The Retired Soldier’s Blood Robe

After refining the storage treasure of Crippled Moon Realperson, the items that emerged one by one caused Ji Ning and the others’ expressions to shift.

“This is!”

Their gazes all fell upon a blood-red robe among the pile. The entire robe exuded a bloody aura, and at the cuff was embroidered the pattern of a gray flying sword.

“Standard-issue battle robe,” Mu Northson said in a low voice. “The blood robe is covered in runic patterns, and it also has the properties of a puppet treasure… If my guess is correct, a group of cultivators wearing this robe can activate it together, forming a single united entity to execute a powerful joint formation.”

Mu Northson was a genius of the puppet path; he saw through it instantly.

Although Ji Ning couldn’t match his junior apprentice-brother in seeing through it at a glance, he too had studied formations deeply, and he noticed that the battle robe was similar to ‘Dao-soldier armor.’

“Look at the complexity of the runes on this blood robe—no ordinary power could have developed this,” Mu Northson frowned. “A sect like Snowdragon Mountain couldn’t possibly produce standard-issue battle robes like this… Even my master would probably find it difficult to develop one.”

“He had a Northmont blood token,” Ji Ning said in a低沉 voice. “It might be related to the Anchan Northmont clan.”

“Look,” Qingqing pointed at the beast-hide scrolls next to them.

Among the many items taken from the storage treasure, there were indeed several beast-hide scrolls.

“Don’t touch any of these with your hands,” Ji Ning barked. He then carefully examined the contents of one scroll.

“Second Elder Brother, I’ve retired too, but I’m staying in the ‘Tianfang World’. I don’t want to go back. I have no attachments… After so many years of campaigning in the Tianfang World, I’ve grown accustomed to it. There are still so many old brothers here; I really don’t want to leave. As for your earlier invitation for me to come to Crippled Moon Peak, forget it. If Second Elder Brother has nothing to do, feel free to visit the Tianfang World…”

The contents of the scroll made Ji Ning’s scalp tingle.

Retired?

Second Elder Brother?

Tianfang World?

“Retired?” Mu Northson exclaimed. “That Crippled Moon Realperson was probably part of an army before, and looking at that blood robe… it should be the battle robe he wore back then! Because he was getting old and approaching his lifespan limit, he came back to enjoy his twilight years.”

“Second Elder Brother?” Uncle White spoke up as well. “Crippled Moon lived so long; among the surviving brothers, he was probably one of the older ones, so they called him Second Elder Brother. But this Tianfang World…”

“Tianfang World?” Ji Ning frowned.

“Could it be one of the countless minor worlds?” Mu Northson said in a low voice.

The Three Realms were vast and boundless, especially the Mortal Realm, which could be divided into three thousand major worlds and countless minor worlds. Some of these minor worlds were naturally formed, while others were directly opened up by mighty figures!

“Campaigning in the Tianfang World?” Ji Ning mused. “The Northmont blood token?”

Ji Ning pondered.

He also carefully examined the other beast-hide scrolls. Some contained maps of foreign lands, some were letters. Ji Ning looked through the other items as well.

Gradually… A suspicion formed in Ji Ning’s mind.

The Anchan Northmont clan should have a secret army, and Crippled Moon Realperson was one of its members. Ji Ning didn’t find it strange that the Anchan Northmont clan had a secret army; in the history of the Grand Xia Dynasty, there had even been examples of feudal lords rebelling. If they dared to rebel, it was clear how deep the foundations of the feudal lords ran.

From the Primordial Fiendgod Era to the present, the passage of time had been far too long.

No one knew how deep the foundations of the feudal lords were. It was perfectly normal for them to have a few secret armies.

As for the ‘Tianfang World,’ it was probably one of the minor worlds, or perhaps an independent space opened up by a mighty figure. In any case, there must have been lives living there, which was why ‘campaigning’ was necessary.

“Senior apprentice-brother, what do we do?” Mu Northson said in a low voice. “From what we can see now, this Crippled Moon Realperson was very likely a member of some secret army of the Anchan Northmont clan. And judging by the letters, they’ve been campaigning for many years… The bonds between brothers who have fought through life and death together must be extremely strong.”

Ji Ning nodded.

After long years of campaigning, the brotherhood formed in military service was easy to imagine. Now that he had returned to Crippled Moon Peak to enjoy his retirement but had died, how could those people let it go?

“This is troublesome,” Ji Ning frowned.

Even knowing the background, Ji Ning would still have struck. This Crippled Moon Realperson had returned to Crippled Moon Peak to retire, yet he had still caused great harm. In the information on ‘Yu Tong’ that Ji Ning had obtained from Heavenly Treasures Mountain, the description of Crippled Moon Realperson was merely: “a cold, petty villain; he has offended many people.”

Perhaps he had been suppressed for too long, so once he retired from the secret army and returned home, relying on his strength, his true nature was exposed.

Ji Ning felt no mercy for this man.

“Ning’er, what now?” Uncle White looked at Ji Ning.

“Master?” Qingqing also looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning frowned and said, “We keep the Primordial Liquid. Put all the other treasures and items back into the storage treasure. Then, Qingqing, use your Void Shuttle to go deep underground and toss this storage treasure straight into the depths of the terrestrial magnetic field.”

“Depths of the terrestrial magnetic field?” Qingqing nodded. “Understood.”

They left only the roughly two thousand jin of Primordial Liquid. They even threw away the jade bottle that had held the Primordial Liquid. The Primordial Liquid itself was extremely pure, impossible to leave any hidden marks; all the other treasures and items could potentially have problems.

“I’m off.”

The little green snake flashed through the air, easily tearing through space and vanishing.

Deep underground, the endless terrestrial magnetic force was present, and terrestrial magnetic divine light was visible to the naked eye. Qingqing carefully tossed the storage treasure, which had been unbound from its owner, straight into the terrestrial magnetic divine light.

The time it took to drink a cup of tea passed.

Qingqing returned.

“Already thrown,” Qingqing looked at Ji Ning.

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded, then said, “Let’s all think—is there anything we’ve overlooked?”

“Senior apprentice-brother, when we were at Crippled Moon Peak earlier… those servants, and Crippled Moon Realperson’s disciples—could they have discovered our traces?” Mu Northson asked worriedly.

Ji Ning shook his head. “Relax. My divine sense covered the entire Crippled Moon Peak; I watched everything. Only three people inadvertently spotted our dragon-headed warship. But by then, the warship had already changed its appearance and color. Just seeing a warship—there’s no way they can trace it back to us.”

“Mm.” Mu Northson nodded. This trip was meant to be secret, so the warship had naturally been transformed into the most common, ordinary style. “Just seeing a warship, there’s absolutely no way they can find us.”

“Good.” Ji Ning nodded. “Does anyone think there’s anything else we’ve missed?”

One by one, they all shook their heads.

They had been extremely cautious on the way here. They hadn’t even used a teleportation array, instead flying through the clouds the entire way. The only ones on Crippled Moon Peak who had seen their faces were Crippled Moon Realperson, Yu Tong, and Yue Wei. And those three were dead.

“Junior apprentice-brother, I’m going to deal with Shui Yi now. You don’t need to come,” Ji Ning said. “Dealing with Shui Yi is much harder than dealing with Yu Tong. Although Shui Yi is only at the Zifu Disciple level, he’s inside the Dong clan territory.”

“I have no attachments, senior apprentice-brother. Say no more,” Mu Northson said solemnly.

Ji Ning nodded lightly.

“Alright. But what do you all think? How should we deal with Shui Yi?” Ji Ning looked around.

Qingqing quickly said, “It’s simple, Master. With your divine sense, you can easily cover the entire Dong clan tribe. Just wait for an opportunity and kill Shui Yi directly, right?”

“It’s not that simple,” Mu Northson shook his head. “That’s the Dong clan tribe’s headquarters, the hometown of a Primal Daoist. They definitely have all kinds of clan-protecting measures. There’s no way they’d let an outsider sneak in silently…”

Ji Ning nodded as well. “Any fool could guess that there must be layers of formations there. There’s no way we can sneak in silently.”

Qingqing pursed her lips.

“Ning’er,” Uncle White said. “If it’s difficult for us to enter the Dong clan tribe and kill Shui Yi… then why not lure Shui Yi out?”

“Lure Shui Yi out?” Ji Ning’s eyes lit up.

“Right,” Mu Northson also called out in approval.

Ji Ning quickly thought it over. The extensive intelligence on Shui Yi flashed through his mind, and soon a plan came to him.

“If it’s hard to go in and kill him, then we lure him out,” Ji Ning nodded. “Alright. We’ll set out now…”

“Let’s go.”

The black warship, now transformed into its ordinary appearance, soon vanished into the depths of the clouds.

Having killed Crippled Moon Realperson, Ji Ning and the others had done everything they could. They couldn’t control the rest.

But just as they had feared…

That group of old brothers of Crippled Moon Realperson would not let him die like this. Moreover, the entire ‘Xuan Army’ would not allow an old brother who had returned to retirement to die in such a manner. The cultivators of the Xuan Army campaigned abroad for endless years, and countless had died. Those who managed to survive to retire were actually very, very few.

If someone who had retired could be killed without clear cause, how could that be allowed?

“Don’t worry. Our old brothers of the Xuan Army won’t die for nothing. In other places, the intelligence network of Heavenly Treasures Mountain is very impressive, but in Anchan Commandery… the intelligence network of our Anchan Northmont clan is the most formidable!” At a branch of the Xuan Army, a red-haired elder spoke loudly to a group of blood-robed cultivators.

Anchan Commandery was the fief of the Northmont clan.

This Anchan Northmont clan had truly deep roots.

Merely half a day later.

At the Northmont Blacktiger Estate within Anchan City.

“Mm?” Beishan Baiwei, who was sitting drinking wine and listening to music, frowned. He heard footsteps outside.

“I’m listening to music. Who dares to disturb me?” There was a hint of anger between Beishan Baiwei’s brows.

Suddenly, the courtyard gate was pushed open. A burly, bald man in luxurious black robes strode in, accompanied by a pale, beardless old man with triangular eyes. The triangular-eyed old man always wore a faint smile, but it only made people feel cold.

“Father!” Beishan Baiwei quickly stood up.

In front of his father, Beishan Baiwei always felt nervous.

“Baiwei.” Beishan Blacktiger’s gaze was deep, like an endless cold pool. “Let me ask you. Earlier, you sent someone to Heavenly Treasures Mountain to obtain intelligence on ‘Yu Tong,’ ‘Shui Yi,’ and ‘Dong Qi’?”

“Yes,” Beishan Baiwei nodded.

“Why?” Beishan Blacktiger asked.

Beishan Baiwei quickly replied respectfully, “It was my brother Ji Ning and his junior apprentice-brother Mu Northson who came to ask for my help. He didn’t want Heavenly Treasures Mountain to know… So I was very cautious. Other than the person in our estate who handled the matter and myself, no one else knows.”

“Oh?” Beishan Blacktiger’s eyes were cold and deep. He said calmly, “It seems the murderer must be Ji Ning and his group.”