The Prodigal Sword Immortal Returns

"Milord." Qiuye's eyes shimmered with tears—tears of joy.

Ji Ning smiled.

It had been so long since he'd last seen her. Since childhood, the people closest to him had always been so few: his father, his mother, Uncle White, Chuncao, Qiuye… His parents and Chuncao were already gone. Only Uncle White and Qiuye remained, the most familiar and beloved. Ji Ning knew well that what he felt for Qiuye was not romantic love, but a deep familial bond.

"Four years, and you haven't changed at all. You should have broken through to Xiantian by now," Ji Ning said, walking over.

Qiuye quickly wiped her tears and replied, "It was only because of the elixirs milord left behind that I was able to break through to become a Xiantian lifeform."

Ji Ning wasn't surprised at all that Qiuye had succeeded. Being chosen as his personal maid meant her innate aptitude was already decent, and with the elixirs and resources he had left behind, her breakthrough to Xiantian had been highly likely.

"Have things been well these past four years?" Ji Ning asked.

"Well enough. Brightheart Island is just as it was. The Ji Clan has only grown stronger," Qiuye said. "After that great battle, the Yan Mountain branch's strength took a heavy blow. Although Snowdragon Mountain sent three more Zifu Disciples to garrison the Yan Mountain branch, once word spread that milord had joined the Black-White College, the Yan Mountain branch didn't dare cause any trouble."

Ji Ning nodded.

In terms of raw power, the Yan Mountain branch of Snowdragon Mountain had the backing of its sect, with a constant stream of experts—its foundation far surpassed that of the Ji Clan. But when news of his joining the Black-White College reached Yan Mountain, everything changed.

Heavens.

The Black-White College! To the other powers of Yan Mountain, the Black-White College was a towering, untouchable behemoth. Legend had it that every single person who managed to join the Black-White College was an absolute genius, a monstrous prodigy. Even Snowdragon Mountain, which harbored enmity toward Ji Ning, had temporarily set aside their grudges to keep the peace.

"What about Qingshi?" Ji Ning asked.

"Qingshi." Qiuye turned and called out.

In the distance, a towering young man walked over.

Ji Ning was surprised. The young man was tall—easily over 1.9 meters. Much taller than Ji Ning himself. When Ji Ning had left, Qingshi had still been a boy. In four years, he had grown this much.

"Big brother." Qingshi walked up.

"Why are you hiding over there?" Ji Ning scolded with a smile. He had watched Qingshi grow from a toddler, and had long regarded him as his own little brother.

Qingshi grinned sheepishly. "I figured I'd let Sister Qiuye have some time alone with you first."

Qiuye shot him a glare.

Ji Ning laughed.

"Big brother, why is there a snake on your arm?" Qingshi asked curiously, staring at the tiny green serpent coiled around Ji Ning's wrist.

"Little Qing," Ji Ning called.

Swoosh. The tiny green serpent dissolved into mist, then coalesced into a green-robed young woman. Qiuye was startled, and Qingshi jumped back. "A demon! A great demon!"

"I'm a Wanxiang great demon! A perfected Wanxiang great demon!" Qingqing declared, lifting her chin proudly.

"Perfected Wanxiang?"

Qingshi blinked.

Although Ji Ning had left behind Marrow Cleansing Pills and other treasures, Qingshi's aptitude was even lower than Qiuye's. Qiuye had managed to become a Xiantian lifeform, but Qingshi had yet to break through—he was still only at the Houtian stage. Still, he knew the major realms of cultivation.

"Perfected Wanxiang? Isn't the Ji Clan's Patriarch only at the Zifu level?" Qingshi stared at the green-robed young woman in front of him, unable to fathom that she possessed the strength to casually crush the Ji Clan's Patriarch.

Ji Ning laughed. "Little Qing was originally a Skygreen Serpent from our Yan Mountain. We met again in the Mount Yujue Wasteland, and she chose to follow me and become my spirit-beast."

"She's big brother's spirit-beast." Only then did Qingshi relax. Then his curiosity surged. "Big brother, have you reached perfected Wanxiang too?"

"Wanxiang late-stage. Still a bit behind Little Qing," Ji Ning said.

"Even though he's only at Wanxiang late-stage, I'm far from his equal in a fight," Qingqing lowered her head. "Milord is a true monster. Even more of a monster than me."

Qiuye and Qingshi were both astonished and overjoyed.

Qiuye's gaze shifted to the Whitewater Hound behind Ji Ning. "Uncle White, you…?"

"Uncle White is also at Wanxiang late-stage," Ji Ning said.

"This… this…" Qiuye felt a sense of vertigo. Even though only a few years had passed, her young master's progress was simply too rapid.

The Whitewater Hound spoke in human tongue. "The demon race cultivates far more slowly. For many demons, it takes a thousand years to go from Zifu to Wanxiang. Some take tens of thousands of years just to go from Wanxiang to Primal. Although my realm was already mature, accumulating Yuan power takes an extremely long time. It's only thanks to Ning's help that I was able to reach the Wanxiang realm so quickly."

"Three Wanxiang!" Qingshi's face was alight with joy. "No other power in the entire Yan Mountain region has a single Wanxiang Realperson. Our Ji Clan suddenly has three! This is… haha… we're invincible!"

"Milord is the one who's amazing, not you. Give you a good technique, a good master, treasures, and elixirs, and you still haven't even broken through to Xiantian. When milord was your age, he could easily slay Zifu Disciples," Qiuye scolded.

"How can I compare to big brother? I can't even keep up with you, Sister Qiuye," Qingshi said, shaking his head.

"Making excuses instead of working hard," Qiuye said angrily.

Seeing this, Ji Ning felt a wave of warmth. It was just like the old days. Qiuye had always treated Qingshi like her own little brother.

The news of Ji Ning's return—the monstrous genius of the Black-White College—shook the entire Ji Clan, filling them with excitement and pride.

Soon, figures like Patriarch Ji Jiuhuo, Ji Youyang and Ji Honghua from the Western Prefecture city, and even the most dazzling young talents the Ji Clan had produced in these past few years, all arrived one by one at Brightheart Island on Winged Serpent Lake.

"Is that a Wanxiang serpent demon?"

"And the Whitewater Hound is also a Wanxiang great demon now?"

The Patriarch and the elders were all astonished by this. As for Ji Ning becoming a Wanxiang Realperson, they didn't find it strange at all. After all, he had effortlessly slain the Wanxiang Realperson Xu Li years ago. And now that Ji Ning had joined the legendary Black-White College, they felt that such monstrous progress was only natural. If Ji Ning had advanced as slowly as they did, that would have been the real surprise.

"Patriarch," Ji Ning said, "I recently joined the Yinglong Guard."

Ji Jiuhuo, Granny Shadow, Ji Liuzhen, Ji Youyang, and the others all showed expressions of delight, even though they were usually calm. Ji Ning had only just joined the Yinglong Guard, so they hadn't heard the news yet. But given Ji Ning's strength, they weren't surprised he could join.

"Once I became a Yinglong Guard, I was permitted to claim a territory ten thousand li in radius, which would be under the Guard's protection. Even if I die in the future, the territory will remain under the Guard's protection for a thousand years. The territory I chose was centered on Ten Thousand Swords City, just barely encompassing the four surrounding prefectural cities."

"This is the token," Ji Ning said, producing a token. "It must be refined by a Zifu Disciple. Once refined and hung before the gates of Ten Thousand Swords City's lord manor, a faint 'Yinglong' dragon will ripple across the entire city wall. Anyone who sees it will know this place is under the protection of the Yinglong Guard and won't dare to provoke it."

Ji Jiuhuo reached out and took the token with trembling hands. "The foundation of our clan! The foundation of our clan! With this token, our clan's foundation grows even more secure. Our Ji Clan is surely destined for great prosperity!"

The elders around him, including Ji Liuzhen, were also excited and full of hope.

"Ji Ning, how long will you be staying this time?" Ji Jiuhuo asked.

"From now on, I'll be living on Winged Serpent Lake for the most part. Occasionally, I'll leave to carry out missions for the Yinglong Guard, or go to Anchan City to visit my master at the Black-White College," Ji Ning said. "Most of the time, I'll be here."

Some Black-White College disciples lived in the college year-round. That was because they could constantly meditate on the Black-White Diagram and discuss the Dao with fellow disciples. But Ji Ning was different. The Diancai Immortal only offered guidance occasionally, and the Black-White Diagram wasn't that helpful to him—he only needed to visit occasionally. He had something far better: the aquatic palace.

The Starseizing Hall inside the aquatic palace was far superior to the Black-White Diagram.

Whether it was for the sake of his clan, the aquatic palace, or his own peace of mind, Ji Ning would choose to live on Winged Serpent Lake.

"Excellent, excellent!" Ji Jiuhuo was overjoyed, but then quickly asked, "It won't affect your cultivation, will it? No matter what, cultivation is the most important thing."

"It won't," Ji Ning said, shaking his head.

"Good." Ji Jiuhuo nodded vigorously. "With you here long-term, especially with two Wanxiang great demons as well, the Ji Clan's strength has skyrocketed. With such power, our clan ought to expand. Our territory is too small."

"Exactly. Three Wanxiang Realpersons, and Ji Ning has a real chance of reaching Primal in the future! Our Ji Clan's territory is far too small."

Granny Shadow, Ji Liuzhen, and the others were all filled with anticipation.

A snake ate according to its size. In the past, the Ji Clan's strength had been limited, so they dared not covet more. But now, with Ji Ning's immense power, two Wanxiang great demons, and the backing of the Black-White College, the Ji Clan was destined to rise.

"Go ahead and do it," Ji Ning said in support. This was also his father's wish. "If you run into trouble, Little Qing and Uncle White, you can give them a hand."

"Leave it to me," Qingqing said confidently. "We're the only three Wanxiang in Yan Mountain. We can just bulldoze our way through anything!"

"Hahaha…"

Ji Jiuhuo and the others roared with laughter.

The fact that Ji Ning would live on Winged Serpent Lake for the long term invigorated the entire Ji Clan. Ji Ning also took some time to give pointers to the young geniuses the clan had produced in recent years. But these so-called geniuses were only talented by Yan Mountain standards. None of them truly impressed Ji Ning. He soon realized that the senior and junior brothers he mingled with on a daily basis were all from the Black-White College. How could the minor prodigies of his clan possibly compare?

After spending time with his clan and mentoring the younger generation, three days passed. Brightheart Island finally settled into calm.

Only then did Ji Ning enter his meditation chamber.

"Aquatic palace." With a thought, a massive, spectral bear-headed beast's visage appeared in the chamber. The spectral head revealed a faint smile, then opened its enormous maw and swallowed Ji Ning whole.

Ji Ning vanished from the chamber.

He arrived in the aquatic palace, in that space that existed in a different dimension entirely.