The Shattered Bottle

Ji Ning respectfully accepted the two jade bottles—one black, one white—and the gourd.

“You may go.” Daofather Crimsonbright nodded with a smile.

Ji Ning left the hall in high spirits, returning to his barracks in the Northmyth camp and his own quarters.

…

“Back so soon?” Yu Wei greeted him.

Ji Ning laughed as he entered. “Bring out the wine.”

Yu Wei immediately produced a jug of Immortal wine. Before she could even set out the cups, Ji Ning had already grabbed the jug, tilted his head back, and taken a long, satisfying gulp. A surge of spiritual energy rushed through his body, straight to his crown. “Ahhh… that hits the spot,” he sighed.

“It seems you’re in a good mood, Junior Apprentice-Brother,” Yu Wei said, sitting down beside him.

“How could I not be?” Ji Ning grinned. “On the battlefield, I have you by my side. I have a daughter now. And this Realm War is headed for a decisive victory. Everything is going smoothly. Heaven has been good to me.”

Yu Wei smiled as well, reaching out her left hand to grasp one of Ji Ning’s.

Ji Ning smiled back.

“First, let me prepare the antidote,” he said. With a flip of his hand, he produced the white jade bottle and the gourd. Uncorking both, he angled the gourd—a wine-storage treasure, merely Immortal-ranked and easily refined by a Daofather—toward the bottle. A powerful suction rose from the gourd’s mouth, drawing all of the antidote from the white bottle into it.

“Antidote?” Yu Wei asked, puzzled.

“Mm. I’ll need to administer it to the three thousand Celestial Immortals and three hundred thousand Loose Immortals later,” Ji Ning explained. “You’ll need to take it too.”

“Why?” she asked.

Ji Ning replied, “Can’t you guess? The Divine Farmer, the master of medicine in the Three Realms, has no rival in the art of alchemy. He has recently developed a new Immortal medicine. Once released, it will blanket an area ten thousand li in radius. Every Immortal within that range will find their ki completely immobilized, as helpless as a mortal. Imagine if we were to deploy it on the battlefield. What would become of the Seamless Gate?”

“That powerful?” Yu Wei’s eyes widened. “If that’s the case, the Seamless Gate would be utterly defeated. But, Junior Apprentice-Brother… the Seamless Gate’s intelligence is said to be extraordinary. Surely they know about this. They wouldn’t be unprepared.”

“They probably know already,” Ji Ning said with a shake of his head. “But this is a naked ploy. A scheme laid bare. If they surround me, I release the medicine and sweep the field. If they avoid a siege, the Northmyth army under my command is strong enough to overwhelm them one by one.”

Yu Wei nodded slowly. “It truly is a naked ploy. They know the medicine is there, but without the antidote, there’s nothing the Seamless Gate can do about it.”

“The Divine Farmer is formidable indeed,” Ji Ning marveled. “To be able to concoct such a potent Immortal medicine.”

He swirled the gourd; the liquid inside sloshed with a soft gurgle. “The antidote is ready,” he said, looking at Yu Wei. “Do you want to be the first to take it?”

“There’s no rush,” she said, her curiosity piqued. “What does the medicine itself look like?”

Ji Ning chuckled. “The antidote was in the white bottle. The medicine is in the black one.” He produced the black jade bottle.

“Oh?” Yu Wei reached out. “Let me see.”

Ji Ning hesitated for an instant. A flicker of reluctance rose in his heart, but only a flicker. He did not truly stop her.

“Be careful, Senior Apprentice-Sister,” he cautioned.

“Mm.” She took the black jade bottle in her hand.

…

Within the Zixia Pearl World, Yu Wei’s projection was present.

“Mother.” The young girl Brightmoon knelt on the ground, her large eyes fixed on her mother. “I know I was wrong. Could you talk to Father, please? Tell him not to be angry anymore. I really am sorry.”

Yu Wei’s projection walked over, knelt beside her daughter, and gently embraced her.

Brightmoon froze for a moment, then happily buried her face in her mother’s scent. “Mother, you smell wonderful. Brightmoon loves it.”

“Brightmoon…”

“Yes?”

“You must be good. Don’t make your father angry anymore. Do you understand?”

“I really do know I was wrong this time.”

“Good. I know my Brightmoon is the best girl in the world.”

Yu Wei’s projection held the young girl close.

Then, tears began to fall.

“I’m sorry. Mother is so sorry.” She held her daughter, who looked up at her in innocent confusion. Yu Wei gazed at her, as if trying to engrave her daughter’s face into the deepest part of her soul.

Then…

Like morning mist, she faded away.

“Mother?” Brightmoon cried out in alarm.

…

Inside the Eight Dragon Cloud City, suspended over the Bai Prefecture of the Grand Xia world, was Ji Ning’s residence.

Yu Wei’s slender, pale fingers grasped the black jade bottle. She looked at Ji Ning.

She remembered their first meeting… the day Ji Ning had entered the Black-White College. On the Dao Debate Hall, he had won battle after battle, dazzling and unstoppable. Her heart had stirred. Later, she had even fought him herself… perhaps, even then, she had wanted to leave a deeper impression on her junior apprentice-brother’s heart.

She remembered the time at the River Wu Immortal Estate… watching Ji Ning and Nine Lotos part ways, watching him walk the lonely road…

Within the Brightmoon Landscape Painting, they had faced life and death together again and again. She stood guard for him; he stood guard for her. Their hearts had drawn closer and closer, until the day she was in danger, and he had rushed out and held her tight. In that moment, she could no longer hold back. Even though she was of the Seamless Gate, she had sworn to herself—she would die before she ever harmed her junior apprentice-brother.

When she returned from her master, Patriarch Lu, and Ji Ning returned as well…

They were finally together.

It was the happiest time of her life, in this life or any other. They spent their days under the moon and flowers, their hearts in perfect sync…

…The feeling of her belly swelling as she watched him practice his sword…

…The scent of the meals she prepared for him, waiting for his return…

…Her daughter’s birth. She had managed, at last, to give her daughter a proper birth. Though the Godking had given his orders, she had at least been granted this long a time with her junior apprentice-brother. And she had even borne him a child.

…It was enough. These blissful days were the happiest of her life.

…She was sorry. Sorry to her junior apprentice-brother. Sorry to her daughter.

…

Countless thoughts, endless emotions, swept through her heart.

And in that moment, in the Zixia Pearl World, Yu Wei’s projection held her daughter tightly. Tears streamed down her face.

Crack!

Her slender, pale fingers crushed the black jade bottle.

The sound of the shattering bottle was like a thunderclap in Ji Ning’s soul. He stared in disbelief at the broken fragments of the black bottle. How… how could this be…

Swish…

Silently, the Divine Farmer’s medicine from the shattered black bottle spread outward in every direction.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei were the first to be affected. The Immortal ki within their bodies instantly turned heavy and sluggish, utterly impossible to mobilize.

“What’s going on?”

“This…”

“Heavens!”

In the very first instant, every single Loose Immortal and Celestial Immortal within the Northmyth camp felt their bodies go weak. Their Immortal ki was completely frozen. The light, nimble feeling they were accustomed to was gone. They had become nearly mortal.

The Divine Farmer’s medicine surged outward with terrifying speed.

It was sufficient to cover a full ten thousand li in radius. In truth, the entire Eight Dragon Cloud City was only a bit over ten thousand li across.

“Damnation!”

A furious roar echoed across the entire Eight Dragon Cloud City.

It was Daofather Crimsonbright’s voice.

A wave of majestic, world-shaking ki swept out, instantly halting the expansion of the Divine Farmer’s medicine, preventing it from spreading any further. But though Daofather Crimsonbright had reacted quickly, the number of Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals who had already fallen was staggering. They were not limited to the Northmyth camp.

…

Ji Ning stared at his senior apprentice-sister in disbelief.

His soul was roaring.

His heart was trembling.

His Dao-heart was as strong as they came, but in this moment, Ji Ning was consumed by a nameless terror. Even the most terrifying heartforge tribulation could not compare to the despair this scene brought him. The moment the black jade bottle shattered, Ji Ning had understood everything. But the truth he now understood filled him with fear.

Yu Wei looked at him.

He looked at her.

Their eyes met.

In that instant…

It felt like an eternity.

Ji Ning could feel the endless love in his senior apprentice-sister’s gaze… the endless attachment, the endless concern. He could feel that love, bone-deep and soul-deep. He could also feel the guilt it held.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. She simply looked at him, as if trying to carve his image into the deepest part of her soul.

Whoosh…

A wind blew, and sand scattered.

Yu Wei’s body began to crumble like sand, dissolving like smoke on the wind. The moment she had crushed the black jade bottle, she had chosen to end herself without hesitation. The Celestial Immortal golden core within her had completely collapsed.

And then, like a gust of wind, she was gone.

His senior apprentice-sister had vanished from the world like morning mist.

Ji Ning reached out a hand, trying to grasp something. He grasped nothing.

He stood there, stunned, his hand still outstretched.

His ki was immobilized?

The Divine Farmer’s medicine had been released, affecting the greater war?

The Realm War would be lost?

He thought about none of it.

He only stared at the seat where his senior apprentice-sister had just been sitting. Just moments ago, she had sat there, preparing wine for him, smiling at him. Just as she always had, every time he returned from battle.

But now—

She was gone.

The chair was empty. It was as if she had never existed in this world at all.

“Her soul scattered? Gone forever?” he muttered.

“She’s gone.”

“Senior Apprentice-Sister is gone. Forever.”

“How could this be?”

“How could this happen?”

“Father and Mother are gone. And now, Senior Apprentice-Sister is gone.” Ji Ning sat there, numb, motionless, as if his soul had left him. He just stared, dazed, at the spot where his senior apprentice-sister had been. Just a moment ago, she had been right there, smiling at him. Her smile had always been the warmest, happiest thing in his world.

Boom!

A figure appeared out of thin air. It was Daofather Crimsonbright, his face dark with fury.

But Ji Ning just sat there, staring at the empty spot where his senior apprentice-sister had been.