The Gathering Storm

Ji Ning sat cross-legged, his right hand extended. A faint aura of Yuan power enveloped the ten-thousand-year-old ice within the nearby沉木 box. The chill of the ancient ice was continuously drawn into Ji Ning’s body, channeled directly into his Violet Palace within. The strand of cold-sha being nurtured in his Violet Palace, upon contact with this chill, immediately began devouring it with frenzied excitement.

“Master.” Qingqing, who had been hesitating by his side for some time, finally spoke.

“Hm?” Ji Ning turned his head.

“Master, once you’ve used up this piece of ten-thousand-year ice, I’ll give you another one,” Qingqing said cautiously, watching him. “Another piece, about two feet high.”

Ji Ning couldn’t help but laugh. He could see it now—this Little Qing was a bit of a miser.

Looking at Qingqing… Ji Ning’s mind suddenly conjured the image of another woman.

“Sister Qiuye,” Ji Ning murmured silently. “It’s been over three years since I left the Yan Mountains… Volume 8, Chapter 29: The Gathering. Over three years gone. I wonder how Sister Qiuye is doing now.”

The woman who had been like an elder sister to him since childhood—Ji Ning held deep feelings for her.

“Once I become a member of the Yinglong Guard, I can investigate the three murderers who caused my father, mother, and uncle so much suffering,” Ji Ning thought to himself. “And… I can also return to the Yan Mountains, to see Sister Qiuye and Qingshi. And that Winged Serpent Lake…”

Ji Ning suddenly felt a strong desire to return to Winged Serpent Lake. It had been so long since he had floated on a small boat atop those waters.

“Winged Serpent Lake.”

As he thought, a sharp light flickered in his eyes.

“One day, I will ensure that everyone I love can live happily forever. That tragedy will never again occur around me. Never!” Ji Ning’s heart was filled with an incredibly powerful obsession. His Dao-heart was tempered even more purely. “And Snowdragon Mountain? It is merely the first tiger blocking my path on the road to immortality.”

In his heart, Ji Ning’s goal had always been to become a mighty power who could roam freely across the Three Realms and control his own destiny.

Snowdragon Mountain? Ji Ning had never considered it the sole purpose of his life.

…

Days passed within the ice layer. Three of them, in fact.

The cold-sha within Ji Ning’s body, nurtured by the chill of the ten-thousand-year-old ice, had grown significantly, reaching the eighth-grade level. Growth was naturally rapid at the start, but it would slow down the higher the grade. Some cold-sha with weaker potential had little hope of ever advancing another grade.

“Hm?” Ji Ning looked at Mu Northson not far away.

Mu Northson opened his eyes.

“Done?” Ji Ning asked.

“Mm.” Mu Northson’s eyes sparkled with delight.

“Wood,” Qingqing suddenly spoke up. “I’ve prepared a gift for you, a congratulations on successfully planting your cold-sha.”

“A gift? For me?” Mu Northson was astonished.

“Mm.” Qingqing nodded proudly, and in her delicate palm appeared a small wooden box.

Ji Ning glanced at the dainty box and covered his forehead with his hand.

“Look,” Qingqing said, opening the box.

“Ten-thousand-year ice!” Mu Northson exclaimed. He had been completely focused on planting the cold-sha, unable to spare any attention, so he hadn’t heard the earlier conversation.

Ji Ning took a peek. The piece of ten-thousand-year ice in the ‘dainty’ box was only half a foot long.

Qingqing quickly looked at Ji Ning, blinking.

“How could I possibly accept this…” Mu Northson was still declining.

“Just take it,” Ji Ning said, rising to his feet. “Take it, and we’ll hurry to the next earthfire vein.”

The cold-sha vein beside them was now only about a little more than half its original size. Ji Ning could have sought out other Wanxiang Adepts to trade—but after the two group battles in the Mount Yujue Wasteland, one against six Wanxiang Adepts and the other against over a dozen Wanxiang demons, he had quickly realized that with his current strength, acquiring treasures out in the world was not difficult. Spending time scheming and haggling with one or two Wanxiang Adepts was hardly worth it…

On a desolate mountain, a Xiantian goblin was keeping watch.

“Our king told us to patrol every peak and search for those human cultivators. The Mount Yujue Wasteland is so vast—how am I supposed to run into them just by squatting on this one peak?” A yellow-haired goblin leaned against a large rock. As a Xiantian monster, even in places like the Yan Mountains he would have to bow his head to the tribes; here in the Mount Yujue Wasteland, he was nothing but a small fry.

“Two human youths, and they actually made the Dragon Whale King suffer a loss.” The yellow-haired goblin still remembered the content of the beast-hide letter.

Through the water-mark art, the original beast-hide letter sent by the Dragon Whale King had been copied thousands of times. All the Xiantian monsters had seen it and memorized it.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a streak of light shot down from the distant clouds, diving toward a nearby desolate mountain.

“That is—” The yellow-haired goblin was startled. He looked carefully, then revealed a delighted expression. “Right, it’s a Dragon-Head Warship.”

He watched as the Dragon-Head Warship flew to the desolate mountain, and three figures descended—Ji Ning, Mu Northson, and Qingqing. Then they vanished from sight.

“That’s the desolate mountain. There aren’t many monsters around; mostly small fry, nothing to worry about,” Qingqing said.

The Dragon-Head Warship immediately dove down.

Ji Ning released his divine sense, covering an area of nearly three hundred li—the limit of his current perception. Upon scanning, he confirmed that within several hundred li, there were only small monsters. There might be one Zifu-level monster, but it was deep in seclusion within a secret chamber.

“Let’s go.”

They used an earth-evasion technique to enter the mountain’s interior.

Inside the mountain, Qingqing led the way. “Follow this tunnel. Soon we’ll reach an underground river. We’ll travel along the river, and before long we’ll see the earthfire vein.”

True enough.

A short while later, in the deep, dark underground, with an underground river on one side, they came upon a crevice about two zhang wide on the other side. From the crevice, a golden flame was billowing outward.

“An earthfire vein,” Ji Ning said, his eyes lighting up. “It should be… Golden Flame Earthfire!”

He recognized it immediately.

“This is a decent earthfire as well.” Ji Ning felt pleased. He looked down into the deep crevice; below, streams of boiling magma rolled and flowed. It was normal to see Golden Flame Earthfire near magma. But when Ji Ning looked at that magma… for some reason, a sudden sense of unease struck him!

An obscure threat—it was a faint, instinctive warning from his soul.

Ji Ning turned his head away from the magma, and the sense of threat vanished.

“Could there be a spatial tear down there?” Ji Ning wondered. Sometimes, seeing twisted spatial cracks would also cause a faint palpitation. In a place like the Mount Yujue Wasteland, such occurrences were all too common.

“Don’t you two go into the magma. Especially you, Little Qing. Don’t run off into it,” Ji Ning instructed.

“Not go into the magma?” Qingqing looked at him.

Ji Ning nodded. “There are probably spatial distortions or cracks. Best to be careful. Also, this time I’ll be planting the earthfire, and it will take much longer. Because I already have cold-sha in my body, I need to be extra cautious when planting the earthfire. I estimate it will take at least three to four days, maybe five to six.” With that, Ji Ning sat cross-legged beside the Golden Flame Earthfire vein.

“Leave it to us,” Qingqing said.

“Don’t worry, Senior Apprentice-Brother. I’ll set up the formation right away,” Mu Northson added.

The two of them first set up a warning formation within the mountain belly, then arranged a confusion formation covering several li around the Golden Flame Earthfire vein.

Ji Ning sat cross-legged.

Opening his mouth, he drew in a strand of Golden Flame Earthfire, wrapped in Yuan power, and swallowed it directly.

Earthfire and cold-sha were diametrically opposed. Since he had already planted cold-sha in his body, absorbing the earthfire required even greater care—one mistake, and the earthfire and cold-sha would clash. With a bang, even if his Fiendgod body could survive, his Violet Palace might be completely destroyed.

Even with good luck, if the Violet Palace wasn’t destroyed, it would still be severely damaged. He might end up like his father, forever unable to advance further in Ki Refining.

But Ji Ning could not abandon his path just because of this minuscule risk. The road to immortality was always about seizing a thread of celestial chance.

…

Three days passed.

A Xiantian goblin had finally traveled back with great difficulty to report. Then a Zifu monster personally went to Dragon Whale Mountain to deliver the news.

“Report to the Dragon Whale King. This is the map. Three days ago, the human you were hunting went here.” The black-furred bear goblin standing below spoke respectfully.

“Here?”

The Dragon Whale King sat high on his throne, studying the map. He quickly understood the location.

“Excellent. Go back and tell your old wolf that he has helped me this time. I won’t forget it.” The Dragon Whale King’s voice boomed.

“Yes.” The black-furred bear goblin responded respectfully and withdrew.

The Dragon Whale King’s jade-green eyes were filled with killing intent. His aura was now more than ten times stronger and denser than before. Having become a Primal-level demon… his power had grown immensely.

“Big brother.” Two wild ox demons standing beside him looked at the Dragon Whale King.

“I will go kill that human child myself. Brothers, watch over Dragon Whale Mountain for now,” the Dragon Whale King commanded.

“Rest assured, big brother. We’ll handle everything here.” The two wild ox demons quickly answered.

“Then wait for me to return and drink the celebratory wine.”

The Dragon Whale King let out a savage laugh. His figure flickered and vanished from the cave. Soon, a streak of cyan light shot into the sky and disappeared beyond the horizon.

Standing atop a green leaf was a trio of Wanxiang Adepts, flying through the clouds.

“Brother Dongyi, have we reached the location of the earthfire vein you mentioned?” A bald woman in black robes urged. Her face bore red markings, giving her an eerie appearance.

“The two of you can rest assured. We have all sworn Heavenly Dao oaths—what is there to worry about?” The golden-robed Dongyi smiled. “The location of that earthfire vein is extremely secret… even the mountain belly is well-hidden. I only discovered it by chance. I believe it will be some time before anyone else finds it.”

Dongyi was in excellent spirits.

He had managed to trade that earthfire vein for quite a few treasures. Of course, for now it was only an agreement; both parties had sworn Heavenly Dao oaths. Once they actually reached the earthfire vein, the other party would hand over the payment.

“We’ve arrived. It’s that low hill down there.” Dongyi pointed below. Through the mist and clouds, they could faintly make out a short, unremarkable hill. “A barren little hill like that—even monsters can’t be bothered with it. Very inconspicuous.”

The male and female Wanxiang Adepts beside him had looks of anticipation in their eyes.

“Follow me.” Dongyi said smugly, and steered his flying treasure into a dive toward the hills below.