The Vigil and the Void

While the Shaoyin clan sent people to Anchan City to confirm whether Ji Ning was alive or dead, the ‘Xia Emperor’ of the Grand Xia capital dispatched his own personal retainer, the Celestial Fox.

“Celestial Fox, go to the Black-White College. I need to know whether Ji Ning lives or dies.”

“Yes, master.” The Celestial Fox accepted the command without hesitation.

The Xia Emperor was deeply concerned about Ji Ning’s fate. He had long since concluded that Ji Ning was a Daofather’s disciple; could such a peerless figure truly have died? Logically, the Emperor found it hard to believe. Yet, when he first received Shaoyin Chou’s report, he had dispatched the Godslayer Guards to deal with the Fiendgods, but he had also activated the ‘Perfect Mirror’ to personally observe everything that happened in the Cherishing Jade Mountains. Through the Perfect Mirror, he had witnessed with his own eyes the descent of the Karmic Hellfire!

“He hasn’t even been cultivating for a hundred years. Although he is a peerless genius rarely seen in an entire major world, facing the descent of Karmic Hellfire… his chances were less than one in ten.” The Xia Emperor had watched the battle between Ji Ning and the Shaoyin clan through the Perfect Mirror. He had friendly relations with Ji Ning, and the Shaoyin clan was one of his own subordinate tribes.

He truly could not intervene; he could only remain neutral.

At the Black-White College in Anchan City.

A white-robed, white-haired man was flying towards the residence of the Diancai Immortal.

“What? You want to know if Ji Ning is alive or dead?” The Diancai Immortal stared at the Celestial Fox before him, utterly confused. “Daoist Celestial Fox, why are you asking about this?”

“Hm?” The Diancai Immortal turned his head to look outward. As the owner of this mountain peak, he had naturally arranged some simple formations around it. The moment the white-robed, white-haired Whitewater Hound arrived, the Diancai Immortal detected him. Frowning slightly, he muttered, “The Whitewater Hound is also here?”

“The Whitewater Hound?” The Celestial Fox smiled. “Since Ji Ning’s spirit-beast is here, Brother Diancai, you should ask him about Ji Ning’s situation. He certainly knows more than I do.”

“Brother White.” The Diancai Immortal immediately called out.

Although the Whitewater Hound was not a formal disciple of the Black-White College, as a spirit-beast of a formal disciple and a Void-level Earth Immortal, his status within the college was quite high. He could go virtually anywhere.

“Diancai Immortal,” Uncle White said as he walked over. Seeing the Celestial Fox seated there, he greeted, “Greetings, Celestial Fox.”

“Sit.” The Diancai Immortal quickly bade him to sit.

As soon as Uncle White sat down, the Diancai Immortal pressed him for answers. “Daoist Celestial Fox came to me asking if Ji Ning was alive or dead. What exactly happened to Ji Ning?”

Uncle White glanced at the Celestial Fox.

The Celestial Fox said, “I am here on the orders of the Xia Emperor, making inquiries.”

“The Xia Emperor dispatched the Godslayer Guards. He must be very clear about what happened in the Cherishing Jade Mountains. Why do you need me to repeat it?” Uncle White’s expression was grim. He felt that since the Xia Emperor could send the Godslayer Guards, he could also have saved Ji Ning. But the Emperor did not intervene.

“The Xia Emperor received a report from the Shaoyin clan about a Fiendgod appearing and thus dispatched the Godslayer Guards,” the Celestial Fox quickly explained. “At first, the Emperor knew nothing of Ji Ning’s involvement. It was only when the Godslayer Guards returned and reported that they learned Ji Ning had been present. The Emperor then questioned the Shaoyin clan and found out the truth. By the time he knew… it was already too late.”

Uncle White said nothing more.

“What are you two talking about?” the Diancai Immortal pressed.

“Ning’er has a deep, festering enmity with the Shaoyin clan,” Uncle White said directly. “The Shaoyin clan refused to let it go, so Ning’er killed his way straight to their lair. Unable to do anything to Ning’er, the Shaoyin clan resorted to a dirty trick, tricking Ning’er into mistakenly killing ten billion mortals. Immediately, the Karmic Hellfire descended.”

“Mistakenly killing ten billion mortals? Karmic Hellfire descended?” The Diancai Immortal’s face changed dramatically.

He treated Ji Ning like his own child. Upon hearing that Ji Ning had accidentally killed ten billion mortals and triggered the Karmic Hellfire, he was utterly stunned.

“And Ji Ning?” the Diancai Immortal quickly asked.

“Ning’er was wreathed in the flames, but the Shaoyin clan still didn’t stop. They used some kind of teleportation technique to send him directly out of the Grand Xia world,” Uncle White said, his face dark.

“When was Ning’er afflicted by the Karmic Hellfire?” the Diancai Immortal pressed on.

“Seven days ago,” Uncle White said. “Seven days have passed. I can sense that Ning’er is still alive. He survived the Hellfire.”

The Diancai Immortal let out a long, relieved breath.

Karmic Hellfire.

How terrifying it was! Even he, the master, wouldn’t dare say he could survive it. He was both worried for his disciple and proud of him.

“Congratulations! He has survived the tribulation of the Karmic Hellfire,” the Celestial Fox laughed from the side.

“Ning’er must have survived the Hellfire one or two hours ago,” Uncle White said in a low voice. “Ning’er naturally has a Greater Teleportation Dao Talisman. If he weren’t trapped in some death-world, he would have used it to return by now. The fact that he hasn’t returned shows that the place he is trapped makes even a Greater Teleportation Dao Talisman useless.”

The Diancai Immortal’s face grew dark.

The Celestial Fox nodded lightly. “This stands to reason. The Shaoyin clan possesses a supremely terrifying clan-protecting treasure, an innate spirit treasure known as the ‘Realm-Suppressing Tower.’ That tower has the power to tear through space and teleport. Given the Shaoyin clan’s hatred for Ji Ning, they would surely send him to a death-world in the endless void outside the Three Realms. There’s absolutely no way they would allow him to escape by relying on a Greater Teleportation Dao Talisman.”

“Then what can be done?” the Diancai Immortal pressed.

“Nothing. Some of those death-worlds in that vast void are inescapable even by True Immortals and Empyrean Gods,” the Celestial Fox said, shaking his head. “Diancai, even though you have become a Celestial Immortal, you can’t help Ji Ning with this. Besides, no one even knows where Ji Ning is right now.”

“This Shaoyin clan…” The Diancai Immortal’s eyes blazed with boundless fury.

He was well aware of the grievances between Ji Ning and the Shaoyin clan.

Years ago, Ancestor Xuanji of the Shaoyin clan had personally stormed the Black-White College, forcing them to hand Ji Ning over.

“Also, the Shaoyin clan is deeply wary of Ji Ning,” the Celestial Fox continued. “This time, two Celestial Immortals of the Shaoyin clan died at Ji Ning’s hands. They will undoubtedly do everything in their power to find out if he survived the Hellfire. That means they will definitely come to the Black-White College to investigate.”

“Two Celestial Immortals killed?” The Diancai Immortal was astonished.

“That’s why the Shaoyin clan is terrified of him,” the Celestial Fox said. “Your disciple is truly formidable.”

The Diancai Immortal quickly calmed down and nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry. The Shaoyin clan will get nothing about Ji Ning’s fate from the Black-White College. And Daoist Celestial Fox… Ji Ning is still alive; I hope your side won’t leak any information either.”

“Rest assured. I will only report back to the Xia Emperor. The Emperor will not leak information to the Shaoyin clan,” the Celestial Fox said.

…

That very day, the Diancai Immortal ordered that the ‘Starfire Hall’—where the Life Tablets of the Black-White College’s disciples were kept—be completely sealed! He forbade anyone from approaching, not even the Loose Immortals of the college. Now a Celestial Immortal, the Diancai Immortal naturally held the highest authority. Sealing a single hall was a trivial matter. No one objected.

“Sealed?”

“Completely sealed? Why would the Black-White College suddenly seal the Starfire Hall for no reason? Has Ji Ning truly died?” Ancestor Xuanji, Ancestor Kūmu, and others received the news, each of them puzzled.

…

Time flowed on.

The Diancai Immortal personally presided over the Starfire Hall.

“My disciple, it’s already been three months…” The Diancai Immortal looked at the long table filled with Life Tablets. One of them, representing Ji Ning, remained intact. This meant that Ji Ning, trapped in some far-off death-world, was still alive.

At first, the Diancai Immortal, Uncle White, Mu Northson, and the others had all hoped for Ji Ning’s swift return. But as time dragged on, they came to understand that whether Ji Ning would return, or when, was impossible to say. All they could do was silently pray.

The Realm of Annihilation.

In the endlessly dark void, Ji Ning drifted continuously. He dared not follow the spatial currents for fear of being drawn closer to that ancient, ruined world.

Days of wandering and drifting were a helpless existence.

Because he could no longer sense the Dao of the Sword, or the Grand Dao of Dripping… Ji Ning could not gain any insight into the Dao. He could only occasionally train in the Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens, but there was a limit to how much divine power he could absorb each day. It was impossible to train endlessly. Thus, for nearly ninety percent of the day, Ji Ning did only one thing—

Practicing archery!

“Swoosh!”

He drew the Rahu Bow. Gazing far into the distance at an oncoming storm of spatial rips, he poured all of his Heartforce into the bow and arrow. Twang! The arrow shot through the void.

Shww!

The arrow flashed through space like lightning, crossing millions of li before slamming into the spatial storm in the distance. Caught in the storm, the arrow tumbled and began to drift back toward Ji Ning. Shooting arrows against the storm meant they would return. If he shot in any other direction, even though these arrows were Immortal-ranked treasures that he could control with his ki, they would fly too far. Ji Ning would never be able to retrieve them. He could only shoot against the storm.

Day after day, he practiced archery.

He gradually mastered the intricacies of divine power circulation detailed in the Houyi Archery Art. Especially now that his ‘Iceheart Realm’ was near completion, his powerful Heartforce infused into the arrows made them even more devastating than his close-combat attacks!

Heartforce…

Truly, it was a terrifying power. This was the reason divine archers were so feared throughout the Three Realms.

…

After drifting through the Realm of Annihilation for over half a year, Ji Ning had no idea how far he had flown.

“Eh? What’s that?” Ji Ning noticed something in the distance. The Realm of Annihilation was completely empty, filled only with spatial storms; there were usually no other objects.

“Candle Dragon Light.”

A flicker of torchlight burned in Ji Ning’s eyes as he gazed into the distance. Immediately, his range of vision expanded dramatically. In this dark, barely-lit void, his normal eyes could only see a few thousand li, but after activating his Candle Dragon Eye, countless rays of light converged into his pupils.

“Is that… land?!” Ji Ning’s expression shifted.

That continent was, in truth, tens of millions of li away from him. But it was so vast that he could vaguely make it out with his naked eye. Just as a mortal on Earth can see the moon, despite its great distance, the same logic applied. That continent was simply too massive for Ji Ning not to see it, even in the lightless void.

There will be a second update today.