Chapter 45: Shennong's Medicine

The God King sat high on his throne, looking down. "Yu Wei, how have I treated you?"

"The God King's kindness to Yu Wei is as heavy as a mountain." Yu Wei knelt prostrate, answering with reverence. These were words from the depths of her heart. In her past life, she had fallen into demonic madness, becoming a rakshasa-like being. It was the God King who guided her, helping her recover from that state of possession and restore her sanity. If not for the God King, she would have long been utterly destroyed.

Moreover, the God King had always meticulously taught each of them, and every one of them held boundless respect for him, willing to die for him.

Yu Wei was merely one among countless others. The moment she became a disciple of Patriarch Lu, her status among the countless spies controlled by the Void Sect soared instantly. After all, most infiltrators only reached the level of Earth Immortals or Loose Immortals; not even one in ten thousand could become a Celestial Immortal, let alone forge a connection with an important figure like Patriarch Lu.

Now, Yu Wei was not only connected to Patriarch Lu but also to Ji Ning. Moreover, she had become the only chance for the Void Sect to turn the tide in this 'Realm War'!

"Now, the time has come for you to make your sacrifice," said the God King.

Yu Wei trembled involuntarily, then pressed her head to the ground and said respectfully, "Please give the order, God King." Every infiltrator awaited the arrival of the final command. For someone like the Evergreen Sword Immortal, even if exposed, he could still escape back to the Void Sect. But Yu Wei was merely a Celestial Immortal, utterly incapable of fleeing back. Moreover, to the Void Sect, once Yu Wei was exposed, her value, though she was a Celestial Immortal, would diminish greatly.

"This time, Shennong, one of the Three Sovereigns of the human race, sent the True Immortal Yunchen to the Eight Dragons Cloud City..." The God King began to speak.

Yu Wei listened attentively.

In her heart, Ji Ning and her daughter were the most important. But the God King was also very important to her. First, because of his kindness; second, because the God King had long placed a forbidden seal on her soul, which would unconsciously influence Yu Wei's heart, making her trust the God King more and more. His kindness to her would be met with increasing gratitude, even to the point of willingness to die.

...

Inside the Purple Haze Pearl World.

Ji Ning, Yu Wei, and their daughter 'Mingyue' lived happily together.

"Kneel down." Ji Ning spoke with a hint of anger.

"Oh."

Their daughter Mingyue obediently knelt, but her little lips pouted as if she were about to cry.

Ji Ning said angrily, "You need to understand the gravity of things. Not everyone is a cultivator. I, your mother, Uncle Mu, Grandpa Bai, and the others all have high cultivation, so naturally we don't care about the flames you control. But many of the servants and attendants on our Mingxin Island are mere mortals. When you tease them with flames, to them, it's a deadly crisis. If I hadn't discovered it in time, your maidservants would have been burned to death."

Mingyue dared not make a sound.

Among her parents, Ji Ning had always been gentle, while Yu Wei was usually stricter. But this time, Ji Ning's anger completely frightened Mingyue.

It was no wonder Ji Ning was so angry. Just two days ago, he had chosen two young maidservants of about eleven or twelve years old for his daughter. Those two little maidservants naturally took great care of their young mistress. Mingyue had fun with them and liked them very much. So... she decided to tease them with flames, just as she had teased the White Water Marsh and the others.

The maidservant was burned horribly on the spot. Fortunately, Ji Ning discovered it quickly, immediately cast a spell, and bestowed a spiritual pill, allowing the maidservant to fully recover.

"I told you to remember the levels of cultivators, to make you understand the threat you pose to mortals now. Have you forgotten?" Ji Ning said angrily.

"I, I..." Mingyue stammered.

"Still crying?" Ji Ning fumed. "Kneel here today. Don't get up until I say so."

"Let's go." Ji Ning left with Yu Wei, leaving Mingyue alone, pitifully kneeling in the room.

After a while.

A huge snow-white dog passed by.

"Grandpa White," Mingyue called out.

The snow-white dog glanced at her, then walked away.

A moment later, a woman in green walked by.

"Aunt Green!" Mingyue called again.

The woman in green showed a helpless expression and also left.

...

"Was that too harsh?" Yu Wei asked worriedly.

"If I don't punish her this time, she'll cause chaos later." Ji Ning said angrily, then looked at Yu Wei in surprise and smiled, "Senior apprentice-sister, usually you're stricter with her than I am. Why are you soft-hearted today?"

"Seeing that little one looking so pitiful..." Yu Wei shook her head.

Ji Ning said, "She's pretending to be pitiful. She knows that when she does, we soften. So she does it now. This time, she needs to learn a lesson. Although Mingyue has great talent and is naturally intelligent, she was born not long ago. She's like a blank slate, unaware of consequences, without a sense of good and evil. We must teach her properly."

"Yes, we must teach her well. It seems you're more suited for teaching than I am," Yu Wei said.

"You teach better than me," Ji Ning shook his head. "When it comes to raising children, mothers are more attentive."

Yu Wei nodded slightly, saying nothing.

"What's wrong?" Ji Ning felt something was off. Having been Dao-companions for so long, he could sense that Yu Wei was not herself today.

"Oh." Yu Wei snapped out of her thoughts, shook her head, and said, "Nothing. I was just thinking about the realm wars outside. Now that our child is born, I'll probably have to join the battle."

Ji Ning was taken aback, then nodded gently: "Yes, all Celestial Immortals must join the war. You were pregnant before, so you could delay. Now you'll probably have to go. But it's no big deal. Even if you don't go for now, as long as Dao Ancestor Xia Huang hasn't spoken, putting it off is just a minor matter."

"Better not put Emperor Xia and the others in a difficult position," said Yu Wei. "I'll leave an incarnation here to accompany our daughter. I'll return to Eight Dragons Cloud City and prepare for battle."

"Mm, that's fine. You'll be in my North Darkness Army," Ji Ning said with a smile. "Fight alongside me." Only with his senior apprentice-sister in his own army could Ji Ning feel more at ease.

Yu Wei nodded.

……

Inside Eight Dragons Cloud City.

Senior apprentice-sister Yu Wei had returned and was now in her residence.

"Don't rush. Both sides are currently at a standoff. The Undying Sect has gained a Dao Ancestor puppet. On our side, we should have received help from the Human Sovereign Shennong and are still planning... It's not yet time for the final decisive battle," Ji Ning said.

"This decisive battle will probably be the last great clash of this realm war," Yu Wei sighed.

"Mm, so it's very dangerous. When the 'Xingtian Formation' is formed, you should be at the spot closest to me," Ji Ning said. "If anything unexpected happens, I can protect you."

Yu Wei looked at Ji Ning. She could see the concern in his eyes.

This made Yu Wei's heart complex.

Both warm and painful.

"Mm." Yu Wei nodded lightly.

……

"Ji Ning, come to me." The voice of Dao Ancestor Redbright sounded in Ji Ning's ear.

Ji Ning was startled.

"I need to go see the Dao Ancestor." Ji Ning rose and told Yu Wei, then quickly flew out. Watching Ji Ning's departing back, Yu Wei gazed silently, as if wanting to look a little longer.

Inside the great hall.

As soon as Ji Ning entered, he was astonished to find that only Dao Ancestor Redbright and True Immortal Clouddust were in the hall.

"Greetings, Dao Ancestor, greetings, True Immortal," Ji Ning said.

"Sit." Dao Ancestor Redbright smiled, and True Immortal Clouddust also looked at Ji Ning with a smile.

Ji Ning sat down.

Dao Ancestor Redbright said, "I asked you here because I have a very important task for you."

"Oh?" Ji Ning immediately listened attentively.

"This time, Clouddust came on the orders of the Human Sovereign Shennong, bringing two treasures." Dao Ancestor Redbright turned his hand, and two jade bottles appeared in it—one black, one white. This also drew Ji Ning's gaze. Could the treasures in these two jade bottles change the course of this realm war?

After all, the enemy had gained an extra Dao Ancestor puppet. Was this thing even more powerful than a Dao Ancestor puppet?

"Inside this black jade bottle is a kind of immortal medicine that Shennong painstakingly developed just recently," Dao Ancestor Redbright said, pointing at the black jade bottle. "If you crush this black jade bottle, the Shennong medicine inside will rapidly spread over ten thousand li. All immortals within ten thousand li, including Pure Yang True Immortals, will have their magic power completely immobilized."

"What?" Ji Ning exclaimed. "Even Pure Yang True Immortals will fall victim? Without magic power, aren't they nearly mortal?"

"Mm." Dao Ancestor Redbright nodded. "This immortal medicine was just refined, and the Undying Sect has never obtained it, so naturally they haven't developed an antidote. But this medicine has one drawback... it doesn't distinguish friend from foe! Within ten thousand li, whether enemy immortals or our own immortals, all will be affected."

Ji Ning nodded.

This was a common trait of some poisons; after all, poison has no intelligence and cannot distinguish friend from foe.

"So inside this white jade bottle is the antidote," Dao Ancestor Redbright said, pointing at the white jade bottle.

"When you return... pour out this antidote and dissolve it entirely into this gourd of wine." Dao Ancestor Redbright took out another gourd. "Each loose immortal needs one drop of the medicated wine, each Celestial Immortal ten drops, and each Pure Yang True Immortal a hundred drops. After the three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand loose immortals under your North Darkness Army have all drunk it... when battle begins, I believe the Undying Sect will definitely want to kill you and will surely send a large army to surround and kill you. At that time, you crush this black jade bottle, and immediately all immortals within ten thousand li will fall. But you, having taken the antidote in advance, will be completely unaffected. All you need to do is slaughter freely." Dao Ancestor Redbright smiled.

Ji Ning was overjoyed.

How satisfying!

After all, immortals made up the vast majority of the Undying Sect's camp; many of their divine puppets were controlled by Celestial Immortals.

"It's useless against gods?" Ji Ning asked.

"It has little effect on divine power," Dao Ancestor Redbright nodded.

"With the Undying Sect's intelligence, they will probably soon know... that this thing has fallen into my hands," Ji Ning said.

"This Shennong medicine is very precious, just refined by the Human Sovereign, and the cost is not small. Although the quantity is limited, besides giving it to you, we have also bestowed it on another person," Dao Ancestor Redbright said with a smile. "When you and another army use it simultaneously, even if the Undying Sect knows, they will be helpless."

"Your strength is great, and the Undying Sect's desire to kill you is extremely strong. If they come to surround and kill you, you use the Shennong medicine. If they don't surround you, you pick them off one by one and sweep through them." Dao Ancestor Redbright said, "This is an open scheme; they can do nothing about it."

Ji Ning's eyes lit up as he listened.

Victory was certain!

"Don't disappoint me," Dao Ancestor Redbright said, looking at Ji Ning.

"Rest assured, Dao Ancestor," Ji Ning said with full confidence.