If his sin becomes too great…” Ji Ning willed it, and the River Su became even more violent, deliberately sweeping groups of cultivators, causing many to die. Ji Ning originally had a golden light of merit, though small, it was at the golden light level.

But as Ji Ning controlled the River Su’s sweep, his golden light of merit gradually shrank, then turned into a clear aura of merit!

The range and density of the clear merit aura continuously decreased.

“Kill, kill, kill…”

Resentment.

Violence.

The resentment and violence of the dead cultivators constantly wrapped around Ji Ning, absorbed and transformed by the three Northsea swords within him. After his slaughter in the Donglin Mountains, killing so many Sanxian and Earth Immortals, the Northsea swords already possessed power comparable to top-grade immortal flying swords. Though he killed many cultivators this time, they were all weak; even all of them combined produced less violent aura than the few Bronze Demon Guards he had killed earlier.

But killing so many cultivators caused Ji Ning’s merit to drop sharply.

“People? Where are the people?” Mu Zishuo found no more targets around. Suddenly, he saw a city in the distance—the one Ji Ning had set down with the River Su, filled with mortals.

Mu Zishuo’s eyes were red, in a frenzied state. He didn’t even bother to distinguish mortals from cultivators.

He immediately flew over, intending to slaughter.

“Junior Brother, those are mortals! Mortals!”

“So what if they’re mortals? Everyone from the Shaoyan clan deserves to die!” Mu Zishuo was utterly mad.

“If you kill them, karmic fire will descend, and you will die too,” Ji Ning roared.

…

When Ji Ning killed the Old Demon Fufeng and began his mad destruction, the many Sanxian and Earth Immortals elsewhere in the Chenyu Mountains had already noticed. One by one, they activated their array formations and restrictions, at least protecting other areas of the Chenyu Mountains. But the region of over a hundred thousand li that the Old Demon Fufeng had controlled could not be saved; they were too late, as many array foundations had been destroyed.

The Sanxian and Earth Immortals stood in midair, within the range of their controlled arrays, watching from afar as the stout man controlled the River Su, destroying the land.

“The one daring enough to be this crazy is probably Ji Ning. The one releasing the Seven Wheels of Wind and Thunder must be that Mu Zishuo.”

“Attack. Let’s attack.”

“Just endure this?”

Some Sanxian were furious.

“The Ancestor instructed that if Ji Ning attacks, we are forbidden to engage. Protect the tribe as best we can and leave everything to the Ancestors. I have already crushed the signal talisman; the Celestial Immortal ancestors should arrive soon,” a green-haired immortal said in a low voice.