The Foundation of a Future Hegemon

Under the heavy snowfall, Ten Thousand Swords City remained as lively as ever. As the true heart of the Yan Mountains, it was naturally prosperous. As for the feud between the Shaoyan and Ji Clans? The mortal merchants who traveled between the cities of the Yan Mountains, buying and selling goods, were of no concern. The Shaoyan Clan cultivators stationed here were also unwilling to commit mass slaughter against mortals; the karmic sin would be too great.

Within a certain alley in Ten Thousand Swords City.

Spatial ripples flowed outward, and Ji Ning appeared out of thin air. Although there were some mortals in the alley, they all acted as if they hadn't seen him at all.

"A minor illusion art is still useful against mortals." Ji Ning gave a slight mental scan, and couldn't help but be startled. "This Ten Thousand Swords City is practically…"

"Daoist Ji Ning." A pulse of divine sense transmitted toward him.

"Immortal Duohe." Ji Ning took a single step, transforming into a gust of wind that vanished.

The City Lord's Manor was the core of Ten Thousand Swords City, and also the inner city.

Within a certain courtyard.

Immortal Duohe and Immortal Wu Sui were seated there. A breeze blew past, and Ji Ning appeared.

"Master."

"Ning, child."

Two other figures arrived almost in the same instant. They were the Whitewater Hound and Qingqing. The moment Ji Ning had teleported to Ten Thousand Swords City, Uncle White and Qingqing had sensed him.

"Master, it's been over a year." Qingqing transformed into a little green serpent and coiled around Ji Ning's arm, raising her tiny serpent head to speak in human tongue. "I've been worried sick this whole year. The Shaoyan Clan's armies often came patrolling and investigating, but thank goodness I could always sense that you were still alive. Otherwise, I doubt I'd be able to sleep at night."

The Whitewater Hound also looked at Ji Ning, having been worried for him this entire time as well.

"Uncle White. Qingqing." Ji Ning smiled. "The Shaoyan Clan can't do anything to me."

"Immortal Duohe. Immortal Wu Sui." Ji Ning turned to look at the two Immortals who had already risen to their feet. He laughed. "I didn't expect that in the year I've been gone, you've turned Ten Thousand Swords City into an impenetrable fortress. There must be over a hundred layers of formations here. I couldn't even teleport directly into the inner city, and I was discovered the moment I entered. This place is even more tightly sealed than some sect's mountain gates."

Immortal Duohe nodded. "This is the core of your Ji Clan, and also the gathering place for us Immortals of the Immortal Estate. We naturally cannot be careless. All of us Immortals of the Immortal Estate have done our utmost to set up these formations. As long as any cultivator enters, we will discover them immediately."

"This is your Ji Clan's home, and also the home of our妖 race for a millennium." Immortal Wu Sui smiled.

Ji Ning let out a breath of relief.

He had made the right choice in inviting the妖 race.

"Not only that," Immortal Duohe continued with a smile, "I have also dispatched tens of thousands of Xiantian lifeforms from our Immortal Estate's妖 race, who are now scattered throughout the Yan Mountains. They have the entire mortal population under observation. This makes it extremely difficult for the Shaoyan Clan to try and massacre mortals."

Ji Ning nodded.

Massacring mortals incurred tremendous karmic sin. However, Xiantian lifeforms who had not yet begun their cultivation path incurred far less sin for killing other Xiantian lifeforms.

"This was also the result of a discussion between us and Patriarch Ji Jiuhuo. The Patriarch was worried that the Shaoyan Clan would run rampant, slaughtering ordinary mortals." Immortal Duohe said. "Honestly, I think the Patriarch was worrying too much. The Shaoyan Clan is an ancient tribe that has been passed down for endless epochs. Such ancient tribes place great importance on their own luck and destiny. Even if they sent a few Xiantian lifeforms to massacre mortals on a large scale, karmic sin would still cling to the entire Shaoyan Clan, affecting their tribe's fortune. While the impact on the entire tribe might not be too severe, these ancient tribes take their luck very seriously. They would never harm their own tribe's fortune just to vent a little petty anger."

Ji Ning nodded.

Luck. Invisible and intangible, yet it truly existed.

Those with great luck were favored by Heaven and Earth; it made a difference. The Grand Xia Dynasty had established the Yinglong Guard, and the Yinglong Guard's main task was to constantly hunt down those with great karmic sin, increasing the Grand Xia Dynasty's fortune through such means.

"I've troubled all of you with my Ji Clan's affairs." Ji Ning spoke up. "I need to go see the Patriarch and the others. I'll be leaving Ten Thousand Swords City shortly after. It's likely we won't meet again for many years."

"Daoist Ji Ning, be careful," Immortal Duohe and Immortal Wu Sui both said.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

He immediately brought Uncle White and Qingqing to see the Patriarch and the others.

Ji Jiuhuo and the rest didn't know Ji Ning had arrived yet. Soon, via Ji Ning's divine sense transmission, Ji Jiuhuo, Granny Shadow, Ji Liuzhen, and Ji Ning, along with Uncle White and Qingqing, gathered in a quiet hall.

"Rumble…" The hall doors were closed.

Ji Jiuhuo, Granny Shadow, and Ji Liuzhen all looked at Ji Ning. Closing the doors to talk meant there was something important to discuss.

Ji Ning also released his divine sense, spreading it out cautiously to stay alert.

"I'll be leaving Ten Thousand Swords City soon. This time, I don't know how long I'll be gone, or if I'll be able to return." Ji Ning said.

"Ning, child, don't say that. You will definitely return," Ji Jiuhuo quickly said.

Ji Ning smiled. "Alright. I definitely will return. But before I leave, there are some things I need to give to you."

"Oh?" Ji Jiuhuo and the others were puzzled.

Ji Ning waved his hand, and the ground was suddenly covered with a dense pile of magic treasures. There were countless swords, spears, shuttles, needles, staves, seals, ribbons, fly-whisks, and other treasures.

"This is…?" Ji Jiuhuo and the others held their breath.

Ji Ning waved his hand again, and another thousand or so treasures appeared on the ground.

Another wave, and over a dozen more treasures appeared.

"There are over ten thousand Human-ranked treasures here, over nine hundred Earth-ranked treasures, and twelve Heaven-ranked treasures," Ji Ning said. "Even if our Ji Clan produces several Primal Daoists and a group of Wanxiang Adepts, these treasures will be more than enough."

"Enough, more than enough. Most cultivators get their treasures by roaming the outside world on their own." Ji Jiuhuo quickly said. "The tribe only helps a little at most. With so many treasures, Ning, child, how did you get them?"

Ji Ning didn't answer.

He waved his hand again, and a large pile of spirit pills, spirit materials, and other treasures appeared beside them.

"These are all spirit pills and rare materials." Ji Ning said. "As for the common Immortal spirit pills, you can look them up in the books. As for the rarest and most precious spirit pills and materials, I've specially compiled a book to introduce them. You can't just use these pills carelessly. Some of them contain poison."

Ji Jiuhuo and the others held their breath.

These treasures were all external items." Ji Ning spoke solemnly, waving his hand once more. Suddenly, the hall was filled with a dense, countless number of books. They piled up, filling over half the hall, reaching a height of over ten meters.

"These are all Dao repositories." Ji Ning said. "They cover everything imaginable. In quantity alone, they probably surpass even the Snowdragon Mountain's collection."

He had killed Xue Hongyi and Shaoyan Nong, and had acquired the Dao repositories from their respective Immortal estates.

"But the most important are these eighteen sets." Ji Ning waved his hand again.

"There are Immortal-ranked Ki Refining techniques here, Fiendgod Body Refining techniques, divine abilities, and divine sense secret arts." Ji Ning said. "These are all precious techniques that Celestial Immortals and the like would have obtained. Some of these techniques aren't even available in the Black-White College."

Ji Jiuhuo, Ji Liuzhen, and Granny Shadow were completely stunned.

Divine abilities?

Divine sense secret arts?

These were legendary, precious Dao repositories. In truth, these precious techniques came from the Wu Jiang Immortal Estate and the legacy of Celestial Immortal Juhua. Celestial Immortal Juhua had lived for millions of years, with combat power reaching the Celestial Immortal level, and had acquired quite a few Dao repositories. The Ji Clan's collection was essentially a fusion of the Wu Jiang Immortal's and Celestial Immortal Juhua's collections!

Celestial Immortal Juhua had been a solitary traveler, so the Dao repositories he left behind were all high-quality items. The weakest among them were at the Heaven-ranked level.

"These eighteen sets I'm giving you last," Ji Ning said with a solemn expression, "must not be passed around lightly. They are the absolute core of our Ji Clan, the hope of our Ji Clan's rise. When to teach them, and to whom to teach them, I've also written a book of suggestions." Ji Ning directly handed the book to Ji Liuzhen.

Ji Liuzhen accepted it with trembling hands.

He was utterly shaken. While this collection might still fall short compared to the Black-White College's accumulated treasures over endless years, it absolutely surpassed the Snowdragon Mountain's! It was enough to place the Ji Clan among the top dozen or so powers in the entire Anchan Commandery. In particular, some of the divine abilities and secret arts were things no other power possessed.

"Hua." Ji Ning waved his hand again, and a row of statues appeared beside them.

There were only nine golems, all of them Qiongqi Golems.

"Master." All nine golems spoke respectfully to Ji Ning.

Back in the Wu Jiang Immortal Estate, he had obtained thirty-six Qiongqi Golems and a black-armored man. The yellow-furred bear had thoroughly dismantled and reconstructed them, eventually creating eighteen Qiongqi Golems. As for the original black-armored man, he was completely finished and no longer existed.

After the modifications, each of the eighteen golems had combat power nearly equal to a Loose Immortal. Nine of them could form the 'Nine Heavens Formation,' and even Ji Ning's Primaltwin had been tied up for a long time, unable to secure a victory easily.

"These nine golems each have combat power close to a Loose Immortal. On their own, they would probably struggle to kill a Primal Daoist." Ji Ning said. "But once all nine join forces and form their golem formation… killing a Primal Daoist would be as easy as killing a chicken. They will be our Ji Clan's final trump card. Each of them contains a formation to gather natural energy, converting it into Primordial Liquid on their own, so you won't need to provide them with Primordial Liquid. But remember… don't use them too often. Once their Primordial Liquid is depleted, they won't be able to fight. You can ask these golems directly how long they can fight with their remaining Primordial Liquid."

"Killing a Primal Daoist as easily as killing a chicken?" Ji Jiuhuo, Ji Liuzhen, and Granny Shadow looked at each other, completely filled with endless joy.

"Ji Ning." Ji Jiuhuo quickly said. "I know about golems. Golems as powerful as these are invaluable. They should follow you. You're the one in danger outside. These golems would be a great help to you."

"Killing a Primal Daoist is as easy as killing a chicken for me, too." Ji Ning said.

Ji Jiuhuo and the others were stunned.

Those words were far too ferocious. To say such a thing meant Ji Ning definitely possessed true Loose Immortal-level combat power. In truth, his true body wasn't this strong, but his Primaltwin absolutely was.

"Hurry up and put these away," Ji Ning said.

"Right, right. Liuzhen, put them away quickly." Ji Jiuhuo quickly said.

Ji Liuzhen nodded. "These treasures cannot be taken out of Ten Thousand Swords City, or even out of the City Lord's Manor. These nine golem guards with Loose Immortal-level combat power will protect them."

Everything was arranged.

The hall doors opened.

Ji Ning brought Uncle White and Qingqing, transforming into a gust of wind that shot into the sky and vanished.

Ji Liuzhen, Ji Jiuhuo, and Granny Shadow looked up at the sky.

"Our Ji Clan's foundation has been laid. As long as we are given enough time, we will surely become a hegemon in the Anchan Commandery." Ji Jiuhuo thought silently to himself. "Although my time is almost up, it's enough. More than enough. Even if I die now, it will be worth it. Yichuan… I knew your son was remarkable, but I didn't know he was this remarkable. You raised a good son!"

Ji Liuzhen and Granny Shadow were also shaken and excited.

They all understood… because of what Ji Ning had left behind today, the foundation for the Ji Clan's rise had been set. It was like a seed that had been planted in the soil, just waiting to sprout and grow. All they needed now was time!