Chapter 32: Seeing You Off

The red karmic fire was terrifying, yet it also carried a strange sense of sanctity.

Its existence was to burn away all sin!

"Ah!"

Ji Ning in midair, his eyes completely red, suddenly clutched his head and fell straight down from the high altitude.

At this moment, in the quiet chamber of the Water Mansion.

Ji Ning's second soul, the 'black-robed Ji Ning,' who had been sitting cross-legged on the Netherwater Jade Bed, was also burning with red karmic fire. The black-robed Ji Ning knelt on the bed, letting out piercing screams of agony. In pain, he crawled and tumbled off the bed.

"No, no..." The black-robed Ji Ning let out agonized roars.

...

In the outside world, Ji Ning fell from the sky. As he fell, he clutched his head and let out terrifying, maddening roars.

"He's not dead?" The Patriarch of the Shaoyin clan was astonished. At this moment, the other six Celestial Immortals on the flying shuttle had also emerged. They watched the scene with delight, then exclaimed in surprise, "He wasn't burned to ashes instantly?"

"Hahaha..."

In the distance, the old demon Fufeng hovered in midair. Under the scorching karmic fire, he let out a chilling laugh. His face was twisted, his eyes bloodshot, his whole body convulsing in pain, yet he still roared with laughter, "Truly more... more exhilarating than a million years of... the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations! Hahaha, ah..."

The old demon Fufeng was also suffering under the karmic fire.

"Fufeng's Dao-heart is no weaker than mine," the Celestial Immortal Chixin couldn't help saying. "Even Fufeng is in such pain. That Ji Ning, who has cultivated for less than a hundred years, hasn't been burned to death instantly by the karmic fire—it's simply unbelievable."

"Yes, with less than a hundred years of cultivation, his Dao-heart is this strong."

"When karmic fire descends, it will impose punishments layer by layer. This is just the beginning," the Shaoyin Patriarch said darkly. "I don't believe Ji Ning can endure it."

Karmic fire...

It is the holy fire of sin, an extreme manifestation of karmic sin.

This fire is a fire of nothingness; it burns the soul, it burns the heart!

It does little harm to the physical body, for heaven leaves a sliver of hope. If karmic fire could burn the body, then Fiendgods would have a huge advantage, and Qi Refiners would be at a great disadvantage.

Though it doesn't harm the body, burning the soul is far more terrifying! Even a cultivator of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art like Ji Ning has no advantage... Before karmic fire, all cultivators are equal. What is tested here is the Dao-heart—whether it can survive under the karmic fire.

Once the Dao-heart collapses, the soul cannot hold firm, and in an instant, the soul turns to ash, scattering utterly.

Fortunately, just before this, Ji Ning had created the tenth stance of the Three-Foot Sword, and his Dao-heart harbored the resolve of 'Where the Dao lies, even if a million oppose me, I go forth.' It was this resolve within his Dao-heart that allowed him to withstand the first punishment of karmic fire—'pain.'

"He's... still not dead... not dead... what a monster!" The old demon Fufeng trembled in pain, looking down at the falling Ji Ning.

Fufeng's Dao-heart was extremely strong.

He had lived for a million years. The Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations came every three hundred years for a calamity and every nine hundred years for a tribulation. Over this million years, he had endured countless such trials. Under such constant pressure, his Dao-heart had become incredibly powerful. Even the million years of Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations were easy for him. Clearly, his Dao-heart was even stronger than that of the Northern Traveler Immortal.

Even among Celestial Immortals, he was likely among the top.

Under the first punishment of karmic fire—'pain'—though it was agonizing, he could still maintain some rationality and even speak with difficulty. Clearly, he was much stronger than Ji Ning.

...

"What!"

Within the ten-thousand-mile formation, the Whitewater Hound, Xiaoqing, and Mu Zishuo were stunned.

They saw the blood-red sky and the blood-red karmic fire on Ji Ning's body. The moment they saw the karmic fire, they understood everything. Watching Ji Ning fall from the sky, screaming in agony, despair filled their hearts.

"Karmic fire? Why has karmic fire descended on master?" Xiaoqing was terrified.

"How can this be? Senior apprentice-brother, Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning..." Mu Zishuo trembled in anxiety. "Senior apprentice-brother, it's all because of me, because of me... No, no..."

The Whitewater Hound stared at Ji Ning falling from the sky, burning in karmic fire. Tears streamed down his face. "Ning'er, Ning'er..."

Despair!

They were cultivators too and knew the terror of karmic fire. They understood that once karmic fire descended, no one else could help. Surviving karmic fire was incredibly difficult; only truly powerful beings with extraordinary Dao-hearts could survive it.

But Ji Ning had cultivated for less than a hundred years! Though he was recognized as a peerless sword immortal seed with a firm Dao-heart and strong sword-heart, his cultivation time was too short.

The punishments of karmic fire come one after another, each more terrifying than the last.

"Ning'er, you must endure, endure," the Whitewater Hound said, watching Ji Ning. "I promised Big Brother I would take care of you, watch over you."

...

On the long shuttle, the Shaoyin Patriarch and the six Celestial Immortals watched Ji Ning fall.

"He didn't die even with karmic fire descending," the Celestial Immortal Xuanji quickly said. "Ancestor, the punishments of karmic fire come layer by layer. But just in case a miracle happens and the boy survives, we should suppress him now. He's completely defenseless—this is the best opportunity to suppress him."

"Right," the Celestial Immortal Chixin nodded. "Though I don't think Ji Ning can endure it, if a miracle does occur, it's better to suppress him in advance."

"Suppress him."

"It's a pity that Golden Bell died and the divine bell was taken by Ji Ning."

"I naturally have other suppression treasures. Though not as powerful as the divine bell, they are still top-grade Pure Yang magic treasures. Once used to suppress him, he won't be able to escape." The Shaoyin Patriarch suddenly produced a pair of brass cymbals and threw them. The cymbals grew with the wind, turning into a pair of hundred-zhang cymbals.

The pair of cymbals separated; one covered Ji Ning from above, the other rose from below to meet him. Once the cymbals closed together, Ji Ning would have no way to escape.

Ji Ning's eyes were bloodshot from pain, his face twisted, and he couldn't help but let out agonized cries.

But his Dao-heart had not scattered!

He still retained a sliver of rationality. He could see everything around him, though the scenes were distorted due to excessive bloodshot eyes. If the congestion worsened, he might even go blind. When the two huge cymbals closed in, Ji Ning swung his hands. Bang! Bang! He sent both cymbals flying.

"He can still perceive the outside world?" The Shaoyin Patriarch was surprised.

"Even if he can perceive the outside world, his rationality is probably very low," said the Celestial Immortal Chixin. "He's like a wild beast now, just swatting away anything that threatens him. He doesn't even think to flee. He could easily escape with his evasion technique, but he doesn't. Clearly, his rationality has dropped to a very low level."

"Let's all attack and see if we can trap him."

"Let's try."

The six Celestial Immortals all made their moves.

Black chains flew out, a ten-thousand-zhang horsetail whisk coiled around, and countless vines tried to entangle him.

"Bang, bang, bang..."

Ji Ning's vision was distorted, but he still saw the mass of objects closing in. He desperately swung his hands. With his Star-Picking Hand, he sent all the magic treasures flying. The vines were torn apart, unable to get close. After all, these Celestial Immortals were all severely wounded; their magic treasures could hardly withstand Ji Ning's hands.

Even when the six Celestial Immortals tried to form a formation, their injuries prevented them from stopping Ji Ning's Star-Picking Hand.

"Yes, truly like a wild beast, madly swatting away anything that comes close," the Shaoyin Patriarch said softly. "I've thought of a way to send him to his death."

"Oh?" Everyone looked at the Shaoyin Patriarch.

"Could it be the Realm-Boundary Tower?" the Celestial Immortal Chixin suddenly said.

"Chixin truly understands my mind." The Shaoyin Patriarch nodded gently. "Fortunately, I brought the Realm-Boundary Tower with me this time when I left seclusion. Since Xuanji and the others all came, no one was guarding the tower."

Whoosh.

A small tower appeared in the Shaoyin Patriarch's palm. It was the same ancient tower where the Celestial Immortal Xuanji and the others had been stationed. That tower was the most important treasure of the Shaoyin clan. For the Shaoyin clan, the most important were the Shaoyin Patriarch himself—the powerful Poisonous Ugly Immortal with many avatars—and then this Realm-Boundary Tower.

The Realm-Boundary Tower was discovered when the ancient Pangu World shattered. One of the Poisonous Ugly Immortal's avatars, by chance, found a flying tower, collected it, and fled.

It was a先天灵宝 (Primal Chaos Treasure), the greatest gain of the Poisonous Ugly Immortal's endless years.

"Whoosh."

The small tower in the Shaoyin Patriarch's palm flew out, turning into a ten-thousand-zhang tower. The tower hovered high above, covering Ji Ning below. It floated about a thousand zhang above Ji Ning. The Shaoyin Patriarch and the others had noticed earlier that a thousand zhang was a boundary; if they attacked beyond that distance, Ji Ning would swat away anything that came close.

"Ji Ning, I'll see you off," the Shaoyin Patriarch said softly.

"Whoosh..." The entire tower suddenly lit up, especially its base, where a dark vortex appeared. The vortex spread downward, covering a hundred li in radius, naturally enveloping Ji Ning completely.

He was entirely within it.

If Ji Ning were normal, his sharp mind would have immediately noticed something wrong and he would have quickly fled the area. But now, he was clutching his head in agony, the karmic fire burning fiercely, its power growing stronger, even beginning the second punishment. His only remaining rationality was to keep all magic treasures and spells away; he didn't notice anything amiss.

"Hum..."

The tower grew brighter.

Then, whoosh!

The tip of the tower suddenly flashed. Swish! A beam of light shot into the sky, as if piercing through layers of space, then vanished. The area covered by the dark vortex within a hundred li became completely empty. Ji Ning had disappeared entirely, vanished from the Grand Xia world, even from the Three Realms, to beyond the Three Realms...