Into the Wujiang Immortal Estate

The vast, majestic Tianyou Mountain Range stretched for over a hundred thousand kilometers, its peaks and valleys an endless sea of green.

“The Wujiang Immortal Estate is hidden within these mountains. Even with divine sense searching, it would take at least ten days to half a month to find it,” Shaoyan Nong said, his eyes filled with anticipation. “But I have the key to the estate. As long as I get close enough, I’ll be able to sense it.”

“Everyone, prepare yourselves. Once we enter the estate, we’ll be facing true danger.”

The cultivators beside him all nodded.

“We’re finally going in.” Mu Northson’s eyes lit up.

“Yes, an Immortal’s estate,” Ji Ning said, also looking forward to it.

“Ji Ning.” Nine Lotos sent a silent mental message beside him.

Ji Ning turned his head to look at Nine Lotos, revealing a smile as he mentally replied, “Senior apprentice-sister, what is it that requires a special transmission?”

“Once we enter the estate, you must display your abilities well. Also, you need to get closer to Young Master Shaoyan. Meeting him is a rare opportunity. If you miss it, it will be hard to find another chance like this later,” Nine Lotos instructed. “You wasted the past two days. Once we enter the estate, you absolutely cannot be negligent any longer.”

Ji Ning frowned. “Senior apprentice-sister!”

“Don’t be angry,” Nine Lotos said. “I know your temperament. You don’t like to flatter others, but I’m not asking you to flatter him. I’m just telling you to get closer to him… Ji Ning, you have to understand, your strength is definitely greater than Xue Hongyi’s. But on the ship these past two days, Xue Hongyi was constantly speaking with Young Master Shaoyan, growing much closer to him. Meanwhile, you stood off to the side, barely saying a word… This is really not good.”

“Senior apprentice-sister, I—” Ji Ning tried to defend himself.

“Let me finish,” Nine Lotos said, looking at him. “This kind of relationship, what we call ‘friendship,’ requires mutual interaction and conversation to develop. It’s not just about helping him once. That only creates a debt of gratitude, nothing more.”

“A debt of gratitude is used up and disappears. But friendship is long-lasting!”

“You have a proud, aloof nature and disdain flattery, but Young Master Shaoyan is even prouder than you! As a result, you two barely speak. Let me ask you, if you were Young Master Shaoyan, would you feel much friendship toward someone you rarely even talk to? Even if he helped you, you probably wouldn’t think much of him, right?”

Ji Ning was stunned.

What Nine Lotos said did make sense.

“The distance between people can be divided into strangers, acquaintances, friends, confidants, and life-and-death brothers,” Nine Lotos continued. “After just two days of conversation, you and Young Master Shaoyan aren’t even ‘acquaintances.’ You’re still strangers. But Xue Hongyi often talks with him. After that, he even risked his life for Shaoyan Nong. It’s possible they’ve already become friends.”

“Once we enter the estate, perhaps your contributions will be greater than his.”

“But in Shaoyan Nong’s heart, he will be closer to Xue Hongyi than you. Right now, because he needs your help for his tribe’s trial, he is still polite to you. But once the trial is over, especially when he becomes the new Yishen Gong, Shaoyan Nong probably won’t even bother to look at you. If you ask a small favor, he might nod to repay the debt of gratitude. But if you ask for something too troublesome, he probably won’t even see you. For a new Yishen Gong, even Celestial Immortals find it hard to get an audience with him.” Nine Lotos looked at Ji Ning.

“Senior apprentice-sister, I admit you have a point,” Ji Ning mentally replied. “A debt of gratitude, once used, is gone. Friendship is long-lasting.”

“However… I am me. I am not you.”

“I don’t like to deliberately get close to others. Everything should happen naturally,” Ji Ning transmitted. “If I can become friends with Young Master Shaoyan, that’s naturally a good thing. But if not, it’s nothing to worry about.”

“Opportunity! When opportunity comes, you have to seize it!” Nine Lotos transmitted anxiously. “How many great figures can you meet in a lifetime? Miss them, and they are gone forever.”

“The path of immortal cultivation ultimately relies on oneself,” Ji Ning shook his head.

“But at a critical moment, a helping hand from others can help you go further on the immortal path,” Nine Lotos transmitted.

“Senior apprentice-sister, deliberately trying to get close to others and currying favor will only affect my Dao-heart… The loss would outweigh the gain,” Ji Ning said.

“You…” Nine Lotos was furious.

“Everyone has their own Dao, senior apprentice-sister. You must not force me,” Ji Ning said. “Senior apprentice-sister, I have never forced you. I hope you won’t force me either. This is already the second time!”

Nine Lotos was stunned.

Yes, not long ago on Brightheart Island, they had argued about social status and humility. That was the first time the two had felt unhappy with each other.

“I’m only trying to help you achieve a higher level,” Nine Lotos said, her eyes growing a bit red.

“Alright.” Ji Ning grasped Nine Lotos’s hand and gave her a smile.

Yu Wei, who was nearby, noticed Ji Ning and Nine Lotos holding hands. Her brows furrowed slightly, but she immediately turned her head to look at the vast mountain scenery outside.

“That Ji Ning really doesn’t know how lucky he is,” Xue Hongyi muttered to himself as he glanced at the hand-holding pair of Ji Ning and Nine Lotos. “Clearly, when Young Master Shaoyan went to investigate the immortal estate, Ji Ning wasn’t part of the plan at all. And yet, now he’s on this ship. On top of that, he actually became the Dao-companion of Dongyan Yun.”

Xue Hongyi hadn’t known about Nine Lotos’s background at first.

But during the past two days of banquets on the ship, the conversations between Shaoyan Nong and Nine Lotos had revealed to Xue Hongyi… that this Nine Lotos was actually the next leader of the Dongyan clan. This immediately filled Xue Hongyi with extreme envy!

“That kid from the Ji clan, and he’s come this far,” Xue Hongyi thought with bitter jealousy.

When news had spread that Ji Ning had driven back Snowfeather Daoist, Xue Hongyi had found it hard to believe. He couldn’t accept that the brat he could once have crushed with his own hands had become stronger than him.

Now Ji Ning was acquainted with Shaoyan Nong and had become Dao-companions with Nine Lotos…

“If only Ji Ning would die inside the Wujiang Immortal Estate,” Xue Hongyi silently cursed.

The large vessel flew through the Tianyou Mountain Range for about the time it takes to finish a cup of tea. Then, Shaoyan Nong, dressed in green robes, focused his gaze on the ground below and shouted, “The Immortal Estate is below us. Everyone, follow me inside.”

“Found the estate?”

“It’s below?”

Everyone who had been chatting earlier now focused their attention downward.

Boom!

The large ship dove straight down toward the mountain range, quickly passing over several peaks before flying directly into a deep, secluded gorge.

“Halt.”

The ancient vessel came to a stop in midair, hovering before a cliff face within the gorge.

“I’ll open the estate now.” A golden token appeared in Shaoyan Nong’s hand. He pointed it toward the cliff face and, as he channeled his Yuan power, a hazy golden beam of light shot out from the token, illuminating the rock. The surface of the cliff began to warp and twist, and soon a massive, shimmering watery distortion appeared.

“Enter.” A look of joy crossed Shaoyan Nong’s face.

Whoosh!

The large vessel flew forward, directly into the watery distortion, and vanished within it. The distortion then dissipated, and the cliff face returned to normal, showing no sign of anything special.

The moment Ji Ning and his group passed through the distortion on their vessel, the scenery before them changed rapidly.

“This is…” Everyone on the ship took in the view. All around them were desolate, barren mountain peaks, their slopes covered in sand and dirt. Almost nothing grew there.

The Tianyou Mountain Range had been lush and verdant.

But upon entering the Immortal Estate…

They were greeted by a barren desert and the lonely peaks rising from it.

“Hah!”

“Hah!”

“Hah!”

“Hah!”

In the distance, massive, earth-shaking cries rang out from a towering, imposing peak. On that peak, a dense, white patch could be seen. That white patch was actually a vast gathering of large monsters wearing gleaming white armor.

These monsters, clad in white armor, all possessed enormous fish tails and humanoid upper bodies, their faces covered in scales.

“Hmm?”

“There?”

The densely gathered monsters all turned their heads to look in Ji Ning’s direction. The disturbance caused by the ship passing through the watery distortion had naturally alerted them.

“Humans!”

“They’re humans!”

The thousand-odd mermaid monsters who had been drilling burst into shouts. For untold years, ever since their ancient ancestor had become trapped here and could not leave, generation after generation had been born and raised within the Immortal Estate… The entire world within the estate was filled solely with monsters. There was not a single human. Even the original owner of the estate, Celestial Immortal Wujiang, had been born from a monster!

“Hmm?” The leader who had been drilling these monsters was a seductive female mermaid, her upper body bare. At first, she was startled. Then she let out a sharp, furious roar. “Humans! Humans have entered the Immortal Estate! They must have the estate’s key! Quickly! Quickly! Seize it! Seize the key to the Immortal Estate!”

“Seize it!”

“Follow me and kill!” As the female mermaid shouted, a layer of golden armor materialized on the surface of her body.

As the female mermaid shot into the air, the thousand or so mermaid monsters clad in white armor followed suit. In an instant, the runic inscriptions on their Dao-Soldier armor flared to life with blinding light. Rumble… The thousand great monsters transformed into a towering wave, an endless, surging tide of water that rolled forward, directly charging toward the distant ship carrying Shaoyan Nong and his companions.

“Capture the key to the Immortal Estate, and we can leave! Capture it!” The female mermaid’s mental cry spurred on the other mermaid monsters to roar in response.

The peak was only a few dozen kilometers away from Ji Ning’s group. It was because of this proximity that the mermaid monsters could see them at a glance and confirm they were humans. In all the endless years since the estate’s creation, this was the first time humans had ever appeared inside.

A distance of a few dozen kilometers was crossed in an instant!

Shaoyan Nong, Ji Ning, Xue Hongyi, and the rest of the group on the ship were all greatly shocked.

“Dao-Soldiers!”

“They’re monster Dao-Soldiers!” Ji Ning and the others were all stunned. From a distance, they had already confirmed that among the horde of monsters were several Wanxiang Adepts. Even the mermaid leader might be a Primal Daoist! The weakest of the monsters were at the Zifu Disciple level. And they were all wearing Dao-Soldier armor…

“These Dao-Soldier armors must have been left behind by Celestial Immortal Wujiang when he was cultivating his monster army,” Ji Ning and the others all realized that they were in serious trouble.