A Single Arrow’s Worth

The Xiyue Commandery Princess had already noticed that Young Master Yunpeng was no good at heart. Ji Ning, though restrained, was proud at his core; given time, conflict would likely arise. She immediately said, “Fine, Ji Ning, you go on to Heavenly Treasures Mountain. We’ll gather another time.”

“Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” Young Master Yunpeng’s eyelids lifted as he glanced at Ji Ning, then said, “Xiyue, we haven’t been to Heavenly Treasures Mountain in a long time either. Since Brother Ji Ning is going, let’s accompany him. Cloud Gu, don’t you agree?”

Feng Yungu had been sitting there silently the whole time. When he heard Young Master Yunpeng’s words, he quickly nodded. “Yes, yes, that’s a good idea.”

Seeing this, Ji Ning couldn’t help but frown. His cousin-sister’s intended ‘brother-in-law’ was truly too spineless.

“Xiyue!” Young Master Yunpeng looked at the princess.

Xiyue Commandery Princess could only nod. “Fine. We’ll go together.”

…

Ji Ning, Xiyue Commandery Princess, Young Master Yunpeng, Feng Yungu—and of course, a number of attendants—rode aboard a massive Immortal-ranked treasure ship. It rumbled through the air, churning waves of force beneath it as it flew over the Grand Xia Imperial Capital.

“My top-grade Immortal ship has been infused with ‘Taiyi Azure Essence.’ In terms of speed alone, it can rival a supreme-grade Immortal ship,” Young Master Yunpeng said, quite pleased with himself.

Ji Ning glanced at it.

This Yunpeng fellow truly had no shortage of treasures. Purchasing an Immortal ship like this would cost far more than merely ten million jin of Primordial Liquid.

“Younger brother, just bear with it for now,” Xiyue Commandery Princess sent mentally. “Although this Young Master Yunpeng has some talent in cultivation, he was born arrogant and can be somewhat domineering. But now that the Windstop Isle of the Heavenly Realm has formed an alliance with our Grand Xia Dynasty, he wouldn’t dare cause any real trouble. Just pretend you didn’t hear any of his nonsense.”

“Cousin, since he’s so arrogant, why allow him to stay in the manor?” Ji Ning sent back. “If you asked King Yan to make him leave, he wouldn’t dare to stay.”

“Arrogant though he may be, he is, after all, pursuing me. Naturally, he has to buy me some gifts,” Xiyue Commandery Princess sent back calmly. “In the future, I will have to revive the Yuchi clan. Naturally, I need to gather as many treasures as possible for the clan’s sake.”

“Cousin, you…” Ji Ning was stunned.

“Do you look down on your cousin now?” Xiyue Commandery Princess sent back, her voice flat. “I care nothing for these things. I swore long ago that I would fulfill my father’s dying wish and rebuild the Yuchi clan. For the sake of the Yuchi clan, I would do anything—including give my own life. All I need to do is endure a little in front of this Young Master Yunpeng, give him a sliver of hope, and he’ll keep sending treasures.”

For a moment, Ji Ning didn’t know what to say.

“Don’t worry, your cousin won’t let him take any advantage of me. What one can never obtain is the sweetest. If he actually got what he wanted, would he pursue me so frantically? I’ll take the treasures. As for him? In the end, he’ll just slink away in disgrace,” Xiyue Commandery Princess sent.

Ji Ning could feel the steely resolve in his cousin’s heart. He stopped worrying. “And Feng Yungu… do you think he’s a good match for you?”

“You think he’s not worthy? It’s precisely because he’s a spineless weakling that I’m willing to marry him. Otherwise, how could I be absolutely certain of controlling him?” Xiyue Commandery Princess sent. “Don’t worry, I have Grandfather’s help. Managing these small matters is well within my ability.”

“Cousin, if anything comes up, don’t hesitate to send word to me. Don’t forget that the Yuchi clan doesn’t just have you. It has me as well,” Ji Ning sent.

“Yes. I also have you, younger brother,” Yuchi Xiyue sent back.

Heavenly Treasures Mountain Headquarters.

Inside a lavishly decorated hall situated at a dizzying height stood a grand feast. Standing by the railing outside the hall, one could gaze down upon the entire Grand Xia Imperial Capital.

“Young Master Yunpeng, you’ve brought Sister Xiyue again. It seems my Heavenly Treasures Mountain will be doing another lucrative business today,” said the white-robed Green Willow Immortal with a smile.

“Haha, for Xiyue’s sake, I’m delighted to do so!” Young Master Yunpeng laughed heartily. He also cast a sidelong glance at Ji Ning.

During the journey here, Ji Ning and Yuchi Xiyue had been communicating mentally, and Young Master Yunpeng had noticed that there was clearly an unusual intimacy between Ji Ning and Yuchi Xiyue, far beyond that of ordinary friends. This displeased him. “Hmph, so what if he got first place in the Grand Xia World’s Immortal Fortunes Assembly? Today, at Heavenly Treasures Mountain, I’ll make him lose face completely!”

“Brother Ji Ning, what are you planning to buy at Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” Young Master Yunpeng asked with a smile.

Ji Ning replied calmly, “Just some materials and curios, nothing more.”

At this moment, the Whitewater Hound behind Ji Ning transformed into human form. Uncle White flicked his wrist, and two beast-hide scrolls appeared in his hand, which he handed directly to Ji Ning. He sent mentally, “Ning, the first list is for setting up layers of grand formations sufficient to terrify Celestial Immortals and prevent them from daring to enter. The second list adds the materials for the three supreme slaughter formations I discovered at Mount Innerheart. These three slaughter formations can be perfectly integrated… the power of the resulting formation would give even True Immortals and Empyrean Gods pause. None of these three slaughter formations can be broken by brute force alone; only a True Immortal or Empyrean God who understands formations would have a chance to crack them.”

“That powerful?” Ji Ning was shocked.

“However, although the items on the second list aren’t extremely rare, they are still quite valuable,” Whitewater Hound sent. “Ning, if you can’t scrape together the resources, just buying the first list will be enough.”

…

Ji Ning directly handed the two beast-hide scrolls to the Green Willow Immortal. “Fairy Green Willow, I have two lists of materials and curious items here. Please take a look and see if your Heavenly Treasures Mountain has them.”

“This is the headquarters of Heavenly Treasures Mountain. Even if a Celestial Immortal came here to buy treasures, our mountain would have them to offer, let alone mere materials and curios,” the Green Willow Immortal said with a smile as she took the scrolls. She glanced at the first beast-hide scroll, and her expression changed. She looked at Ji Ning in surprise, then turned her gaze to the second scroll.

The Green Willow Immortal was shocked!

The first scroll had merely surprised her, but the second scroll’s list left her stunned and even somewhat afraid. The list was simply too terrifying.

“I cannot make a decision on this. Please wait a moment,” the Green Willow Immortal said immediately.

“Very well,” Ji Ning nodded.

“Even the Green Willow Immortal can’t decide?” Young Master Yunpeng, who had been watching from the side, said sarcastically, “They’re just some materials and curios, not Immortal-ranked treasures. Could it be that the items Brother Ji Ning has chosen are all rare and bizarre?”

Whoosh.

A silver-haired man suddenly appeared in the hall. The invisible pressure of his aura made everyone present instantly understand—this was a Celestial Immortal!

“Ancestor.” The Green Willow Immortal handed the two beast-hide scrolls over. “These are the lists of materials and curious items Ji Ning needs. There are two lists.”

The silver-haired man nodded and took them. After first examining the first list, he said calmly, “The first list will cost 8,600,000 jin of Primordial Liquid!”

Yuchi Xiyue, Feng Yungu, and the others all felt the pressure.

Over eight million jin of Primordial Liquid?

“Impressive,” Young Master Yunpeng said from the side, still maintaining his casual demeanor.

The silver-haired man then looked at the second beast-hide scroll. Upon seeing it, his expression changed as well. He stared at it for a long time before finally raising his head to look at Ji Ning. His gaze was complex. “Young friend Ji Ning, are you certain you are not playing games with my Heavenly Treasures Mountain?”

“Since I have written the list, I naturally wish to purchase,” Ji Ning said calmly.

“How much Primordial Liquid does that list require?” Young Master Yunpeng asked from the side, confident in his own wealth. He believed he could even afford to buy a supreme-grade Immortal treasure.

“Primordial Liquid?” The silver-haired man shook his head. “No amount of Primordial Liquid can trade for these treasures.”

Young Master Yunpeng’s expression changed.

The Green Willow Immortal, Xiyue Commandery Princess, and Feng Yungu, all present, were stunned. They were all quite knowledgeable, so they understood clearly… that Primordial Liquid was of great use to cultivators below the Celestial Immortal level. But to true powerhouses of the Three Realms, the utility of Primordial Liquid was actually diminishing. For example, Ji Ning’s cultivation of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art required him to consume Immortal pills.

As for True Immortals and Daofathers, the ‘Heaven and Earth primal energy’ they absorbed was on a truly massive scale. To them, ordinary Primordial Liquid was no different from water—too common.

True treasures were only exchanged for other treasures!

“What do you need?” Ji Ning asked.

“At least ten supreme-grade Immortal treasures,” the silver-haired man said. “Or one low-grade Pure Yang treasure.”

“A Pure Yang treasure?”

Everyone present was stunned.

Ji Ning, however, remained calm. The supreme slaughter formation he was setting up could even block True Immortals and Empyrean Gods—unless they had profound insights into formation Dao. The value of the materials alone, being equivalent to one low-grade Pure Yang treasure, was actually quite reasonable.

“At least ten supreme-grade Immortal treasures? Even an ordinary Celestial Immortal might not be able to produce that much. If I added up all my treasures, they might be worth three or four supreme-grade Immortal treasures at most.” Young Master Yunpeng felt immense pressure. His greatest pride had always been his vast collection of treasures, but now he was completely dominated. “He definitely can’t afford it. Definitely can’t.” Young Master Yunpeng stared at Ji Ning.

Everyone else was also staring at Ji Ning.

“Can this item cover the cost?” Ji Ning flipped his hand, and an aura of blazing fire surged outward. In his palm, he was gripping a flaming arrow!

This arrow was one of the two flame arrows he had obtained from the Divine Fiend corpse in the Chiya Mountain gorge. Back then, the most precious things from that corpse had been the supreme-grade innate spirit treasure ‘Luohou Bow,’ and the second most precious had been the two flame arrows.

It was well known that true divine archers had specially made arrows. Each arrow was incredibly expensive to produce. Ji Ning had once spoken with the Luohou Bow, and the bow had said, “This arrow is called the ‘Fire Elephant Arrow.’ Although it is far less precious than I, the Luohou Bow, each arrow is still equivalent to a low-grade Pure Yang treasure.”

Ji Ning had sighed at the time. Every single arrow he shot was essentially throwing away a low-grade Pure Yang treasure. How could that not sting?

“Whoosh~~~” As the flame arrow appeared, a faint pressure radiated outward.

“This is?” The silver-haired man’s expression changed. He carefully examined it, even extending his heartforce to study it closely.

“An arrow?” Young Master Yunpeng shook his head mentally. “Can a single arrow be worth ten supreme-grade Immortal treasures?”

Xiyue Commandery Princess, the Green Willow Immortal, and the others were also puzzled. Although their vision was broad, they still knew too little about the truly powerful divine archers of the Three Realms.

After observing for a long time, the silver-haired man looked at Ji Ning and said in a low voice, “It can be used as payment!”

“I also need you to give me an additional 30,000,000 jin of Primordial Liquid to make up the difference!” Ji Ning said calmly.

Xiyue Commandery Princess and the others were all dumbfounded.

The silver-haired man hesitated for a moment, then nodded solemnly: “Agreed. My Heavenly Treasures Mountain will also compensate you with an additional 30,000,000 jin of Primordial Liquid!”

Young Master Yunpeng’s face turned pale. He couldn’t help but swallow hard. All of his previous arrogance, insolence, and pride vanished like smoke. His greatest confidence had always been his wealth and abundant treasures, but he suddenly realized that a single arrow Ji Ning had taken out had utterly crushed him. As for backing? Ji Ning had vanished for over thirty years and had at minimum taken a True Immortal or Empyrean God as his master. His backing was no weaker than his own.