The Trial of the Lower Realm

Ji Ning stood outside the Immortal estate.

“Uncle White. Xiaoqing.” Ji Ning sent a mental transmission. Moments later, Uncle White and Xiaoqing arrived. The two of them had been outside the Divine Immortal Palace, discussing the Dao with other disciples of the Mount Innerheart lineage.

“Master, what do you need us for? I was in the middle of such an interesting debate just now,” Xiaoqing said, a bit disgruntled.

The Whitewater Hound looked at Ji Ning, waiting for him to speak.

“I am going down to the lower realms, to the cave world below,” Ji Ning said. “A short trip of a year, at most ten.”

“Ah, descending to the lower realms?” Xiaoqing was excited. “Great! Mount Innerheart is wonderful, and listening to the Patriarch preach is a blessing, plus there are plenty of divine abilities and secret arts. But it’s just too leisurely. So leisurely it’s boring.”

Ji Ning shook his head. “I’m going down to take care of some serious business. You and Uncle White should seize this rare opportunity to train here on Mount Innerheart. After all, once we return to the Grand Xia… I have no idea when we’ll be back. Opportunities like this are hard to come by.”

Once he returned to the Grand Xia World, it would not be easy to come back. This was not his decision; it required his master’s permission. If his master did not allow it, no one could find this cave world.

Xiaoqing, understanding this, nodded.

“Ning’er, be careful down there. This cave world is in no way inferior to the Grand Xia World. There are countless experts below, and I suspect there are quite a few Celestial Immortals,” Uncle White warned.

“Don’t worry,” Ji Ning nodded.

“Master, what are you going down for? What kind of serious business? Oh, if it’s a secret, you don’t have to say.” Xiaoqing said this, but her eyes were bright with obvious anticipation.

Ji Ning smiled. “This is a trial given to me by my master: to go down to find a disciple and to kill someone.”

“Find a disciple? Kill someone?” Ripples stirred in both Xiaoqing and Uncle White’s hearts.

“These two jade bottles each contain one hundred and fifty thousand catties of Primordial Liquid.” Ji Ning flipped his hand, and two emerald-green jade bottles appeared. “Uncle White, Xiaoqing, you’ve both trained to the Primal perfection stage over the years. But it takes a long time to accumulate enough to break through from Primal perfection to the Void stage. Besides, the techniques you’re cultivating are the Ki Refining methods of Mount Innerheart. It would probably take at least several decades to accomplish anything. With this Primordial Liquid, Uncle White, Xiaoqing, you can break through to the early Void stage and consolidate your foundation.”

The Whitewater Hound hesitated for a moment.

Xiaoqing, however, took it and said excitedly, “Thank you, Master! You’re the best! I’ve been wanting to step into the Void stage and become an Earth Immortal for so long!”

“Uncle White, take it,” Ji Ning said.

It was only on Mount Innerheart that he couldn’t earn Primordial Liquid. Given his current strength, acquiring some treasures and obtaining Primordial Liquid wouldn’t be difficult. In the future, his true body, Uncle White, and Xiaoqing would all have to be raised to the late Void stage!

As for Void Perfection?

Ji Ning wasn’t in a hurry. Having frequently listened to Patriarch Subhuti’s lectures, he understood that the ‘Heavenly Tribulation’ varied from person to person. The more monstrous the genius, the more exaggerated and outrageous the tribulation was generally. Someone like him, who had cultivated multiple divine abilities like the ‘Starseizing Hand,’ was a bearer of great fortune, and the power of his tribulation would be terrifyingly great!

He had to be fully prepared!

His level of insight had to be elevated further. The Eight-Nine Arcane Art, the Houyi Archery, and the Starseizing Hand all had to reach perfection before becoming a Celestial Immortal. Magical treasures and unique items also had to be prepared. His Dao-heart had to be even stronger… In short, when facing the ‘Heavenly Tribulation,’ no amount of preparation was too much. No one wanted to fail. Once you failed, death was a given. Even if you managed to become a Loose Immortal, you would only be facing endless Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, awaiting death.

The Heavenly Tribulation…

It was the true trial of life and death! The greatest tribulation on the path of Immortal cultivation! If you succeeded, you would soar into the heavens, truly transcend the Three Realms, and live a carefree, immortal life, free from the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations. If you failed, it was all over.

…

On the mountain path of Mount Innerheart.

The Whitewater Hound and Xiaoqing escorted Ji Ning for a while. Ji Ning had not bid farewell to his senior brothers. After all, this was just a trial; it wouldn’t take long. For his senior brothers, who had lived for countless billions of years, it was truly a brief moment.

“No need to send me off any further.” Ji Ning smiled.

With a flash, he transformed into a streak of light and flew directly out of the floating Mount Innerheart, heading towards the endless lands below.

“Ning’er, be careful.”

“Master, be careful.” The Whitewater Hound and Xiaoqing watched Ji Ning fly away until he was out of sight.

Ji Ning gazed down at the endless cities and lands below. Before leaving Mount Innerheart, Xiaoqing had gone to a friend—an ordinary disciple of Mount Innerheart, a great demon at the Void stage. From this great demon friend, she had obtained a relatively detailed map of the entire “Crescent Major World!”

“The Crescent Major World is vast, no smaller than the Grand Xia World. On the endless oceans, there are three enormous continents. All three continents are slightly smaller than the Grand Xia continent. Combined, they are perhaps equivalent to the endless lands of the Grand Xia.” Ji Ning pondered for a moment. “Alright, I’ll go to the Star Continent!”

The Crescent Major World was divided into three prefectures: the Cloud Continent, the Flame Continent, and the Star Continent.

Directly below the floating Mount Innerheart was the Cloud Continent, which had the best order. The Flame Continent and the Star Continent, however, were incredibly chaotic, with countless small nations, great demons, tribes, and sects existing in absolute disorder.

“In chaos, there are also many with great karmic sin. Perhaps I can find a few missed ones with great karmic merit,” Ji Ning thought to himself.

Whoosh!

Ripples spread around him, and Ji Ning vanished from mid-air.

…

In the Star Continent of the Crescent Major World.

A long shuttle was flying at high speed through the air. Inside the shuttle was a group of cultivators. Leading them was a man and two women, while the other six were all servants and guards.

“I’ve already given my Qi Kingdom to those demons, so why won’t they let us go?” One of the purple-robed girls was furious. “We hid in the wilderness, but those demons still found us and chased us. Our Qi Kingdom’s royal family has been reduced to such a weak and pathetic state; we pose no threat to them. Why won’t they leave us alone?”

“Little sister,” the black-robed girl beside her shook her head. “The demon king who occupied our Qi Kingdom has already given a direct order: exterminate the Qi Kingdom’s royal family, leave none alive. Naturally, the countless demons under his command are doing their utmost to hunt us down. Killing us is the only way for them to earn merit and gain the demon king’s favor.”

“Then we just run? Forever?” The purple-robed girl gnashed her teeth. “I’m sick of this life on the run. I started running before I was even an adult. I’ve been running for decades, constantly fleeing. I’ve had enough! I’ve really had enough! Let’s fight these demons! Big brother, second sister, let’s fight them!”

“Shut up!” The tall man standing there said in a low voice. “Our royal family has been passed down for tens of thousands of years. Now, only the three of us are left from the direct bloodline. Even our uncle died holding off those demons to protect us before. Our lives… were bought with the lives of countless subordinates and clansmen. We cannot die so easily.”

“Then what can we do? That demon king’s power is so great; how can we escape? Where can we run?” The purple-robed girl said angrily.

The tall man said in a low voice, “At this point, there is no other place. We can only go… to the Evil Dragon River!”

Instantly, silence fell.

The two girls beside him, as well as all the guards and servants, fell quiet, each with looks of shock in their eyes.

The Evil Dragon River?

The Star Continent was vast and boundless. At least to these three royal members and their guards, they could not fly across the Star Continent’s vast lands. In the Star Continent, however, the Evil Dragon River was one of the most famous and largest rivers.

The Evil Dragon River ran through most of the Star Continent.

It was incredibly wide. The narrowest point was eight hundred li, and the widest was over a thousand li. As for its length, it ran through most of the Star Continent, meandering on and on, making its total length nearly impossible to calculate.

Legend had it that this river was formed after an ancient ‘evil dragon’ was slain and transformed into it. Of course, this legend was too exaggerated; its truth was hard to verify. But the ‘Evil Dragon River’ was indeed extraordinary. As long as one approached within a thousand li of it, one could not fly, nor could one use any Five Elements escape techniques. It was said that even a ‘Celestial Immortal Patriarch,’ upon approaching the Evil Dragon River, would be unable to fly or escape. This showed how miraculous the ‘Evil Dragon River’ was!

Furthermore, there were some dangerous places within the Evil Dragon River. Even cultivators did not dare to trespass casually.

“On the Evil Dragon River, we can’t fly, and we can’t use escape techniques. Those demons will have a very hard time catching us.” The tall man’s voice was low. “I believe they are also wary and wouldn’t dare to chase us into the Evil Dragon River.”

“But that’s the Evil Dragon River,” the black-robed girl said urgently.

“We are seeking life in the midst of death. We can’t care about how dangerous the Evil Dragon River is anymore. Besides, the river is massive; it runs through most of the Star Continent. In truth, most areas are very safe; only a few places are dangerous. If we are lucky, we can find a safe island to live on, and once we have recovered some strength, we can kill that demon king and retake our Qi Kingdom in the future,” the tall man said. “Second sister, little sister, we have no other path left.”

The two girls gritted their teeth and nodded.

“Life or death, we’ll risk it,” the black-robed girl said.

“Alright, we’ll risk it,” the purple-robed girl also gritted her teeth.

…

“Rumble…”

The Evil Dragon River surged violently, treacherous and ominous.

“The Evil Dragon River.”

“Big brother, there it is!”

“We’ve arrived.”

The man and two women, leading six guards and servants, soon arrived at the banks of the Evil Dragon River. Staring at the churning waters and the intangible, mysterious ripples emanating from the entire river, they could not help but feel a pang of fear. After all, the Evil Dragon River’s reputation was too great.

“Hey, big brother, second sister, look!” The purple-robed girl pointed towards the vast Evil Dragon River. On the surface of the river was a wooden boat floating with the current. On the boat lay a youth dressed in animal skins, holding a bamboo leaf to his lips and playing a tune.

These people were all cultivators, their eyesight extraordinary, and they could see him clearly.

“This youth actually dares to take a boat on the Evil Dragon River, and he’s leisurely blowing on a leaf?” The black-robed girl was also astonished.

“If he is a cultivator, no matter how skilled, he would be extremely cautious,” the tall man frowned. “Could he be a mortal?”

Although the Evil Dragon River was dangerous, it was only dangerous in certain places.

Sometimes, some extremely bold mortals would sail on it to show their courage or for a thrill. There were indeed mortals who, by luck, could sail the Evil Dragon River for months and return alive.

“Big brother, that youth is coming over!” the purple-robed girl exclaimed.

They saw that the wooden boat, which had been drifting with the current, had the animal-skin youth start rowing. The oars on both sides splashed against the water, propelling the boat towards the riverbank.

…

Ji Ning, rowing the boat with both hands, smiled as he looked at the group on the distant riverbank. His divine sense had already been released, covering that area. Under his divine sense’s observation, one of the maidservants in the group was emitting a dazzling golden light. The golden light of karmic merit radiated three hundred zhang in all directions, shockingly immense.

“My luck is incredible. I’ve found a bearer of great karmic merit so quickly,” Ji Ning rejoiced.