The Reckoning of the Road

A small leaf boat flew through the clouds and mist, heading towards the direction of Anchan City.

Ji Ning lay within the boat, leaning against its stern. With a single glance, he could see the endless earth far below.

“I cannot fail to avenge my uncle, my father, and my mother,” Ji Ning mused. The scroll his father had left him recorded the names of the enemies. There had been three murderers back then. The instigator was named ‘Dong Qi’, a rather peculiar name, but his grandfather was a Primal Daoist.

Ji Ning was well aware of his own strength. Killing an Immortal Xu Li was nothing special. After all, even amongst Wanxiang Adepts, there were dazzling geniuses like Xue Hongyi; he wasn’t entirely confident he could defeat her. As for the lofty Primal Daoists, a single spout of Primfire from one would likely reduce him to ashes, his soul scattered.

Primfire… was a technique that all Primal Daoists possessed upon reaching that stage. It was something that a non-Primal Daoist simply could not wield. Just as a ‘Wanxiang Dharma Idol’ was unique to Wanxiang Adepts.

“There were three murderers. Dong Qi was the instigator. The other two, ‘Yu Tong’ and ‘Shui Yi’, were the accomplices.” Ji Ning pondered. According to the message on his father’s scroll, Yu Tong and Shui Yi were like servants following Dong Qi. At a single order from Dong Qi, the two of them had immediately struck to kill.

Strictly speaking, Yu Tong and Shui Yi were the ones who had acted. Dong Qi was the one who had given the order.

“Dong Qi! Yu Tong! Shui Yi! All three of you deserve to die.” A flicker of murderous intent flashed through Ji Ning’s eyes before he regained his composure. “But I can’t rush to take revenge for now. My foundation is still shallow. I don’t even know where Dong Qi and the other two are now, or how powerful they’ve become. There’s no way to take revenge even if I want to.”

“I’ll head to Anchan City first. Find a sect, enter a sect.” Ji Ning said to himself.

Ji Ning was no fool.

His parents had said before that once he went out to travel the world, he should find a great cultivator and take them as his master. After all, traveling alone in the outside world was very dangerous. Having a backer would make things different. For an ordinary Zifu Disciple, it was difficult to even enter a sect. But Ji Ning’s talent was extraordinary, and he was fully capable of entering the tutelage of a great power.

Since he could enter the tutelage of a great power, Ji Ning naturally wouldn’t be foolish enough to struggle alone.

“By entering a sect, I’ll be able to learn divine abilities from them, and even gain access to top-tier Ki Refining techniques.” Ji Ning thought. Even Tongyu of Snowdragon Mountain had learned ‘Heavenly Transformation’. As long as he chose a sect more powerful than Snowdragon Mountain, Ji Ning believed the sect would have divine abilities.

“With the help of the sect… my strength will be able to greatly increase. My horizons will broaden. Only then will I have the capital to take revenge.”

Ji Ning didn’t want to end up dying for the sake of revenge.

Just as his parents had hoped. Revenge was one thing, but his own life was more important. He still had to make his name known across the endless earth. And in the future, he wanted to meet Lord Cui again.

“It’s a pity I’m not strong enough. If I were, joining the Yinglong Guard directly would be a good thing.” Ji Ning shook his head. Joining the Yinglong Guard was too difficult. Even Mu Xiao had only entered at the late Wanxiang stage. If he tried, even if he passed eventually, once they inspected him and found out that he had the ‘Starseizing Hand’ with its terrifying power while still at the seventh stage of the Crimsonbright Diagram, they would definitely discover something was wrong.

The Starseizing Hand divine ability was a true trump card. Ji Ning didn’t want to rely on this technique to join the Yinglong Guard.

…

“First, enter a sect, use the sect to increase my strength. Then, enter the Yinglong Guard. The divine abilities and techniques within the Yinglong Guard are even more comprehensive, perhaps even surpassing the Anchan Marquis’ estate.” Ji Ning nodded. To stand at the peak, blindly struggling was simply too foolish. Without a powerful Ki Refining technique, he wouldn’t even be able to break through to the Wanxiang stage, let alone the Primal Daoist stage.

And the more precious the Ki Refining technique, the more restricted it was. Once leaked, the sect would hunt the leaker down!

With his own extraordinary talent… first entering a sect, then joining the Yinglong Guard, was the correct path.

On the path of cultivation, even walking with three companions could provide a teacher. The artifact spirit of the aquatic manor had even suggested that Ji Ning take many masters, absorbing the essence of many, which would help him become a great power within the Three Realms.

“Uncle White.” Ji Ning spoke up.

Whitewater Hound, who was on the boat, turned his head to look at Ji Ning.

“What do you think? When I reach Anchan City, should I first pay my respects to a master, or should I first go see Beishan Baiwei?” Ji Ning asked. “He treated me quite well and said I must go see him when I arrive in Anchan City.”

“Beishan Baiwei?” Whitewater Hound spoke in human tongue. “This man comes from an extraordinary background and is skilled at making friends. Since he said so, you should go see him. Beishan Baiwei is certainly very familiar with Anchan City and should also be familiar with many of the sects. It will be helpful for you in choosing which sect to join.”

Ji Ning nodded lightly.

That made sense.

After all, in the vast land of Anchan Commandery, the sect he was most familiar with was Snowdragon Mountain. He was not very clear about the others. But Snowdragon Mountain was not among the top-tier powers within Anchan Commandery. The top-tier sects were those with Immortals guarding them.

…

The speed at which Ji Ning piloted the leaf boat was not fast. He would fly for eight or nine hours each day, and for the other three to four hours, he would land on the ground to find a place to cultivate, rest, and visualize the Nuwa Diagram. This way, he could travel a hundred thousand li each day.

Whoosh.

On the sixth day after leaving the Yan Mountains, Ji Ning was piloting the leaf boat through the clouds.

“Hm?” Ji Ning suddenly felt a strong disturbance. He turned his head to look, only to see a massive, majestic ship smashing through the air, crushing the airwaves as it approached. The ship was filled with many beautiful, brightly dressed women. Seated on the second deck was a noble young master with pale skin, flanked by three beauties who were massaging his shoulders and legs. The young master was dressed in crimson clothes, holding a goblet of wine. His eyes swept in Ji Ning’s direction for a moment before he ignored him.

“Look, that one in leather clothes. I wonder what barbaric wasteland he came from. Completely uncivilized.”

“He doesn’t look like he’s from a big tribe.”

Some of the beautiful women on the bow of the massive ship called out towards Ji Ning’s direction.

Whoosh!

The massive ship sped into the distance, quickly vanishing from Ji Ning’s sight.

“That ship is certainly fast. It’s probably being piloted by a Wanxiang Adept.” Ji Ning remained lying in his leaf boat, which continued its ‘leisurely’ speed of a hundred thousand li per day. After all, one could roughly deduce a cultivator’s strength from the speed of their flying treasure.

“The closer I get to Anchan City, the more likely I am to run into cultivators. That ship was the sixth wave I’ve encountered,” Ji Ning mused with a sigh.

Anchan City was the core of the entire vast land of Anchan Commandery, a gathering place for Immortals and devils. All the larger tribes, sects, and schools had branches in Anchan City. Many rogue cultivators also liked to gather there, because it was a gathering place for Immortals and devils, and various treasures were plentiful. They could trade.

Moreover, the public order in Anchan City was very good, allowing for peaceful cultivation.

“Time to rest.”

With a thought from Ji Ning, the leaf boat immediately dove down, heading straight for a stretch of wild mountainous forest below. Given Ji Ning’s current strength, it was truly difficult for him to encounter any danger while traveling. The only ones he couldn’t resist were Primal Daoists. And Primal Daoists? Which one of them wasn’t in seclusion in their own grotto? Even if they occasionally came out, they either traveled in great style or moved mysteriously without a trace.

“Whoosh.” The leaf boat charged into the wild forest before vanishing into thin air. Ji Ning and Whitewater Hound both landed lightly.

“We’ll rest here for today.” Ji Ning said, casually tossing out three formation flags. The flags landed some distance away, and then they vanished without a trace.

From the outside, Ji Ning and Whitewater Hound were completely invisible.

Ji Ning sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate in stillness, visualizing the Nuwa Diagram within his sea of consciousness. Whitewater Hound also took out a scroll and lay down, staring at the densely packed text on it. This scroll was a copy of the ‘Nine Volumes of Formations’. Ji Ning had the original Nine Volumes of Formations. By using a simple spell, the ‘Water Imprint Art’, he had created two duplicate scrolls. One had been left with the tribe, and the other was given to Whitewater Hound.

Uncle White had done extensive research on formations, his accomplishments far surpassing Nong Zidao’s, and thus far beyond Ji Ning’s. It was just that in the past, he had never had a sufficiently good book on formations to study. Now that he had obtained this ‘Nine Volumes of Formations’, he naturally meditated on it every day.

The sky was just beginning to lighten.

Ji Ning got up.

“Uncle White.” Ji Ning looked at Whitewater Hound beside him. Whitewater Hound was still lying there, staring intently at the scroll. Hearing Ji Ning’s call, he immediately scrambled to his feet and put the scroll away.

“Let’s go.” Ji Ning walked directly onto the leaf boat, and Whitewater Hound followed.

Swoosh!

The leaf boat immediately rose rapidly, continuing its journey towards Anchan City.

“Hm?” Having just flown several dozen li, the leaf boat suddenly stopped. Ji Ning looked down.

“What’s wrong?” Whitewater Hound looked at Ji Ning.

“There’s a disturbance.”

Ji Ning stared down at the mountain forest below. Based on the strength and general direction of the disturbance, it should be a battle between Zifu Disciples. He immediately released his divine sense, rapidly covering the forest below. When Ji Ning had first broken through to the divine sense level, he could cover an area about a hundred li away from him.

Now, half a year later, the range of his divine sense had expanded somewhat.

…

Within the mountain forest.

“We are members of the Meng Clan!” A handsome, fair-skinned youth was shouting angrily. Beside him were a slender, extremely beautiful woman and a sturdy, honest-looking youth. The three of them were struggling to fend off an attack. Their assailants were two men in white robes.

These two men in white robes were wielding their treasures, completely trapping the trio.

“You bastards of Snowdragon Mountain, once my father finds out, he will definitely exterminate you both!” The handsome, fair-skinned youth shouted angrily.

“If the two of you leave now, the tribe won’t exact revenge for such a small matter. But if we die, our Meng Clan will definitely investigate this to the end!” The slender woman was also shouting in intimidation.

Only the honest-looking youth remained silent.

They were indeed members of the Meng Clan, one of the super-large tribes of Anchan Commandery, even stronger than Snowdragon Mountain. However, as a top-tier super-large tribe… internal conflict was fierce. Even the Ji Clan’s Western Prefecture had factions, let alone a super-large tribe like this one. The three of them had mediocre talent and a lowly status within the tribe. They were not valued, and could not even learn top-tier techniques. After breaking through to the early Zifu stage, they had joined forces to leave, planning to head to Anchan City to enter a sect.

It was not uncommon for disciples of large tribes to enter sects; they were usually the ones who had failed to gain recognition in their own tribes.

“Elder apprentice-brother, these three look like they are indeed from the Meng Clan, judging by their clothes.” The two men in white robes transmitted to each other. “Kill them or not?”

“You don’t understand. Those with true status in the Meng Clan travel with servants, maids, and guards. These three are merely low-status members of the Meng Clan, even if they are from the Meng Clan. Kill them.”

“Alright.”

Having agreed, the two men immediately moved to kill.