The Truth Beneath the Waves

The faces of the prince, the second princess, and the attendants on the long shuttle were all pale as death.

Anyone could see that this Senior Northmont was truly enraged!

They were all cultivators themselves, and none of them were fools. They all understood that the little princess had schemed against this Senior Northmont. Senior Northmont was clearly helping them hold off the Firewing Guards, yet the little princess had stabbed him in the back... This sort of action was looked down upon by all, whether mortal or cultivator!

Of course, if Ji Ning had died, that would have been the end of it.

But Ji Ning hadn't died, and he had come for them. Facing Ji Ning, they were in the wrong! And they were also terrified! Given how cultivators typically operated, it would be perfectly normal for Ji Ning to fly into a rage and massacre them all out of spite.

"Senior Northmont..."

"Senior Northmont..."

The prince and the second princess both spoke out, their voices filled with tension and fear.

They were wronged!

It had entirely been the little princess's own initiative; they hadn't directed her to do anything! As for the little princess's death, the prince and the second princess felt only a trace of helplessness, but not much grief. Throughout their journey, too many of their brothers and sisters had died. Even their elders had all perished. They had developed a strong tolerance for it, and besides, the prince and the second princess had been closer to each other in any case.

“Whoosh.” Ji Ning willed it, and a white-robed maiden appeared beside him. It was Qi Xiaoyu.

“Master,” Qi Xiaoyu said hurriedly. “I saw the little princess…”

Before she could finish, Qi Xiaoyu realized she was now inside the long shuttle. Looking at the surroundings, she felt confused.

“Disciple. Watch carefully,” Ji Ning said coldly.

“Yes,” Qi Xiaoyu replied respectfully.

“Senior Northmont, everything was truly Ruhui’s own decision. She wanted to use you to delay the Firewing Guards for longer,” Qi Rufeng said hurriedly.

“It was all done by my little sister alone,” the black-robed maiden also said quickly.

Qi Xiaoyu watched silently. She had seen everything clearly earlier—when the Firewing Guards arrived, her master went to engage them, the Qi royal clan fled, and in the midst of their escape, the little princess had thrown down a formation. Having followed them for so many years, Qi Xiaoyu was very familiar with the little princess’s ruthlessness, and she could roughly guess the truth.

Ji Ning looked at the prince and the second princess and said calmly, “I heard everything. You even said to let your Celestial Immortal ancestor avenge you and kill the Firewing King? Hmph… I don’t wish to kill, but some people deserve to die.”

The prince and the second princess trembled.

“If either of you were truly behind this, you would have to die as well. If you weren’t, I won’t drag you into it,” Ji Ning said. His gaze fell on the black-robed maiden, and he immediately activated the divine ability ‘Soul-Shattering Art.’ The Soul-Shattering Art of the Black-White College wasn’t particularly impressive, but Ji Ning’s soul was incredibly powerful!

Instantly, the black-robed maiden’s eyes went dull.

“Speak. Did you have any part in the little princess’s scheme against me?” Ji Ning asked calmly.

The black-robed maiden’s voice was flat and mechanical: “I had nothing to do with it. Ruhui acted on her own. While it could make Senior Northmont hold out a bit longer, it could also bring a great enemy upon the Qi royal clan. If Senior Northmont’s sect were to retaliate in the future, the Qi royal clan’s situation would become even more tragic. Ruhui’s vision was far too shortsighted…”

“What happened to me?” The black-robed maiden regained her clarity and looked around in shock. She then remembered everything that had happened while she was under the spell, and she stared at Ji Ning in terror.

The prince beside her had a somewhat pale face.

“You.” Ji Ning looked at the prince.

The prince gritted his teeth and said, “I never intended to harm you, Senior.” As soon as he finished speaking, Prince Qi Rufeng’s eyes also went dull.

He, too, narrated the events in a dull, mechanical voice. It was confirmed that he had not been involved in the scheme.

Qi Xiaoyu sighed with relief. She still held some goodwill toward the prince and the second princess.

“Let me ask you something,” Ji Ning suddenly said. “The destruction of Qi Xiaoyu’s tribe back then—was it orchestrated by your Qi royal clan?”

The black-robed maiden’s face instantly changed.

Qi Xiaoyu’s body also trembled, a look of panic and unease in her eyes.

The prince, still in his dazed state, said mechanically, “To ensure Qi Xiaoyu’s absolute loyalty to my royal clan, she had to have no other refuge. Otherwise, her tribe would always be the most important thing in her heart… So the elders of the clan pressured three Xiantian great demons into attacking that tribe. As for the two Xiantian experts in the tribe, they were also set up by the clan’s elders. Naturally, they couldn’t hold out. The entire tribe was scattered, and Qi Xiaoyu’s family members all died. With nowhere else to turn, when the elders of my clan appeared to protect her, she naturally felt grateful and attached.”

“Everything went according to plan. Qi Xiaoyu became utterly loyal to my Qi royal clan. And ever since Qi Xiaoyu joined my clan, our luck clearly improved. We were chased less often, and fewer of our elders died…”

“No… no…” Qi Xiaoyu’s face was streaked with tears as she shook her head incessantly.

Ji Ning sighed to himself.

He had used the Soul-Shattering Art mainly to ask this question. With his experience, he had suspected that the destruction of that tribe was suspicious. Such a large tribe wouldn’t easily be attacked by a great demon.

“Just as I thought,” Ji Ning nodded to himself. Qi Xiaoyu was far too emotionally attached to the Qi royal clan. Ji Ning had worried this might cause problems later, so he decided to get to the bottom of it now.

“Scheming against me all along, scheming against me,” Qi Xiaoyu looked at the prince, her face pale. “What about my master? Was she scheming against me too?”

“Senior Aunt Jiuhe was opposed to the original plan. She wanted to go to your tribe herself and take you as a disciple, but at the time, my royal clan was fleeing for its life, and everything had to be for the clan’s ultimate benefit,” Prince Qi Rufeng continued in his dazed voice. “Senior Aunt Jiuhe felt sorry for you, so she took you as a disciple, taught you, and was the most caring toward you. She even made some of the other princes and princesses jealous.”

Qi Xiaoyu felt a slight sense of relief.

The person she was most grateful to in the entire Qi royal clan was Master Jiuhe, the woman who had been like a mother to her.

She had cherished her, loved her.

Qi Xiaoyu could feel that deep affection. She had been taught by her master since she was very young, so her memories of the Qingya tribe were vague, and her memories of her biological parents were fuzzy. Her deepest feelings were actually for her ‘Master Jiuhe,’ the one who had taught her, as they had spent the most time together.

Qi Xiaoyu was very sensitive to others’ kindness, malice, concern, and hatred. She had always felt her master’s love for her, which was why she was so grateful to the Qi royal clan. Even when the leader of the Qi royal clan had asked her to swear a Heavenly Oath back then, she hadn’t hesitated for a moment.

“What’s going on?” Prince Qi Rufeng woke up. He quickly recalled everything, and his face turned ashen.

He looked at Ji Ning in terror, then quickly turned to look at Qi Xiaoyu.

“Master Jiuhe… I can understand. I don’t blame you. I don’t blame you.” Tears streamed down Qi Xiaoyu’s face. She stared at the black-robed maiden and the prince, gritting her teeth. “Your Qi royal clan destroyed my home tribe and killed my family. But Master Jiuhe’s kindness to me was as heavy as a mountain. From this day forward, I, Qi Xiaoyu, have no further connection with your Qi clan. From now on, my name is Qingya Xiaoyu!”

“Master.” Qingya Xiaoyu looked at Ji Ning, tears still in her eyes. “Thank you for waking me up, for not letting me stay in the dark forever. I need some time alone now.”

“Alright,” Ji Ning nodded.

With a thought.

Whoosh.

Qi Xiaoyu was already taken into the accompanying immortal estate.

Ji Ning’s gaze fell on the prince and the princess.

The prince and princess were helpless. They had been put under the spell, and they had thought it was only to investigate the little princess’s scheme. They never expected this Senior Northmont to have dug up the truth about the destruction of the ‘Qingya tribe’ from so long ago. But things had come to this point; they had no other thoughts, only the hope of staying alive.

“Since you had no intention of harming me, I won’t touch you. I will still keep my promise,” Ji Ning said. “But before that, come with me to a place first.”

As he spoke, Ji Ning waved his hand, and the Qi royal clan and the long shuttle were all put into his immortal estate.

Then, stepping on the waves of the Evil Dragon River, Ji Ning quickly left.

In the span of just a cup of tea.

At the peak of a towering mountain that pierced the clouds, ripples appeared in the air, and a beastskin-clad youth appeared, descending from above.

“This will do,” the beastskin-clad youth nodded. He waved his hand, and an immortal estate appeared beside him.

Inside the immortal estate.

As Ji Ning entered, the prince and the second princess immediately bowed respectfully. The prince even said, “Senior, where is this?”

“You can go out, but it’s best not to stray too far. If you go too far, I won’t be able to guarantee your safety,” Ji Ning said calmly. “This place is millions of li away from our previous location. I trust the Firewing King will need some time to track you down. Get some rest for now. We need to prepare for the upcoming battle.”

“Prepare for a battle?” The prince and princess were startled.

“I killed several hundred Firewing Guards, including three old demonic Loose Immortals. Do you think the Firewing King will just let that go?” Ji Ning said calmly.

The prince and princess shook their heads.

Impossible?

This Eastern Flow Region was ruled by the twelve demon kings. How could the Firewing King not be enraged after this Senior Northmont killed so many of his Firewing Guards? Those Firewing Guards were the most loyal to the Firewing King, and with so many dead this time, the Firewing King would likely come personally to hunt them down.

“The Firewing King is coming personally.” The prince and the second princess both felt tense and uneasy. “And this Senior Northmont still intends to fight?”

“Just how strong is he? Could my earlier investigation have been wrong? Is he not at Primal perfection?”

The prince and princess’s minds were in chaos.

But given how quickly Ji Ning had chased them down in such a short time, and considering that the Firewing Guards logically wouldn’t have let him go, things had probably happened just as Ji Ning said… all several hundred Firewing Guards had been killed.

“To kill several hundred Firewing Guards in such a short moment, break the trapping formation, and catch up to us… just how strong is this Ji Ning? Maybe he really can fight the Firewing King?” The prince and princess were filled with all sorts of chaotic thoughts.

Ji Ning, however, paid them no mind. He entered a secret chamber within the immortal estate. Ripples appeared in the chamber, and Ji Ning stepped through, entering the underwater estate.

“The Firewing King’s strength is not to be underestimated. I might even have to deal with other demon kings. Before that, I need to increase my strength a bit more,” Ji Ning mused. “My true body uses Three Heads, Six Arms, so I need six flying swords. Three of them are the Northsea Swords. The other three should ideally be Immortal-ranked flying swords.”

He possessed the supreme-grade Immortal-ranked ‘Thousandbull Sword,’ which was nearly a Pure Yang treasure. Also, the Grand Xia Emperor had given him a low-grade Immortal-ranked flying sword back at the Immortal Fortunes Assembly.

He had also just killed three old demonic Loose Immortals, obtaining two low-grade Immortal-ranked treasures, one of which was a low-grade Immortal-ranked flying sword.

“My true body needs to break through to the early Void stage as soon as possible. Only then can I better unleash the power of Immortal-ranked treasures,” Ji Ning thought to himself. The power of two low-grade Immortal-ranked flying swords matched the Northsea Swords. The Thousandbull Sword was what he valued most! It possessed power nearly as great as a Pure Yang treasure!

Thus, Ji Ning entered the quiet room of the aquatic manor.

He began to train using Primordial Liquid…