The Names of the Fallen

“Senior apprentice-brother, there’s an intruder trapped inside the Master’s illusion formation,” the handsome youth called Xiao Qi said quickly. “He looks like a mere youth. But his strength is astonishing—he even killed one of the Master’s spirit beasts, Black Needle. I nearly lost my life as well.”

The black-robed man frowned. “Oh? That formidable?”

“Extremely formidable. The enemy also trains both Ki Refining and Fiendgod Body Refining. He should be at Xiantian perfection as well. Only Senior Apprentice-Brother can kill him.”

“Once Senior Apprentice-Brother unleashes Drunk Dragon’s Saliva, no matter how strong he is, he’ll definitely fall unconscious and be captured.”

The others flattered him from the side.

The black-robed man glanced at this group of junior brothers and sisters. “Just a single intruder, and you’re all helpless? Hmph. The Master is currently refining a magic treasure and cannot be distracted. Since you six can’t accomplish anything else, you might as well personally go torment these Xiantian lifeforms. It will help the Master complete his treasure.”

“Yes, Senior Apprentice-Brother.” The six men and women answered in unison, then each picked up the various torture instruments scattered on the ground and walked toward the Xiantian lifeforms.

These bound Xiantian lifeforms, whose dantians had been crippled, were almost all from the Yan Mountain region. Very few came from other places, because most had long ago been tortured to death. Even the dozens that were still alive were on the verge of death.

“Ki Refining and Fiendgod Body Refining trained together? Xiantian perfection? I’ll go see for myself.” The black-robed man snorted and strode out.

…

“The Three Powers form the foundation.” Ji Ning, protected by his Water-Fire Lotus, sat cross-legged on the ground murmuring to himself as he studied the massive formation around him. “Among the Five Elements, Water and Earth are dominant… The source of change lies in these positions.”

A huge formation model naturally took shape in his mind, the mysteries of its operation fully revealed.

Ji Ning rose to his feet.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant he transformed into a blur, changing directions several times in succession. The faster he moved, the greater the pressure he exerted on the formation, allowing him to see more of its strengths and weaknesses.

“It’s even more profound than the formation model I envisioned,” Ji Ning shook his head. “If I could see the formation flags and disks, I would quickly understand the mysteries of this formation.” He knew this was a large formation controlled by a Zifu Disciple. That Zifu Disciple might be unable to split his attention for some special reason and hadn’t come to deal with him yet.

But Ji Ning understood: that was only temporary. Once the Zifu Disciple freed his hands, with his personal strength combined with the aid of the formation, Ji Ning would almost certainly die.

“I have to break the formation.”

Time was pressing. Under this invisible pressure, Ji Ning threw himself fully into comprehending the formation, his understanding of the Dao of Formations constantly improving. Thanks to the foundation of his past life, the power of his current soul, and the formation insights left behind by a Loose Immortal, progress was astonishingly fast. But to break a large formation laid down by a Zifu Disciple… it was still a long way off.

To break a Zifu Disciple’s formation by force required power that even a Wanxiang Adept would struggle to muster. As for Ji Ning, his only hope was to see through the formation’s secrets and break it effortlessly. Using brute force? He was far too weak.

“Hoo…” The black mist ahead seemed to thin slightly, and a dark figure became faintly visible in the distance. That figure was watching the seated Ji Ning with great interest. “Manipulating water and fire? That protective lotus seems quite extraordinary.”

Pfft!

The black-robed man now held a porcelain bottle in one hand and pulled out the stopper. The bottle began to release a fragrance that could intoxicate the heart. The bottle contained Drunk Dragon’s Saliva. If ingested directly, even a Wanxiang Adept would be instantly knocked unconscious—but getting a Wanxiang Adept to actually drink it was difficult, as they would smell it immediately.

Just the scent of Drunk Dragon’s Saliva, when inhaled, would cause a Xiantian lifeform to collapse into unconsciousness. As the senior apprentice-brother, he had been gifted this Drunk Dragon’s Saliva by his master, allowing him to capture so many Xiantian lifeforms silently.

“Fall, fall, fall!” The dark figure watched Ji Ning expectantly.

“Hm?”

Ji Ning, sitting cross-legged, felt a fragrance enter his nostrils. His body immediately went limp and his head began to spin. But thanks to his Xiantian Fiendgod body, forged through the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens, which was far superior to ordinary Fiendgod bodies, he only felt slightly dizzy. As soon as his divine power circulated, it easily suppressed the feeling.

“What coward dares to use such tricks behind my back!” Ji Ning shot to his feet and bellowed.

“Haha, as expected, a Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner is hard to get drunk,” the black-robed man said as he walked over from the distance. “Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiners are already Fiendgods in the flesh. Getting them drunk is no easier than getting a Ki Refining Zifu Disciple drunk. That’s why all the Xiantian lifeforms I captured in the Yan Mountain region were Ki Refining Xiantians.”

“Ki Refining Xiantians collapse with a single sniff. Once their dantian is crippled, they have no power to resist. But a Fiendgod Body Refiner—even if you punch a hole through his dantian, it’ll grow back. They’re the hardest to control. And torturing a Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner to death is far too difficult.” The black-robed man muttered to himself with a sigh.

Ji Ning fixed his gaze on the distant black-robed man, his twin swords in hand, extremely cautious. The pressure the man exuded just by walking over was palpable… it was the oppressive aura of a Xiantian Fiendgod Body Refiner at his peak. Clearly the man had already activated his divine power and was in a state of readiness to strike at any moment.

“You said you’ve been capturing Xiantian lifeforms?” Ji Ning stared at him.

Instead of answering, the black-robed man looked at Ji Ning with a half-smile. “If I’m not mistaken, you should be the Ji Clan’s young master, Ji Ning.”

“Oh?” Ji Ning was startled.

This was a tribal era where communication relied on shouting and travel on foot. Only high-ranking members of the tribes knew Ji Ning’s name. Even if they did, they probably wouldn’t recognize him on sight…

“It seems I guessed right.” The black-robed man sighed in admiration. “Across the entire Yan Mountain region, the only one who looks so young yet is already a Xiantian lifeform—and is considered Xiantian perfection by my junior brothers and sisters—would have to be Ji Ning, the one who kicked down a city wall with three kicks and sent Jiang Sansi flying with one kick.”

“You know a lot,” Ji Ning said.

The black-robed man remarked, “Of course I have to know a lot. I follow my master’s orders to capture a large number of Xiantian lifeforms in the Yan Mountain region. Naturally I have to investigate first, learn the intelligence on every Xiantian lifeform there. If I don’t prepare in advance and happen to run into an iron board, wouldn’t I be the one to fall? For instance, your father, Ji Yichuan—he reached Xiantian perfection long ago. I even suspect he might already be a Zifu Disciple. I wouldn’t dare touch someone like him.”

“Only by figuring out the details can I capture them with certainty. Until now, so many Xiantian lifeforms have gone missing in Yan Mountain, yet no one knows who did it.” The black-robed man looked at Ji Ning. “Young, with such extraordinary strength—there’s only one like you in all of Yan Mountain. Besides, this territory belongs to the Ji Clan’s Western Prefecture. It’s only natural that you’re of the Western Prefecture.”

Ji Ning was shocked.

So many Xiantian lifeforms had gone missing in Yan Mountain? How could he not know?

In truth, all this had happened very recently. Capturing Xiantian lifeforms had to be done quickly—snatch them away suddenly. It would take a few days for the victims to be discovered, and a few more for the tribes to make a decision. So they had to grab a huge batch at once, not slowly. Once the major powers of Yan Mountain reacted and set traps, it would become very dangerous.

“Nearly a hundred Xiantian lifeforms have gone missing in the Yan Mountain region,” the black-robed man said. “Since this area is close to the Ji Clan, the Ji Clan has lost more than most: twenty-four in total. Some are direct members of the Ji Clan, some belong to tribes under the Ji Clan’s rule. The Ji Clan’s territory is vast—I doubt the Ji Clan has even counted the exact number of missing Xiantian lifeforms yet.”

Ji Ning was horrified.

The Ji Clan… had lost that many Xiantian lifeforms?

“Your Western Prefecture also lost a few. Let me list some names—you probably recognize them.” The black-robed man said, “Ji Wuyu, Ji Shan, Wa Qiong, Zhen Tu, Meng Yu. These five are all direct members of the Western Prefecture. You should know them, right?”

“Ah!”

Ji Ning’s face turned pale.

Ji Wuyu… was Ji Lie’s son, the most outstanding among Ji Lie’s children. The Ji Lie faction and the direct line had been fighting fiercely over the next Prefectural Lord position, and Ji Wuyu had been the most active. Ji Ning had even disliked that man for a time.

Ji Shan was a young Xiantian lifeform of the Western Prefecture. Although not a commander, the Western Prefecture had high hopes for him. He carried the Ji surname and belonged to the direct line.

Wa Qiong was a newly recruited Xiantian lifeform nurtured by the Western Prefecture. Ji Ning had seen him many times in the Western Prefecture city. Whenever Wa Qiong saw Ji Ning, he would always bow slightly and call out, “Young Master Ji Ning.”

Zhen Tu was one of the Ji Clan’s twenty commanders!

Meng Yu… Meng Yu… Meng Yu!!!

“Master Meng Yu!” Ji Ning’s heart trembled.

Master Meng Yu had taught him archery. He was the one Ji Ning was most familiar with among these five.

All five.

He knew every single one of them. He had grown up in the Western Prefecture city. He had seen every Xiantian lifeform in the city. At the yearly Snowdrift Hall gatherings, he had met them all. They were his clansmen in this life! Some he had once resented, some belonged to his direct line, some had dealings with him, and one was his archery teacher!

“You…” Ji Ning’s face was ashen.

“You recognize them all, don’t you? Haha…” The black-robed man suddenly shouted loudly, “Ji Wuyu! Ji Shan! Wa Qiong! Zhen Tu! Meng Yu! Your Western Prefecture’s young master Ji Ning is right inside the formation! Your young master Ji Ning will soon come to keep you company! Hahaha…”

His voice carried far, directly into the distant mountain belly.