The Heir of Great Karmic Merit

After descending into the Star Continent, Ji Ning had been drifting down the Evil Dragon River for nearly half a month, constantly probing with his divine sense. Yet, he had discovered neither a being of great sin nor one of great karmic merit. Today, he had been idly lying on his wooden boat, playing a tune on a bamboo leaf, when who would have thought he’d actually find a being of great karmic merit.

“Hua…” Rowing his oars, the wooden boat drew close to the shore.

Ji Ning leaped from the deck to the bank.

The fleeing members of the Qi Kingdom’s imperial clan, seeing Ji Ning’s clumsy disembarkation from a distance, became even more convinced he was a mortal. The weakest among them was a Zifu Disciple; they would never pay a mere mortal any heed. But to their surprise, this mortal began walking straight towards them.

“Elder Brother, he’s coming towards us.” The black-robed girl transmitted mentally.

“A mere mortal. If this were the old imperial palace, I’d have killed him for daring to block my path.” There was a vicious aura in the violet-robed girl’s eyes. After all these years of fleeing, her heart was filled with nothing but resentment and malice.

“Don’t cause trouble.”

The tall, handsome young man at the lead, however, directly released a wave of his aura to intimidate the stranger. He was the strongest in this group, having reached the Wanxiang Adept level.

An invisible wave of oppressive pressure surged forward.

If he were a mortal, this aura from a Wanxiang Adept would have caused him to tremble in terror.

“Let’s go.” Having released his aura pressure, the prince led his two sisters and a group of servants and guards towards the Evil Dragon River. During their flight, they couldn’t be bothered to deal with a single mortal.

“Hahaha…” Suddenly, laughter rang out.

The prince, the two princesses, and all their subordinates looked on in shock. The native youth dressed in animal skins whom they had taken for a mortal was standing there, laughing. The fleeing members of the Qi Kingdom imperial clan immediately understood that this native youth was definitely not a mortal. A mortal would have long since trembled and collapsed to the ground.

“Boom…” A powerful, formless aura erupted from Ji Ning, sweeping over the group like a raging wave.

Everyone in the Qi Kingdom imperial clan changed expression.

This native youth… was no mortal at all. He was a being whose power far surpassed their own.

“I am Shi Feng. These are my juniors and family. Might I ask what Senior’s name is?” The tall, handsome prince spoke respectfully, cupping his hands. At the same time, water droplets formed on his fingertip, which he casually smeared over his eyes as if wiping them. Looking up, he could see the ripples of power emanating from the native youth. He immediately sent a mental message to the two girls beside him: “Ru Yu, Ru Hui. This native youth’s aura indicates he’s at the full Primal level. It seems he means no harm, but we cannot fight him. We have to use treasures if we want to escape; every one we use is one we lose.”

“Understood, Elder Brother,” the black-robed girl sent back.

“Just a Primal Daoist. If Father and the others were still here, how could we let a Primal Daoist act so arrogantly before us?” the violet-robed girl said, her heart relaxing and her fear fading. They were still royalty, after all, even if their kingdom had fallen, and they had brought many treasures with them. Having been hunted for decades and surviving, they had proven their ability to escape.

Clearly, with a lone Primal Daoist, they could afford to spend some treasures; they were confident they could flee.

“I am Northmont. Fate has brought us together.” Ji Ning, having released his aura, spoke. “Come, board my wooden boat and join me for some wine and refreshments.”

He could tell that this group was heading for the Evil Dragon River, clearly intending to travel by boat.

But then…

The Evil Dragon River was notorious. Of the nine people before him, only one was a Wanxiang Adept; the other eight were Zifu Disciples. How could they dare to brave the Evil Dragon River? Others might fear it, but Ji Ning was a disciple of Patriarch Subhuti. Having chatted idly with his senior fellow apprentices, he was aware of some of the hidden secrets of the Tristar Crescent Great World; naturally, he had no fear of the Evil Dragon River.

“Since Senior Northmont invites us, we humbly obey.” The prince quickly agreed. He intended to take a boat anyway, and having a full Primal Daoist as a travel companion might even prove helpful.

“Hua.” Ji Ning pointed into the distance.

Instantly, the wooden boat moored by the riverside began to grow, transforming into a vessel a hundred zhang in length. The group immediately boarded the great ship.

On the deck, long tables appeared, laden with fine wine and spiritual fruits.

“Please, sit.” Ji Ning sat down in the seat of honor.

The prince and the two princesses took their seats as well, while the other attendants remained standing.

“Shi Feng.” Ji Ning’s gaze landed on the maidservant who possessed the golden light of karmic merit. The light was immense, surging like a vast tidal wave, a full three hundred zhang tall. If this were on Earth, even some rivers would not be this wide. One could imagine how astonishing this girl’s karmic merit was. “Is she your maidservant?” Ji Ning pointed at the young maidservant behind the violet-robed girl.

The prince smiled. “Indeed she is.”

“What is her name? Tell me about her origins.” Ji Ning spoke directly. In his eyes, taking this girl away from them would not be difficult. However, this was his first time taking on a disciple! He had to observe the girl’s character. The golden aura of karmic merit could have come from a past life; the girl’s current nature was another matter entirely.

If her character was poor, he would rather search for another being of great merit.

“Her name is Qi Xiaoyu. She is a native,” the prince laughed. “My family elder discovered her exceptional talent when she was a child, accepted her as a disciple, and taught her cultivation techniques. The elder was very fond of her. Although she is a maidservant, she is, in truth, my junior apprentice-sister.”

“Qi Xiaoyu?” Ji Ning’s brow furrowed slightly.

He looked at the girl. Qi Xiaoyu was quite pretty, though not as beautiful as Yu Wei. Still, she was a delicate beauty, and her eyes were filled with resolve, a clear sign of a strong Dao-heart.

“Qi Xiaoyu, come here and sit.” With a wave of his hand, another table laden with wine and fruit appeared to the side.

Qi Xiaoyu stood there, hesitant, and looked toward the prince and princesses.

The prince instructed her, “Senior Northmont has commanded you. Why do you not go?”

“Yes, sir.”

Qi Xiaoyu obediently went to sit before the table, but she did not touch the wine or fruit.

Ji Ning watched this girl. He could feel a formless attraction from her, an involuntary desire to get close. ‘Is this the effect of great karmic merit? I feel a fondness for her even upon first meeting.’

“Xiaoyu,” Ji Ning said.

“Senior Northmont.” Qi Xiaoyu was extremely respectful.

“Tell me about your past—everything from when you were young until now,” Ji Ning asked.

Qi Xiaoyu looked toward the prince and princesses. Ji Ning’s request was somewhat presumptuous, but the prince and princesses did not wish to offend him… This was the benefit of strength. As long as Ji Ning did not go too far, they would not make an issue of it.

The prince gave a slight nod.

“In reply, Senior,” Qi Xiaoyu began, “I grew up in the Qing Cliff Tribe, which had a population of tens of thousands. The tribe’s chieftain was my great-grandfather. I had a carefree and happy childhood…”

As she spoke, a look of happiness appeared on Qi Xiaoyu’s face.

“But later, the tribe was attacked by a great demon. The tribesmen had to flee in defeat. My relatives all died. While I was fleeing in terror, I met my master…”

Ji Ning silently listened.

At his level of cultivation, he could clearly sense every fluctuation from Qi Xiaoyu’s soul. He could easily judge whether she was lying or telling the truth.

Just as Ji Ning was using his power to invite the Qi Kingdom imperial clan aboard and asking about Qi Xiaoyu’s past, ten thousand li away, a black greatship was floating in the void. On its deck stood twelve black-armored figures.

War banners flew from the black greatship, emblazoned with the pattern of a pair of flaming wings.

Any local demon or cultivator would immediately recognize them… This was the fearsome ‘Firewing Legion’, the elite guard unit that struck terror into countless powers.

The Firewing Legion was the personal elite guard of the ‘Firewing Demon King’. Even the weakest member of the Firewing Legion was at the Wanxiang level.

“Captain, these Qi Kingdom imperial remnants are truly resilient. All these years, and they still haven’t been wiped out,” a thin, scale-faced man remarked. “And we’ve been on their trail the whole time.”

“They are resilient, alright. In just a few tens of thousands of years, the Qi Kingdom carved out a territory of a million li, even killing many Loose Immortals and great demons. They must have a lot of treasures. And with the Qi Kingdom rising so fast, there have long been legends that their founding emperor found a great treasure hoard. Whether or not that legend is true, these fleeing imperial remnants certainly have many treasures on them. We chase them again and again, but they always manage to slip away,” said a burly, bear-waisted man clad in black armor.

A seductive woman beside him, who had feathers in her hair, smiled enticingly. “Captain~ No matter what, the Firewing Legion’s pursuit has whittled their numbers down. Last time, we killed the last Primal Daoist they had. Now, only the eldest prince and two princesses remain.”

“Without even a Primal Daoist, their end is near.”

“If we can kill the eldest prince and those two princesses, we’ll have rendered a great service.”

Although the Qi Kingdom remnants were weak in strength, they were still the last of the imperial clan. It was very possible that treasures, even the Qi Kingdom’s entire Dao Repository, were on the eldest prince’s person.

“Hm?”

Suddenly, the burly, armored man’s expression shifted. He flipped his hand over, revealing a fiery red insect that was stirring restlessly.

“We are within ten thousand li of the Qi Kingdom imperial remnants!” A look of delight appeared on the armored man’s face.

“Haha, this time we’ll definitely capture those remnants!”

“We’ll render a great service!”

“They don’t even have a single Primal Daoist! A Wanxiang Adept? Killing him will be easier than slicing a vegetable!”

The soldiers of the Firewing Legion were all excited and stirred.

There had long been rumors that the Qi Kingdom had risen so fast because they had found a great treasure hoard. This very rumor had enticed the ‘Firewing Demon King’ into leading his demon army to annihilate the entire Qi Kingdom! He had seized the kingdom’s most important treasures. As for the remaining imperial remnants, the Demon King couldn’t be bothered to hunt them down personally; he simply ordered his subordinates to do it.

“If we kill those remnants, we’ll offer the important treasures to the Demon King, and share the rest among ourselves…” The twelve soldiers of the Firewing Legion looked at each other, their eyes gleaming with greed and murderous intent. The Demon King was brutal and violent, and his soldiers were no different.