The Fifth World's Decision

The seductive woman nodded. “Understood. I’ve always thought the Grand Xia world wasn’t that strong. Take Beishan World, for example—it has three True Immortals and Empyrean Gods.”

“The Grand Xia world is incredibly blessed; it ranks among the very top of the Three Realms. A world of such magnitude, fully unified, would never be weaker than Beishan World,” the Cave Lord shook his head. “One must understand that in any unified major world, the ruler is either incomparably powerful personally, or possesses truly fearsome backing.”

“I see. Then, master… how do we deal with this Ji Ning?” the seductive woman asked.

“He has mastered the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, which means his master must be one of the most supreme Daofathers,” the Cave Lord said with a cold smirk. “However… regardless of who his master is, he certainly isn’t on our side. If we allow this Ji Ning to continue growing within the Grand Xia world, he will only become a greater headache. The best course is to kill him! Even his master, the Daofather behind him, would likely have to think twice about intervening for a single disciple.”

“How do we kill him?” the seductive woman pressed.

“Our Wanmo Cave is in the business of refining puppets; fighting and killing isn’t our specialty. Killing some of our enemies gets us merit. Not fighting and killing is what we’re expected to do,” the Cave Lord laughed. “This Ji Ning is someone even Buousi couldn’t handle—he’s a tough nut. We leave him to the Seamless Gate. Disciple, pay a visit to the Seamless Gate’s Lord on my behalf. Tell him to eliminate this variable, Ji Ning, as soon as possible.”

“Yes.” The seductive woman accepted the order respectfully and immediately left the hall.

This city was enormous, divided into many districts, and security was extremely tight. As the beloved disciple of the Wanmo Cave’s Cave Lord, her status was comparable to an ordinary Celestial Immortal. She soon arrived at the nearby encampment of the Seamless Gate.

The Grand Xia Dynasty had been searching for the Seamless Gate’s main base for a long time, but had never found it.

Because...

The Seamless Gate’s main base was here, in the ‘Fifth World’. This Fifth World was so powerful that if a Celestial Immortal dared to barge in, he would be killed in an instant. If a True Immortal or Empyrean God strolled in, he could flee and survive. But if he tried to force his way in, he would likely die as well.

Figures could often be seen flying through the high skies of the city. Within the Fifth World city, anyone who dared to fly was at least a Celestial Immortal. The number of Celestial Immortals here... the few visible in the sky at any given time numbered in the tens of thousands, and the total within the entire city was staggeringly high.

Both the Wanmo Cave Lord and the Seamless Gate’s Lord were merely a tiny portion of the forces within the Fifth World.

“Nücan pays respects to the Lord,” the seductive woman said respectfully.

“What is it?” A woman in a green robe sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, her long hair cascading loosely. She was the Lord of the Seamless Gate. Two maidservants stood by her side.

The seductive woman replied respectfully, “This matter involves a man named Ji Ning…” She then explained everything in great detail.

“Your master and I share the same task, targeting the three worlds of the Grand Xia, Beishan, and Qumeng,” the green-robed woman said, opening her eyes with a calm demeanor. “Of these, the Grand Xia world is the hardest to invade. Yet your Wanmo Cave has already slipped up, making this task even more difficult. And now you expect my Seamless Gate to clean up your mess. But since your master has made the request, I will accept it. Go back and tell him… tell Old Crow that if he can’t even handle refining puppets, perhaps it’s time for a replacement.”

The seductive woman’s face changed color.

She dared not talk back, and could only respectfully reply, “Yes.”

“Go.” The green-robed woman’s tone was indifferent.

The seductive woman immediately withdrew.

The green-robed woman then instructed, “Zicao.”

“Lord.” A young woman beside her, one whose face bore purple markings, immediately replied respectfully.

“You heard just now. Ji Ning is your responsibility. Decide how to arrange and handle everything yourself. You’ve been with me for so many years and know the Grand Xia situation well. Though this is a troublesome matter, I believe you can handle it well.” The green-robed woman’s tone had softened significantly, showing great affection for her maidservant.

“Lord, rest assured. I know Ji Ning very well, and I have plenty of ways to deal with him,” Zicao replied respectfully.

“Good. Go make your preparations, then head to the Grand Xia world.”

The green-robed woman gave the order.

That very day.

A young woman clad in a golden robe embroidered with purple flowers, leading nine Celestial Immortals, quietly left the Fifth World and arrived at the Grand Xia world.

Within the territory of Anchan Commandery, on a desolate plain hundreds of thousands of li from Anchan City, there was a beautiful lake. A wooden cabin stood by the lakeside.

The sky was growing even darker.

Two figures appeared in the high sky and then descended.

“Xiao Xia, we’re home.” Mu Northson spoke softly, holding the Soul-Prison Jade and the jade sphere in his hands.

“The grass here was all shattered and ruined back then, but now it’s grown back,” a woman’s voice came from within the jade sphere, brimming with joy. “Fortunately, that battle back then didn’t reach our home.”

Mu Northson also looked at the wooden cabin.

That cabin was one they had built with their own hands from cut timber. Mu Northson had used some of his puppet-refining techniques on it, so even though more than twenty years had passed, the wooden cabin remained intact. In fact, anyone below a certain level of strength couldn’t even enter it.

“It didn’t reach it, but that was only because we were too weak. Those black-robed men had captured us effortlessly,” Mu Northson also laughed.

“We’re finally free. We’ve finally left that place. Zishuo, from now on, we won’t have so many troubles,” the woman in the jade sphere said, full of joy.

Ji Ning watched silently from the side.

His heart sighed.

Originally, his plan had been to have the soul of Yu Xia reincarnate into the Ji Clan, allowing Mu Northson to care for her reborn self, and then find a way to awaken her past life memories. Ji Ning had the power to do such things. The original Six Paths of Reincarnation had already collapsed, and the major powers had all built their own small reincarnation cycles within their territories.

These were all small-scale reincarnation cycles.

The reincarnation cycle in the ‘Xieyue Major World’, for example, was one such small cycle.

“But it’s a pity…” Ji Ning thought to himself, “There can be no reincarnation for her. She is forever trapped within that Soul-Prison Jade sphere. What is likely sustaining Yu Xia is her feelings for my junior apprentice-brother and her lingering attachments to this mortal world.”

“Senior apprentice-brother.” Mu Northson walked over.

“Junior apprentice-brother.” Ji Ning looked at him. He could feel that, although his junior brother still carried some guilt and pain in his heart, he had a new vitality about him. He was no longer the listless, dead-eyed person he had been before.

“If not for you, Senior Apprentice-Brother, I would have died there,” Mu Northson said. “Senior Apprentice-Brother, you don’t need to worry about me anymore. Go back. If you ever need anything in the future, just come here and see me.”

“The Grand Xia world is a seething cauldron of conflict right now. You are a Puppetry Grandmaster; how can I rest easy?” Ji Ning said urgently.

“You really don’t need to worry. I am, after all, a returned Void Earth Immortal. If I’m careful, I’ll be fine,” Mu Northson said.

Ji Ning frowned. He flipped his hand and produced several storage treasures. With a wave of his hand, a group of enormous puppets appeared beside them. Some were like tortoises, others like winged humanoids, and still others like eight-armed serpentine monsters… there were six powerful puppets in total.

“These are the puppets I obtained from killing those Bronze Devilguards and that Qu Huan fellow. They all seem quite formidable,” Ji Ning said. “Pick the one that suits you best, the one that will increase your power the most.”

Mu Northson looked them over, his gaze settling on the winged puppet. He said in surprise, “The ‘Fairy-Wing’? How is there a ‘Fairy-Wing’ here? Ordinary Bronze Devilguards aren’t qualified to have a Fairy-Wing.”

“Fairy-Wing?” Ji Ning was curious.

“This is the second-ranked puppet in the Forbidden Ground,” Mu Northson said. “Do you see its wings? Those wings can release ‘Seven Cycle Wind-Thunder’ and it’s incredibly fast! Even a Loose Immortal or Void Earth Immortal who acquires a Fairy-Wing will immediately gain the combat power of a Celestial Immortal. However, its main function is to release the Seven Cycle Wind-Thunder and then immediately flee for its life. In war, its value is immense.”

Mu Northson only knew the art of puppetry; he didn’t truly understand the value.

Ji Ning, however, understood perfectly. From his junior brother’s description, he immediately surmised that this puppet was likely comparable to a top-grade Pure Yang magic treasure.

“The others are weaker. It would probably take four or five of them combined to match the Fairy-Wing,” Mu Northson said.

Ji Ning immediately did the math in his head.

Each of the other puppets was probably worth about an ordinary Pure Yang magic treasure.

“They really are rolling in wealth,” Ji Ning mused. “Every single Bronze Devilguard has at least one puppet. An ordinary Celestial Immortal’s entire net worth is probably only that much.”

Ji Ning’s thinking was a bit off the mark. He was assessing the value as it would be sold in the Three Realms. To the mysterious forces, however, these were just the cost of raw materials, which was likely only ten percent of the selling price. As for a truly top-tier puppet… the ‘blueprint diagrams’ were far more valuable. Without detailed blueprint diagrams, having the best materials in the world wouldn’t allow you to refine one.

“Junior apprentice-brother, keep this Fairy-Wing,” Ji Ning said.

Mu Northson was shocked and quickly said, “Senior Apprentice-Brother, this Fairy-Wing would be of great use to you…”

“Haha, Junior Apprentice-Brother, I’ve already been to that Forbidden Ground and came and went as I pleased, and even that general couldn’t do anything to me. This Fairy-Wing puppet might be important to others, but it’s of little use to me. If I kept it, I’d just sell it,” Ji Ning said with a laugh, shaking his head. This was the truth. With the Eight-Nine Arcane Art protecting him, his means of survival were naturally far superior.

“But…”

“If you don’t accept it, how can I be at ease? Enough, no more arguments. I’ll be off now.” Ji Ning waved his hand, storing the other puppets, and with a flicker of his body, he vanished.

Mu Northson held the Soul-Prison Jade sphere, whispering softly, “Senior Apprentice-Brother.”

“Zishuo, your senior apprentice-brother has helped us immensely. Keep it in your heart,” the woman’s voice came from the sphere.

“Mm.” Mu Northson nodded.

From the darkness, Ji Ning watched as Mu Northson refined the Fairy-Wing puppet. His junior brother then sat by the door of the wooden cabin, holding the jade sphere, staring at the lake, occasionally speaking to the sphere. The sight was heartbreaking, and only then did Ji Ning truly take his leave.

“Time to head to the Grand Xia imperial capital.”

“I’ve rescued my junior apprentice-brother, but in doing so, I’ve offended that mysterious power. I need to find the ‘Five Elements treasures’ as soon as possible and train the fourth stage of my Starseizing Hand.” Ji Ning felt a sense of crisis, a pressure that drove him to increase his strength as quickly as possible.