The Yan Wang's Protection

Both azure luan divine beasts were comparable to top-tier Loose Immortals, while the two squads of Golden Armored Imperial Guards were even more formidable—even ten Floating Cloud Immortals would be helpless against them.

“This… what do I do now? He’s with the Xiyue Commandery Princess—how can I kill him?” The Floating Cloud Immortal’s heart was momentarily chaotic, but he quickly regained his clarity. “The Xiyue Commandery Princess is a woman, and she had never met this Ji Ning before today. This is merely their first meeting; she’s only drawing him close and letting him ride in her immortal carriage. Most likely they’ll part ways soon—Ji Ning will return to his lodgings, and the Commandery Princess will go back to her estate.”

“Follow them.

“Once they separate, I will kill Ji Ning.” The Floating Cloud Immortal immediately transmitted orders to his underlings, telling them to keep watch, while he himself hung far behind to avoid being discovered.

The Shaoyin clan’s scouts followed stealthily, only to discover that Ji Ning and the Xiyue Commandery Princess never separated.

The azure luan-drawn immortal carriage howled through the air, flying all the way to the Yan Estate.

“Let’s go.” Yuchi Xiyue alighted from the carriage.

Ji Ning, along with the Whitewater Hound, also descended and entered the estate alongside Yuchi Xiyue.

“Senior,” the scout reported immediately, “Ji Ning and the Xiyue Commandery Princess have both entered the Yan Estate.”

“What? Inside the estate? Ji Ning entered the Yan Estate?” The Floating Cloud Immortal could hardly believe it. “Keep watch. I refuse to believe he won’t come out. The moment he does, report to me at once.”

“Yes, sir.” The scout went back to his surveillance.

The Yan Estate was vast in its grounds, yet it felt rather desolate.

Normally, every prince would have many close clansmen living with them, but Yan King’s only relative was the Xiyue Commandery Princess, leaving the estate cold and quiet. Still, Yan King had only recently become a Celestial Immortal, and in a thousand or ten thousand years, this Yan Estate would surely become lively and bustling.

“The estate is very large,” the Xiyue Commandery Princess said with a smile. “Many places are empty and uninhabited. Later, I’ll help you pick a good spot.”

“They say it’s very difficult to settle down in the Grand Xia imperial capital, that even ordinary Immortal cultivators can barely afford to live here,” Ji Ning said with a laugh. “I can’t believe I have the privilege of picking my own spot. Looks like my luck is quite good.”

The Xiyue Commandery Princess smiled as well.

The two chatted and laughed all the way.

The two female soldier-servants following them were secretly astonished. Their mistress had always been extremely withdrawn, with very few friends she got along with. Even those few were all women. They had never seen her talk so happily with a young man.

“Xiyue, bring Ji Ning to see me.” A voice sounded within the Xiyue Commandery Princess’s mind.

“Let’s go.” The Xiyue Commandery Princess said, “My grandfather wants to see you.”

“Yan King wishes to see me?” Ji Ning felt a surge of nervousness. He knew Yan King was a friend, not an enemy, but he was still a Celestial Immortal! Ji Ning had never met a Celestial Immortal Patriarch before.

Perhaps Lord Cui, whom he had seen in the Netherworld Kingdom, was a Celestial Immortal or even a stronger existence. But back then, Ji Ning had merely been a mortal soul, and Lord Cui had completely suppressed his aura—so Ji Ning had no idea just how powerful Lord Cui truly was.

Now it was different.

Ji Ning was a cultivator now, and his divine soul was comparable to an Earth Immortal or a Loose Immortal. He could better understand how terrifyingly powerful a Celestial Immortal was.

“Let’s go.” The Xiyue Commandery Princess smiled and took Ji Ning by the hand.

“Holding hands?” The two female soldier-servants behind them stared wide-eyed. “Could it be that the Commandery Princess has fallen for Ji Ning?”

They were her personal handmaidens, and though shocked, they would never speak of what they had seen. Every personal servant had to swear a Heavenly Dao oath.

Soon.

The Xiyue Commandery Princess led Ji Ning to an elegant mountain peak. The Yan Estate spanned a thousand li, so it naturally contained a few linked mountain ranges, even rivers and lakes.

“Guan Tian Mountain is Grandfather’s favorite spot,” the Xiyue Commandery Princess said. “Servants are forbidden from coming up. Normally, I’m the only one who can climb it.”

“Oh?” Ji Ning nodded.

Little Qing and Uncle White remained at the foot of the mountain; Yan King had only asked to see Ji Ning.

At the mountain’s summit, a gnarled old tree grew. Beside it was a pavilion with one table, one stool, and one person! This was a tall, imposing man dressed in a long black robe, sitting alone in silence with a wine cup, gazing at the boundless scenery.

In that moment, heaven, earth, and man seemed to merge into one.

“Grandfather.” The Xiyue Commandery Princess called out, breaking the stillness.

The man rose and turned to look.

He was about eight feet tall, with eyebrows so thickly black they seemed excessive. Beneath those brows, a pair of eyes was fixed on Ji Ning.

Ji Ning gazed back at this Yan King.

Whoosh!

All his surroundings vanished. Ji Ning felt only an endless, heaven-filling aura of killing intent—such overwhelming killing intent that even his heart shuddered. His divine soul was powerful, his Dao-heart firm, and his sword-soul quickly stabilized itself, letting him break free from that state. Ji Ning looked at the man before him: “What a Yan King. He didn’t even attack me on purpose. He merely revealed the killing intent born from his own cultivation, and I nearly lost myself.”

“Table-Brother said his grandfather had only mediocre talent, that he hadn’t even been valued by the Grand Xia royal clan. But his grandfather dared to use demonic arts, making his heart-demons even more terrifying to temper himself… He’s a truly mad fellow. And it was precisely that madness that allowed him, despite mediocre talent, to force his way to becoming a Celestial Immortal.” Ji Ning understood clearly. Throughout the entire Grand Xia Dynasty, a Celestial Immortal was born only once in a million years.

Yan King’s talent, among Earth Immortals, could only be called average. Yet he became a Celestial Immortal.

There had to be something terrifying about him.

Even setting aside everything else, the killing intent in his gaze alone… Ji Ning understood that this man must have endured a truly dreadful experience; otherwise, his killing intent wouldn’t be so strong.

“Ji Ning pays his respects to Yan King.” Ji Ning bowed deeply with the utmost courtesy.

“Not bad. You’ve trained for thirty years, yet your Dao-heart remains unmoved by my killing intent, and you broke free instantly.” Yan King nodded slightly, a faint smile on his face. “Impressive. Truly impressive.”

The Xiyue Commandery Princess was startled. “Grandfather, you praised him twice with ‘impressive’? I’ve never seen you compliment anyone like that.”

“Xiyue, don’t you know your grandfather’s nickname?” Yan King revealed a hint of pride.

“You mean Yan Wang?” Xiyue said.

Ji Ning looked puzzled.

“It’s ‘Yan’ as in the King Yan of the underworld!” Xiyue explained. “I don’t know how Grandfather got that nickname, either.”

“It’s precisely because I walked the path to Celestial Immortality through slaughter, precisely because my killing intent is fierce enough, that I am called Yan Wang,” Yan King said, pleased. In front of his only granddaughter, he was still like an ordinary person—he laughed when happy, felt proud when proud, and got unhappy when displeased.

Yan King looked at Ji Ning. “So the fact that you could resist my killing intent is truly impressive.”

“I know that you and Xiyue are cousin-brother and cousin-sister,” Yan King nodded. “I also know that both of you have a grudge against the Shaoyin clan. But the Shaoyin clan is deeply entrenched; they can’t be toppled so easily. Xiyue hasn’t even publicly revealed her true surname. Ji Ning, since you’ve already clashed with the Shaoyin clan, you’ll need to be careful in your daily life.”

Ji Ning nodded. “I understand.”

“Grandfather!” The Xiyue Commandery Princess quickly said, “Didn’t you say that Shaoyin clan’s ‘Patriarch Xuanji’ dotes very much on Shaoyin Nong and will definitely avenge him?”

“Mm, I did say that,” Yan King nodded. “That Patriarch Xuanji is indeed an utterly unreasonable man. I may be mad, but I still follow reason. He does not. So you must be careful.”

“You have Golden Armored Imperial Guards under your command. Assign one squad to my little brother,” the Xiyue Commandery Princess pressed.

Ji Ning was taken aback.

His cousin-sister hadn’t mentioned this at all beforehand.

“Golden Armored Imperial Guards?” Yan King frowned. “Xiyue, the Golden Armored Imperial Guards belong to the Grand Xia royal clan. Generally, only those with royal status can lead them around. You are a Commandery Princess, so bringing some guards is fine. But if Ji Ning brings them…”

“Grandfather!” The Xiyue Commandery Princess grew anxious. “The Emperor bestowed the Golden Armored Imperial Guards upon you, as a personal gift for you to arrange as you see fit, didn’t He? I’m not asking for all of them to protect Little Brother—just one squad. There’s nothing in the Grand Xia royal clan’s regulations that says the Golden Armored Imperial Guards can only protect royalty.”

Yan King shook his head helplessly, smiling.

Indeed.

No Grand Xia law would ever decree that the Golden Armored Imperial Guards could only protect royalty. After all, the Emperor sometimes assigned them to important ministers or powerful independent experts He wished to win over, as a sign of favor.

“Fine.” Yan King nodded. “I’ll arrange one squad of Golden Armored Imperial Guards. At worst, some people will whisper behind my back.”

“Thank you, Grandfather! You’re the best!” The Xiyue Commandery Princess hugged Yan King’s arm, acting very affectionately.

“Hahaha.” Yan King laughed.

Only in front of this granddaughter of his did he feel the warmth of family affection.

To everyone else, he remained the legendary ‘Yan Wang.’

“Aren’t you going to thank my grandfather?” The Xiyue Commandery Princess immediately looked at Ji Ning.

“Thank you, Yan King.” Ji Ning quickly said.

“Mm.” Yan King nodded, smiling. “Go on. You’re still too tense around me. Xiyue, find a nice spot for your little brother. The estate is vast—let him pick wherever he likes and settle in. Within my estate, no one dares to barge in.”

“Grandfather, I’ll be going now.” Xiyue immediately took Ji Ning’s hand, and soon they descended from Guan Tian Mountain.

Yan King watched the Xiyue Commandery Princess and Ji Ning go down the mountain, nodding gently to himself. “Xiyue is clearly much happier. She’s been crushed under the weight of hatred for too long. Only family affection can make her happy again.”

Then Yan King turned and sat down once more, alone, holding his wine cup, gazing at this vast heaven and earth.

—

On a stretch of overgrown grass beside a lake, Ji Ning nodded. “This is it. I’ll live here.”

“Here?” The Xiyue Commandery Princess was stunned. “But this is just a patch of wasteland—there’s no residence at all. Our estate has plenty of places to live. You want to stay in this grassy field?”

“Watch.”

Ji Ning waved his hand.

Whoosh!

Instantly, a magnificent, resplendent immortal mansion appeared, complete with pavilions, towers, carved beams, and painted rafters—it seemed forged from gold and jade, dense with natural energy.

“What a fine immortal mansion.” The Xiyue Commandery Princess was impressed. “This mansion can be carried around with you. It must have cost a fortune.”

“Mm. This mansion can only be refined and taken along once one reaches the Wanxiang level. It’s worth a million catties of Primordial Liquid,” Ji Ning said. In truth, this mansion had been gifted to him for free by Yellow Bear, but although it was a gift, Ji Ning was absolutely forbidden to sell it.

Because inside this mansion—worth a million catties of Primordial Liquid—there was a hidden region where the aquatic palace lay concealed.

The mansion housed the aquatic palace.

Heavy restrictions layered within… it was absolutely safe.

“A million catties of Primordial Liquid? Impressive.” The Xiyue Commandery Princess praised him. “Was it from Shaoyin Nong, too?”

“No. I obtained it in a lucky encounter,” Ji Ning said.

“I knew it. To be able to kill Shaoyin Nong and a Primal-level Fiendgod, you must have had a great lucky encounter,” the Xiyue Commandery Princess said with a smile. “Alright, settle in and rest first. Tonight, I’ll prepare a banquet, and I want you to come.”

“Alright.” Ji Ning nodded.

“Rest well—you haven’t had a proper rest since arriving at the Grand Xia imperial capital.” The Xiyue Commandery Princess then left with her two female soldier-servants.

Ji Ning led Uncle White and Little Qing into his immortal mansion.