The Cost of Victory

Ji Ning’s heart stirred.

Snowdragon Mountain? Beisheng? This Beisheng was a Zifu Disciple of Snowdragon Mountain?

Ji Ning suppressed this thought for now and immediately pleaded, “My mother is gravely ill. I fear our Ji Clan has no means to save her. I beg you, True Immortal Mu, to come to the West Prefecture city of my Ji Clan and save my mother’s life.”

True Immortal Mu looked at Ji Ning’s expression and couldn’t help but sigh. “I am not skilled in healing, but I will go and take a look. If I can save her, I naturally will. If I cannot…”

“If you are willing to go, True Immortal, Ji Ning will be eternally grateful,” Ji Ning said quickly.

“Beast! Come here!” True Immortal Mu suddenly turned to look into the distance and barked. In the distance, the black-furred zombie, its body wreathed in corpse-aura, obediently walked over. Its green eyes held a trace of fear when it looked at True Immortal Mu.

True Immortal Mu waved his hand, and a purple coffin appeared before him.

“Get in,” True Immortal Mu commanded.

The black-furred zombie docilely opened the coffin, leaped in, and lay down flat. The coffin lid was then shut.

“This is a Corpse-Enhancing Coffin,” True Immortal Mu said as he stored the coffin away with a wave of his hand, speaking to Ji Ning, “This black-furred zombie has just lost its master. If allowed to roam free, it would only bring disaster. So while I was talking to you, I separated a strand of my primal power to refine and control it.”

Ji Ning nodded.

“Rest assured, you killed Beisheng. I will not take anything he left behind,” True Immortal Mu said. “But this black-furred zombie is something you are not yet strong enough to refine and subdue, so I am taking it away.”

As he spoke, True Immortal Mu looked toward Beisheng’s corpse in the distance. The corpse, along with the boat-shaped treasures, the horsetail whisk treasure, the blood-red cloth banner, and the beehive filled with poisonous insects, all flew over. True Immortal Mu reached out, and a bracelet flew off Beisheng’s arm and into his palm.

“This is a graded storage treasure,” True Immortal Mu said. “You cannot refine it yet, so I will help you remove its contents.”

Whoosh!

True Immortal Mu quickly refined the storage bracelet. A large pile of miscellaneous items appeared on the ground. Among them were Dao-Soldier Armor, grain and food, some gold and miscellaneous items, some materials, and various bottles and jars.

“I can tell by your complexion that you have been poisoned with Erosion-Heart Powder,” True Immortal Mu said. With a wave of his hand, one of the small bottles on the ground—a bottle with the characters ‘Erosion-Heart Antidote’ on it—flew to him. There were many bottles and jars; if not labeled clearly, even Beisheng himself might have grabbed the wrong one.

True Immortal Mu pulled out the stopper, glanced at it, and nodded. “This is the antidote. Take one pill. As for these miscellaneous items and graded treasures, you put them away. You can’t refine them now, but once you become a Zifu Disciple, you will be able to. Don’t think too much about it. They are treasures to you, but to me, they are insignificant.”

“Thank you, True Immortal,” Ji Ning said, deeply grateful.

Although he understood these items meant nothing to the other party, the fact that True Immortal Mu was so decisive and efficient, and treated him—a mere Xiantian lifeform—with such courtesy, filled Ji Ning with gratitude.

I will repay this debt of gratitude one day, Ji Ning silently vowed.

Ji Ning swallowed the antidote pill, which had a fragrant scent and resembled a sugar pill. The moment it entered his stomach, it dissolved. Soon, his entire body felt warm. The Erosion-Heart Powder poison that had taken root in his body melted away like snow under the sun. The pain throughout his body vanished completely, and the red spots on his face disappeared as well.

“This insect nest,” True Immortal Mu said, pointing to the nest where the swarms of poisonous insects dwelled, “The nest itself is an ungraded treasure. You can refine it. However, controlling the vast number of poisonous insects within will require you to become a Zifu Disciple and slowly refine them with your primal power. Before you become a Zifu Disciple, remember to feed them regularly. Don’t let them starve, or they will turn on each other and devour one another.”

Ji Ning quickly nodded. “Understood.”

“Refine the insect nest now. Ah, here is also a manual for refining poisonous insects,” True Immortal Mu said, spotting a beast-skin book among Beisheng’s belongings. “It’s a Snowdragon Mountain classic. Not particularly valuable, but it contains the basics for refining and taming Gu insects. Refining poisonous insects is actually quite simple; the hard part is finding and cultivating them. You don’t need to read it now; this is something you’ll need to learn once you become a Zifu Disciple.”

Ji Ning took the book. On its cover were three characters—The Art of Gu Refining.

“Because there are poisonous insects inside this nest, it cannot be stored in a storage treasure,” True Immortal Mu said, handing the nest to Ji Ning. “However, the nest itself can be enlarged or shrunk. Shrink it and carry it with you.”

“Yes,” Ji Ning acknowledged. He accepted the enormous black insect nest. Before handing it over, True Immortal Mu had already broken the residual energy within it, so Ji Ning was able to refine it immediately. Otherwise, just breaking through Beisheng’s leftover energy would have taken him a long time.

“Smaller, smaller, smaller.” Ji Ning watched as the black insect nest rapidly shrank, becoming the size of a finger. He produced a small cloth pouch, placed the nest inside, and tucked the pouch into his bosom. The treasure armor he wore adjusted slightly, hiding the pouch within it.

“Store!”

Ji Ning waved his hand, gathering all the miscellaneous items on the ground—books, poisons, and other things Beisheng had left behind. As for Beisheng’s graded treasures, Ji Ning did not touch them.

“As for these graded treasures,” True Immortal Mu said, pointing at the blood-red cloth banner, “I’m taking this Ten Thousand Ghost Banner. It is a treasure born from sin and karma. I need to bring it back; it serves as proof that I have completed my mission. Keep the rest.”

“Alright.” Ji Ning then stored all the graded treasures away.

These graded treasures were useless to him now, so he simply put them away.

“This Ten Thousand Ghost Banner…” True Immortal Mu picked up the blood-red cloth banner. A faint black light was still visible on its surface. “It was created by torturing and killing who knows how many people. The karmic sin is heavy! This Beisheng was destined to die. He actually used this Ten Thousand Ghost Banner against you. Your soul has already reached the Divine Sense level. How could this half-finished Ten Thousand Ghost Banner possibly shake you?”

True Immortal Mu thought Ji Ning had relied on his powerful soul to slaughter the vengeful ghosts one by one. He had no idea that Ji Ning had used the Nuwa Visualization technique to release those ghosts instead.

“Look, this is sin. Karmic sin so heavy it is visible to the naked eye, while boundless karmic merit remains invisible,” True Immortal Mu said, pointing at the black light on the blood-red banner. “Karmic sin visible to the naked eye. You can imagine how deep it is. Beings with such heavy sin are exactly the kind the Yinglong Guard eliminates.”

Ji Ning nodded.

Inside the mountain belly, Mengyu and the others were wrapped in clothes, covered in bloodstains.

“Hurry, lift him up.”

“Move quickly.”

Black Snake and the Greenflame Bird both barked at the servants. The servants did not dare to disobey; they obediently carried, propped up, and supported those who could not walk on their own.

“Where is the young master?”

“Where is Young Master Ji Ning?” Mengyu, Ji Wuyu, and the others asked.

Black Snake replied, “The young master is right outside.”

Mengyu could still walk on his own, while Ji Wuyu was carried out. One by one, they exited the mountain belly. The moment they emerged, they saw the thousands of terrified Dao-soldiers, the corpses scattered all over the ground, and Ji Ning and True Immortal Mu speaking to each other in the distance.

Ji Ning turned his head. Seeing Mengyu covered in blood, and Ji Wuyu and the others being carried out, a pang of sorrow shot through his heart. He couldn’t help but call out, “Master Mengyu.”

“Young master,” Mengyu replied.

“You… all of you…” Ji Ning didn’t know what to say.

“Thank you, young master.”

“Thank you, Young Master Ji Ning.” It wasn’t just the Ji Clan members. Even the crippled Xiantian lifeforms from the Bianhe, Tiemu, and Kou clans all expressed their gratitude. Their dantians had been destroyed, reducing them to cripples. But just being able to see the light of day again and return alive to their tribes was already a blessing beyond measure.

Ji Ning’s heart ached with endless bitterness. Among these people were enemies of the Ji Clan, but they had once been proud Xiantian lifeforms. Now, their dantians had all been destroyed.

The brief joy he had felt from acquiring all of Beisheng’s treasures vanished without a trace. Ji Ning turned to the servants and barked, “How many people are still imprisoned in this mountain?”

“There are probably more than a million people locked up. Whether even half of them are still alive is hard to say,” one of the servants said nervously.

Ji Ning felt his breath catch.

A million?

“Sinful,” True Immortal Mu shook his head and sighed. “Ji Ning… leave the thousands of Dao-soldiers and the hundreds of thousands of surviving mortals to these two spirit-beasts. You two, remember this. The thousands of Dao-soldiers are also innocent; they were forced into service by Beisheng. Do not slaughter them again.”

“Yes.” Black Snake and the Greenflame Bird both nodded rapidly. They had seen the power of the Dragonrider Dao-soldiers. Even if they spared the Dao-soldiers, the Dao-Soldier Armor would certainly be taken away.

“I leave everything here to you,” Ji Ning instructed.

“Don’t worry,” Black Snake and the Greenflame Bird both replied.

“Ji Ning, let’s go. To your Ji Clan’s West Prefecture city,” True Immortal Mu said. “I can give a few people a ride along the way.”

With a wave of his hand, a leaf suddenly appeared, growing larger and larger until it became a gigantic leaf dozens of zhang long. Ji Ning quickly helped Master Mengyu, Ji Wuyu, and a group of Ji Clan members onto the leaf. As for the people from the Kou, Bianhe, and other tribes, they would have to rest here for now, waiting for their tribes to send someone to pick them up.

“Let’s go.”

True Immortal Mu, Ji Ning, and the crippled Ji Clan Xiantian lifeforms all stood on the leaf. The enormous leaf, dozens of zhang long, rose rapidly into the air, soon soaring over the mountains and breaking through the clouds, vanishing into the horizon.

(Tomato asks for recommendation tickets!)