Chapter 26: Another Life of Thirty Thousand Years

In the heartworld, Jiuli, curious, came to visit Ji Ning. By now Jiuli was graceful and elegant. The moment she saw Ji Ning, she inexplicably felt a fondness for him, but Ji Ning remained wary. No matter what, in the heartworld one must never sink into it. 'Sinking' here meant truly liking this world from the heart and accepting it.

Liking the heartworld meant abandoning the real world.

Once sunk, one's real self would naturally die.

In the heartworld, his parents were safe and sound, and none of the tragedies had occurred. Ji Ning actually liked it in his heart, but since his heartforce had reached the third level, 'Mastery', he let all kinds of joyful emotions pass through his mind while remaining his own master, constantly reminding himself... everything was an illusion constructed by the heartworld, not real.

The feelings between my parents and me have already greatly influenced me in the heartworld. I absolutely cannot let my feelings for Jiuli and Yü Wei get entangled in this heartworld as well. Ji Ning was very clear inside: once emotions of love got involved, this heartworld tribulation would truly become dangerous.

...

But the heartworld was not something Ji Ning could control.

On her first visit, Jiuli's heart left an imprint of Ji Ning, and afterward she came several more times.

This is my senior apprentice-sister Yü Wei, a true genius of our Black-White College, said Jiuli.

Of course, she can't compare to the Northmont Immortal, Yü Wei also said with a smile. The first time Yü Wei saw Ji Ning, she too inexplicably felt a fondness for him.

In the heartworld, Yü Wei and Jiuli were both irresistibly drawn to Ji Ning.

But Ji Ning, full of wariness, always restrained these feelings.

Time passed.

In the blink of an eye, decades went by.

Ji Ning had obtained the Plume-Sky Palace as a child, and now he had cultivated to the seventeenth level of the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens.

Yü Wei and Jiuli were as close as sisters, and they didn't even mind each other. They built a hut near Yanshan, not far from Ji Ning. They believed that one day they would move Ji Ning with their sincerity. Unlike in reality, in the heartworld Jiuli and Yü Wei's hearts were completely focused on Ji Ning; they even disregarded everything else, and Jiuli no longer cared about her tribe.

And finally, the tribulation of the Three Realms arrived!

In the heartworld, Ji Ning also had his second true body undergo the tribulation. In the heartworld, everything was illusory, and the heartworld tribulation was but an instant. After enduring it, the second true body became a Celestial Immortal.

During the tribulation of the Three Realms, Ji Ning naturally formed an alliance with the Northmont clan of Anthe. Although he never truly got together with Jiuli, since Jiuli and Yü Wei had been sincerely pursuing him all along, the Dongyan clan was also close to Ji Ning. Patriarch Dongyan, Patriarch Tonghe, and others all formed alliances with Ji Ning to face the tribulation of the Three Realms.

The war began!

In the Grand Xia world, battle after battle, Ji Ning had to fight to protect his tribe, but in the later stages, he felt the strain. Finally, he decided... to undergo the God Tribulation!

One bad thing about the heartworld was that one could not comprehend the Dao!

This was an illusory world, and every tribulation-transcender knew this in their hearts. Since even the Dao could not be comprehended, although Ji Ning had spent a hundred years in the heartworld, his Dao comprehension had not improved at all compared to reality. The only thing that could improve was the 'heartforce', tempering the heart.

Heartforce could still be tempered and improved in the heartworld.

Unfortunately, Ji Ning had always been at the third level, 'Mastery', and had made little progress. To reach the fourth level, 'Mortal Dust', was extremely difficult. After all, reaching this level made one a true expert in the entire Three Realms; fearsome archers and even Patriarch Source were at this level.

During the tribulation... Ji Ning felt that he could no longer hold his own, so he decided to undergo the God Tribulation.

The God Tribulation was too powerful.

The Wind Tribulation and Fire Tribulation nearly killed Ji Ning.

When the Thunder Tribulation descended, just the sixty-second heavenly thunderbolt... struck Ji Ning's true body dead.

He failed.

With the true body's failure in the tribulation, the Plume-Sky Palace departed, seeking its next successor.

...

Ji Ning was left with only his second true body, and like many other Celestial Immortals, he drifted with the tide during the tribulation. Yü Wei and Jiuli also passed their tribulations one by one during the calamity and became Celestial Immortals. They still followed Ji Ning... but Ji Ning always remained wary of them, unwilling to deepen his feelings for them.

The deeper the feelings, the easier it was to sink into the heartworld.

War after war!

Yü Wei and Jiuli always followed Ji Ning, experiencing life-and-death situations time and again. Finally, the tribulation of the Three Realms, which had lasted eighteen thousand years, ended. Ninety percent of the Celestial Immortals in the Grand Xia world died, even the Xia Emperor died, and countless mighty figures perished. But Ji Ning, Yü Wei, and Jiuli all survived, and even the Ji clan of Yanshan was safe and sound.

After the great tribulation, Ji Ning returned to Yanshan.

Jiuli and Yü Wei still pursued him, living in Yanshan as well. Yuchi Xue and Ji Yichuan, who had become Celestial Immortals by transcending the tribulation at the end of the great calamity, also urged Ji Ning to accept Jiuli and Yü Wei.

Eighteen thousand years of feelings!

Life and death, side by side, time and again.

Note that in the real world, Ji Ning had only lived for a hundred years or so, while in the heartworld, eighteen thousand years had passed. If his heartforce were slightly weaker, he would have long confused reality and illusion, willingly taking the heartworld as the real world, since he had lived longer here and it was happier.

But Ji Ning, at the 'Mastery' level, was even more terrified.

Because his father and mother had actually managed to transcend the tribulation and become Celestial Immortals, and he, Yü Wei, and Jiuli had all survived the tribulation... This heartworld was clearly constructed to give him a very happy life. And to weaken his ambition, it made his God Tribulation fail directly.

Weakening ambition, a happy life, feelings, life-and-death companionship time and again, and eighteen thousand years of living—all of this influenced Ji Ning again and again.

Ji Ning, how can you be so heartless? Eighteen thousand years, and you are still so heartless. Fine, fine, fine... I will never bother you again, never make you feel troubled anymore. Jiuli looked at Ji Ning, tears streaming down.

I'll leave with Jiuli, and no longer trouble you, this heartless man. Yü Wei's eyes also held pain.

A celestial sword appeared in each of their hands.

"No."

Ji Ning involuntarily blocked and knocked away those two flying swords.

"You won't let us die? Even if you stop us now, we can just find a place you can't find and end our miserable lives," Jiulian said in pain. "Anyway, my sister and I have nothing left to live for."

"Sister, let's go." Yu Wei pulled Jiulian.

Ji Ning closed his eyes.

In the demon heart world, had he been running away all along? Avoiding? Was this right or wrong? Why did running away only make the emotional entanglement cause him more pain?

"Don't go." Ji Ning suddenly said.

Yu Wei and Jiulian, who had already turned around, suddenly trembled. The two stunning women, one in black and one in white, turned simultaneously and looked at Ji Ning. The look in their eyes, as if they had waited for eighteen thousand years, made Ji Ning's heart melt.

"Ji Ning, you really..." Jiulian and Yu Wei looked at Ji Ning.

"Don't go." Ji Ning walked over. "I don't want you to go." He reached out and took Yu Wei's and Jiulian's hands.

Yu Wei and Jiulian both hugged one of Ji Ning's arms, leaning gently against him.

Ji Ning felt his Dao heart blur slightly.

He understood...

His sinking had gone a step further.

When he completely sank, that would be the moment of his death and soul's destruction.

...

Ji Ning, Jiulian, and Yu Wei were together, truly a divine couple. The Three Realms were at peace again. Among the Ji clan, there were as many as nine Celestial Immortals: Ji Ning, Jiulian, Yu Wei, Yuchi Xue, Ji Yichuan, Uncle Bai, Qiuye, Chuncao, and Xiaoqing. Everyone Ji Ning cared about could live, even become Celestial Immortals.

Life was harmonious and beautiful, exactly what Ji Ning truly yearned for in his heart.

Carefree and unrestrained.

Being together with loved ones, living happy days.

He and Jiulian and Yu Wei had children. Teaching children was troublesome, but also joyful and happy.

...

Happiness.

Neither in his past life nor this one had Ji Ning ever been so happy. But in the demon heart world, it was truly happy and complete.

"No wonder in the Great Xia world, a celestial immortal appears only once in a million years, and countless Returning Void earth immortals who undergo tribulation all fail." Ji Ning's heart ached. He knew it was illusory, yet over thirty thousand years had already passed. The life of thirty thousand years—how many times greater was it than reality? Even with Ji Ning's Dao heart, he found it hard to break free.

There was even a trace of reluctance to break free, a reluctance to let it all shatter.

...

The Heartworld.

Night.

A small boat drifted on Yishe Lake. Ji Ning sat cross-legged in the boat, alone.

"Am I truly about to sink?" Ji Ning felt his Dao heart growing increasingly blurred, clearly being eroded.

Ji Ning gazed into the distance at Mingxin Island. On the island were those he loved most: his father, mother, Jiulian, Yuwei, Uncle Bai, Xiaoqing, Chuncao, Qiuye, and his children. All these emotions were like chains binding him tightly, and as time passed, they wound ever deeper. The thirty thousand years had long made it impossible for him to break free.

"After all!"

"After all!"

Ji Ning gritted his teeth. Blood began to flow from his seven orifices, yet he still forced out the words, "It's fake, it's all fake!!!"

Uttering this single sentence alone made Ji Ning feel as if a knife were cutting his heart.

"It's all fake."

"And..."

"I want to make all this real, let them come back to life in reality!" Ji Ning's Dao-heart was like a small blade of grass entangled by countless chains, yet that blade of grass struggled desperately, strove to grow, and despite being pulled and dragged, it still grew.

"I am me!"

"I am the master of myself! No one can shake me, whether it's thirty thousand years or a hundred thousand years, no one can shake me!!!" Ji Ning stood on the wooden boat and roared, a roar directed at the entire world of heart demons.

With this roar, Ji Ning's Dao-heart instantly grew much stronger!

He had originally only reached the third level of mastery, but at this moment he had already attained the perfection of the mastery level.

Just after Ji Ning uttered these words,

"Boom~~~" The heavens and earth changed color.

"Crash."

Space shattered.

A towering figure stood afar in the void, his aura immensely powerful, gazing at Ji Ning: "You are Ji Ning? You must be the previous successor of the Plucking Star estate. The Plucking Star divine ability must not be leaked; one of us is enough. So... die!" A giant hand instantly blotted out the sky, its might terrifying and boundless, descending.