The Deadliest Hunt

Yu Wei said with envy, "These are the true darlings of Heaven and Earth. In Ki Refining, the greatest are the Daofathers and Golden Immortals of the Great Luo; in Fiendgod Body Refining, the supreme beings are the Chaos True Gods. Whether Daofather or True God, since Pangu separated Heaven and Earth, they have been the most paramount experts of the Three Realms. They are the ones who decide the fate of the Three Realms. Even who becomes the Celestial Thearch is decided by these mighty figures after discussion."

Many thoughts were running through Ji Ning's mind.

Daoist Threelives was born from the primordial chaos, and had been born holding a Grand Dao.

Clearly, Daoist Threelives was a Chaos True God!

However, according to what the yellow-furred bear had said, Daoist Threelives had once suffered a terrible defeat, had lost an arm, and the proud Daoist Threelives had never regrown that arm. He had remained one-armed, and had continued to train and meditate, eventually creating a terrifying divine ability which ranked within the top ten of the Three Realms—the [Starseizing Hand]!

“Ji Ning.” The yellow-furred bear’s voice suddenly rang out within Ji Ning’s sea of consciousness.

“Senior.” Ji Ning responded.

“Even amongst Empyrean Gods, some have great divine abilities, some have poor ones. Similarly, amongst True Gods, some have incredible divine abilities, some average ones. Can they be the same?” The yellow-furred bear was clearly feeling indignant on his master’s behalf. “And if my master was still alive today, he would probably have mastered a Heavenly Dao already. But endless ages have passed, and he has never come to find me…”

The yellow-furred bear’s voice suddenly grew low. He didn’t know whether Daoist Threelives was alive or dead.

This conversation with Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei had broadened Ji Ning’s horizons.

The lofty Daofathers of the Great Luo and the Chaos True Gods used the Three Realms as their chessboard, manipulating everything. The positions of Celestial Thearch, King Yan, and so forth were merely appointed by them after discussion.

“What exactly did Daoist Threelives encounter back then, that left him without confidence he would survive?” Ji Ning pondered. Back then, Daoist Threelives had left the aquatic manor behind and had gone to face a so-called great calamity. Since then, there had been no news of him. He had never returned to the aquatic manor.

Daoist Threelives was a paramount figure. What kind of calamity could it be, which had left him without confidence to survive?

“The Three Realms…”

“Senior Apprentice-Sister Yu Wei probably doesn’t know the true face of the Three Realms either.” Ji Ning felt as though everything was shrouded by a veil. For example, back when he was in the Netherworld Kingdom, he had encountered a terrifying power attacking the Six Paths of Reincarnation. Fortunately, he had leapt into the Six Paths of Reincarnation to be reincarnated; otherwise, he would have died right then and there.

“Who was attacking the Six Paths of Reincarnation?” The more Ji Ning learned, the more horrified he became. The Six Paths of Reincarnation was the most important nexus for the operation of the Three Realms. I imagine even the most powerful experts wouldn’t dare to casually cause trouble there, as doing so would incur the wrath of other experts.

“I’m just a tiny ant. Why should I worry about matters like these? If the sky falls, there are tall people to hold it up.” Ji Ning quickly cast the matter aside.

And so, the trial of the Landscape of the Brightmoon World had already reached its twelfth month… its final month!

A violet-robed youth and a dirty, disheveled girl were walking side by side.

“Where did this ‘Ninefate Recluse’ come from?” The violet-robed youth glanced sideways at the girl, secretly startled. He, Xiamang Qi, was absolutely a proud son of heaven amongst the younger generation of the imperial Xiamang clan, second only to Xiamang Zishan! And he had never accepted that; he always longed to surpass Xiamang Zishan.

He had shown his brilliance in the Immortal Fortunes Assembly, and his power was formidable. But when he ran into this girl calling herself ‘Ninefate Recluse’, he ate humble pie.

“This girl is far too strong. No matter how I attacked, I couldn’t injure her. It’s as if her body is a magic treasure.” The violet-robed youth felt helpless. “She’s not the ‘Ninefate Recluse’, she’s the ‘Undying Recluse’!”

Back then, the dirty girl had said to him, “My talismans are enough. In this landscape of the Brightmoon World, the ones who survive to the later stages become more and more powerful, and many form small squads. You seem quite skilled to me. How about we two form a squad? The last month or two will be much easier.”

“If we encounter enemies and kill them, do the talismans go to me?” Xiamang Qi had proposed the terms.

“Fine.” The dirty girl had nodded, and so Xiamang Qi and Ninefate Recluse had joined forces to roam the world.

“Eh?”

Suddenly, they both stopped, staring into the distance. In the distance, four figures were walking towards them—one man, three women.

There was an emaciated youth with disheveled black hair, a silver-haired girl, a woman as beautiful as a legendary moon palace fairy, and finally a bald, dark-skinned youth. This dark-skinned youth was actually walking barefoot, holding a crooked black staff in his hand.

“Zhuanshui Qi? Second Brother, how did you end up with Danzhu Recluse and the others?” Xiamang Qi laughed.

“Big Brother?” The emaciated youth with disheveled black hair was surprised.

The two of them were known as the ‘Two Eccentrics’ of the Grand Xia imperial capital. It was because their temperaments were both eccentric that they had hit it off and become sworn brothers. Xiamang Qi was the elder brother, Zhuanshui Qi the younger.

“The later stages are more dangerous. I didn’t dare to act alone.” Zhuanshui Qi said helplessly, “I consider myself fairly capable, but even Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu formed an alliance early on. We had no choice but to do the same! Our four-person squad has even crossed blows with Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu. Fortunately, Blackstone was there; we scared the two of them into running away.”

“Oh?” Xiamang Qi was shocked. Even the dirty girl, Ninefate Recluse, revealed a look of surprise.

They had scared Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu into fleeing?

“Introduce them to me.” Xiamang Qi laughed.

“You know Danzhu Recluse of the East Sea.” The black-haired, disheveled Zhuanshui Qi gestured towards the woman who looked like a moon palace fairy. Danzhu Recluse smiled and nodded as well.

Zhuanshui Qi pointed at the silver-haired girl. “This is Flying Snow Recluse. Her spellcasting is extraordinary.”

He then pointed at the barefoot, dark-skinned youth holding the crooked black staff. “This is Blackstone Recluse. Brother Blackstone is extremely skilled in the ‘Fuxi Staff Formation’; he is a true grandmaster of formations… With him here, we can retreat whenever we want, and attack whenever we want. Brother Blackstone is also exceptionally powerful in close combat. He only made a single move to block Xiamang Zishan… In my opinion, Brother Blackstone has a real chance of taking first place in this Immortal Fortunes Assembly.”

Xiamang Qi and Ninefate Recluse both looked at the barefoot, dark-skinned, bald youth.

It was strange.

When they faced this dark-skinned, bald youth, they had a feeling of facing the vast, endless sky…

“A grandmaster of formations? And in close combat, he can block Xiamang Zishan?” Xiamang Qi was secretly alarmed.

“Eh?” The dirty girl also looked curiously at the dark-skinned, bald youth.

The bald youth also looked back at the dirty girl.

Both of them felt an inexplicable resonance… the other was terrifyingly powerful!

“What do you say, we travel together?” Xiamang Qi asked.

Zhuanshui Qi looked at the dark-skinned, bald youth.

The dark-skinned, bald youth glanced at the dirty girl and revealed a faint smile. “Agreed.”

“Agreed.” The dirty girl also spoke.

And so…

These six people formed a squad.

In this squad, Blackstone Recluse, Ninefate Recluse, and Danzhu Recluse each had more than fourteen hundred talismans. The other three—Xiamang Qi, Zhuanshui Qi, and Flying Snow Recluse—were still a bit short.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were also walking through the great mountains. Their footwork was like the wind; in the blink of an eye they would be far away. As they walked, they released their divine sense to scan the surrounding thousand li.

Although it was already the twelfth month, Ji Ning and Yu Wei continued as before, like a normal senior apprentice-sister and junior apprentice-brother.

“Senior Apprentice-Sister, how many talismans do you have now? How many more do you need?” Ji Ning asked.

“Are you done?” Yu Wei asked in return.

“I have a bit over twelve hundred,” Ji Ning said. “Actually, the number of talismans each person gets varies. With this many, I should have a ninety-nine percent chance of ranking in the top eighty.”

“Be cautious. You need to gather thirteen hundred and seventy talismans to be absolutely certain of passing the trial,” Yu Wei said. “I have fewer than you. Right now, I have nearly eight hundred.”

Ji Ning nodded.

The two of them had been following the rule of ‘whoever kills gets the spoils.’ Although Ji Ning tried his best to let his senior apprentice-sister have them, ever since he reached the twelfth stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], his power had grown even greater. When encountering truly powerful opponents, Ji Ning had to explode with full force. Naturally, he would end up killing the opponents, and the talismans would go to him.

“In this final month, everyone who survives is probably hiding several hundred talismans. If we can kill two or three of them, we’ll be set,” Ji Ning said.

“But killing even two or three in this final stage is very difficult.” Yu Wei’s expression was also solemn.

There were fewer and fewer people now.

It was hard to even encounter an opponent. And when they did encounter one, the opponent would flee at the first sign of trouble! Killing an opponent or forcing them to give up their talismans was incredibly difficult!

“We have enough time, more than half a month left,” Ji Ning said.

The two of them continued walking; in the blink of an eye, they had traveled a thousand li.

Their divine sense also continuously swept the surrounding thousand-li radius.

“Eh?” Ji Ning and Yu Wei suddenly looked up into the sky.

From high in the sky, a flying boat quickly swooped down towards them.

“That boat has formation restrictions, my divine sense can’t penetrate it. Ill intent. Be careful.” Yu Wei sent a mental message to Ji Ning. However, the two of them were skilled and bold; both were extremely powerful, and they wouldn’t retreat so easily.

Swoosh!

A distance of a thousand li was covered in an instant. The boat vanished, and six figures appeared on the grassy ground in front of them.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei’s pupils both contracted.

“Xiamang Qi, a genius of the imperial Xiamang clan. Zhuanshui Qi, a genius of the Zhuanshui clan. And Danzhu Recluse!” Ji Ning and Yu Wei’s gazes both fell upon Danzhu Recluse, who was as beautiful as a moon palace fairy. Of these six people, the most famous was Danzhu Recluse.

The main hall of the Heavenly Tribulation Hall.

“The pair of Ji Ning and Yu Wei encountered Xiamang Zishan and Cangwu Jiu previously; that was a calamity.” Lu Dongbin sighed emotionally. “That time, Yu Wei awakened her past-life memories and they escaped that tribulation. But this time, this group of six is even more dangerous… That dirty girl has already comprehended five complete Daos! And that dark-skinned, barefoot, bald youth is a formation grandmaster. Both of these people have the strength to potentially compete for first place in this Immortal Fortunes Assembly. For Ji Ning and Yu Wei to run into this six-person squad… they are in deep trouble.”

“Within the world of the Landscape of the Brightmoon World this past year, how many people have died? Every incident is a life-or-death trial. To the little Dao-companion couple you dote on, this is merely a slightly larger calamity.” The Red Pole True Lord said calmly.

“This battle will be interesting.” The Xia Emperor laughed.

Amongst those capable of competing for first place in the Immortal Fortunes Assembly, there were roughly twenty people.

Ninefate Recluse, Blackstone Recluse, and Ji Ning, who had just broken through… all had the potential to compete for first place.

[End]