The Prisoner's Bargain

“The path is already set?” Ji Ning refused to accept it, pressing on. “I am now a True Immortal, but my Golden Core is relatively weak. Is there truly no way to improve it? No way to reach the highest tier?”

According to the cultivation methods of the Ninefaced Chaosworld Kingdom, the Pure Yang True Immortal was on the same level as a True God! And that meant the level of a True God Daofather!

“It’s useless. Your Golden Core is already formed; what use is struggling?” The wild dog’s dark yellow eyes stared at Ji Ning. “You have the weakest Golden Core. Even if you become a True Immortal, the most powerful Celestial Immortals could still be a bit stronger than you. Even if you become an Ancestral Immortal, a first-tier True Immortal could still match you. A single step slow means every step slow.”

Ji Ning gritted his teeth.

In the Three Realms, this was how it was: Pure Yang True Immortals were on the level of Empyrean Gods, and Daofathers were on the level of True Gods.

“Heaven always leaves a sliver of hope. There must be a way,” Ji Ning said.

“There is a way,” the wild dog said. “After the tribulation, the Golden Core has already congealed. To improve the Golden Core now and elevate it to a higher tier… is immeasurably more difficult than doing so during the Heavenly Tribulation itself.”

“What method?” Ji Ning pressed.

“Chaos materials. Chaos oddities,” the wild dog said. “The primal chaos can breed great wonders. With certain oddities as catalysts, your Golden Core can be elevated. But first, the method for such elevation… very few know it. Second, the chaos oddities required are incomparably precious and rare. If you want to elevate your Golden Core, it is far too difficult.”

“Even if you gather all the chaos oddities and obtain the elevation method, you would at most raise your Golden Core to the second tier. That is the limit,” the wild dog continued.

“Second tier?” Ji Ning’s eyes lit up.

“A first-tier Golden Core makes a True Immortal equal to a True God. A second-tier True Immortal is only comparable to the weakest True God. As for the third tier—which is what you have now—you would be utterly slaughtered by True Gods,” the wild dog explained.

Ji Ning was delighted. “The second tier would be enough!”

Being able to match the weakest True God was sufficient; it meant a foundation that could fight on equal terms.

“Enough? First, the method to elevate the Golden Core is known to very few. Second, gathering the chaos oddities is even harder.” The wild dog looked at Ji Ning. “And those methods…”

“Senior, perhaps…” Ji Ning hoped.

“I do know one method for elevating the Golden Core,” the wild dog said, shaking his head. “But how can I casually let you know such a technique? If you bring that ‘World-level’ existence behind you, I will immediately tell you the method.”

Ji Ning quickly said, “Senior, if my strength improves, I will have higher status and a better chance of meeting such an existence.”

“I’ve said what needs to be said. Bring that World-level existence. If they do not come, any Ancestral Immortal or Elder God would be useless. Don’t bother.” The wild dog closed his eyes.

“Senior, Senior…” Ji Ning spoke for a long time beside him.

But the wild dog seemed to have fallen asleep, completely ignoring Ji Ning.

Ji Ning understood…

No rabbit, no hawk. The ancient Elder God was willing to talk this much only because of the existence behind Ji Ning—Mother Nuwa. As for genuine benefits? The Elder God was unwilling to give even a single thing.

…

Half a day later.

“Senior.” Ji Ning’s clone, also holding a wooden tray, walked toward a grimy old man wearing manacles.

Ji Ning now knew that in the Ninefaced Chaosworld Kingdom, Daofathers and Elder Gods were on the same level. This grimy old man’s strength was equal to that wild dog’s, but more importantly, the old man was a Ki Refiner. Ji Ning naturally held greater hope.

…

Because of his previous experience with the Elder God, Ji Ning was very cautious.

The grimy old man also longed to escape. He could see that Ji Ning wasn’t lying, so he spoke with Ji Ning at length. He too knew a method to elevate the Golden Core, and even possessed two of the required chaos oddities—but he refused to give any of them to Ji Ning.

“Senior, would you like some fine wine and delicacies?”

“Senior, do you need some servants here? Someone to run errands, to relieve your boredom?”

Ji Ning knew that force wouldn’t work; he had to be gentle.

“Kid, don’t waste your mind. I carry a dimensional treasure with me, filled with countless servants and retainers, and all kinds of food and drink prepared at any time.” The grimy old man glanced at Ji Ning. “As an Ancestral Immortal, I can draw chaos energy from the primal chaos to replenish my own magic power and maintain my treasures. Although this World Prison has laid down a grand formation to extract Chaos Nectar, I can still siphon a little, survive, and keep my dimensional treasures alive. That I can do.”

Ji Ning was speechless.

Carrying servants with him?

“Don’t think of other tricks. You can’t tempt Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals with any of them. Only if you bring that World-level existence here to free us will we be willing to help you,” the grimy old man said. Then he too closed his eyes and ignored Ji Ning.

“Truly impervious to oil and salt—just like that wild dog. No rabbit, no hawk.” Ji Ning sat on the Boat of Fleeting Light, grinding his teeth in frustration. “If I could see Mother Nuwa, why would I need to fight so desperately? With Mother Nuwa here, the Seamless Gate wouldn’t dare to stir, and even the Lord of All Demons leading the remnants of the Seamless Gate wouldn’t dare return from the chaos.”

“Sigh.”

This World Prison held quite a few Daofathers and Elder Gods.

They were all astonishingly powerful, but not one of them could do anything about the manacles. They needed to make a qualitative leap in strength, reaching the level of Pangu, to forcibly destroy them.

“What do I do? These Daofathers and Elder Gods—at their level, they’ve begun to make some progress in comprehending the Heavenly Dao of Chaos, to draw power from the chaos.” Ji Ning pondered. A Celestial Immortal in the World Prison had to rely on elixirs they carried, but a Daofather could still maintain a dimensional treasure.

Probably every Elder God and Ancestral Immortal remained at peak combat power.

“The Ninefaced Chaosworld Lord put a warden here precisely for this: if some Elder God or Ancestral Immortal breaks through to the World level and shatters the manacles, he will be notified immediately.” Ji Ning understood this point. Even the Ninefaced Chaosworld Lord couldn’t stop these Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals from comprehending the Heavenly Dao of Chaos.

After all, the Heavenly Dao of Chaos was omnipresent.

But becoming a World God was far too difficult. Those who could normally succeeded within a single chaos cycle. Mother Nuwa had succeeded long ago. These Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals who had lived for several chaos cycles had very slim chances of breakthrough. Still, they were extremely powerful due to their longevity. Even if Patriarch Subhuti and the others came to help, they couldn’t break the manacles first, and if they tried to kill the prisoners to seize their treasures, they might suffer backlash.

“Slowly, slowly.”

“If the war between the two camps reaches its later stages and we truly have little hope of victory, then I’ll tell Master and the others about this World Prison.” Ji Ning was also selfish. He knew clearly that the World Prison was a great treasure trove—the question was whether he could obtain any of its treasures.

Just the techniques and treasures these Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals possessed would be absolutely astonishing.

But for now, he couldn’t get them. Even if he mustered the combined strength of Subhuti, Three Purities, Tathagata, Suirenshi, and other mighty ones, it would still be very risky. If these imprisoned old fellows fought desperately, Ji Ning couldn’t predict how powerful they would be. However, one thing was certain: the Ninefaced Chaosworld Kingdom was certainly stronger than his side.

…

Riding the Boat of Fleeting Light, he flew swiftly. After more than two hours, he descended.

Ji Ning walked slowly across the wilderness, and a thousand li away, a woman was seated cross-legged.

“Shwish.”

The woman’s eyelids twitched, then slowly opened.

“Finally, finally… a living being has come.” The woman’s eyes brightened. It was far too lonely. She could barely sustain her own life, let alone maintain a dimensional treasure. In the World Prison, generally only Daofathers and Elder Gods could afford such luxury.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a warden.” The woman stared at Ji Ning in the distance.

But as she looked, her expression changed.

“A True Immortal?”

“It’s clearly the aura of a True Immortal, but… such a weak True Immortal. The wardens sent by the Ninefaced Chaosworld Kingdom were all core members. Even if they sent a True Immortal, it should have been a top-tier one.” This woman immediately realized the possibility, and her heart grew increasingly shaken.

The white-robed youth walked over and said calmly, “You’ve guessed correctly. The Ninefaced Chaosworld Kingdom has already fallen. Now, you have two choices: one, die; two, submit to me.”

Tomato (I Eat Tomatoes) just posted a picture of Autumn Leaf on WeChat. Autumn Leaf is Ji Ning’s maidservant, who accompanied him from infancy. She is like a sister to him—gentle, virtuous. Her “Young Master Ning” is the most important person in her life. Add Tomato on WeChat to see the picture.

Tomato WeChat ID: fanqie34, or “我吃西红柿”.