A Refuge in the Shadows: The Ancient Conspiracy Revealed

Ji Ning had become a half-step Elder God, his eyesight terrifyingly keen. As his gaze swept across the surroundings, he could make out numerous immortal palaces, flying boats, and mirage formations that were famous throughout the Three Realms. Many of them were the treasures of True Gods and Daofathers, all supremely skilled in defense.

“Junior apprentice-sister, look, that’s the Sword Immortal of Darknorth.”

“That’s Ji Ning?”

“I heard from my father that this Sword Immortal of Darknorth possesses astonishing sword arts, even said to be unrivaled throughout the Three Realms. They say his strength is comparable to my father’s.”

“Unrivaled throughout the Three Realms is a bit of an exaggeration. He merely mastered the Five Treasures Sword Art, and his Sword Force is only at the fourth level. Besides, his true body was destroyed by the Seamless Gate. Relying on his Daofather Avatar… his power might have been comparable to our master’s. But I heard the Avatar was broken, and his true body was destroyed. Now, compared to our master, he’s far inferior. He was simply born at the wrong time. If he had been born ten thousand years earlier, his accomplishments would likely have been far greater.”

…

“Look, that’s Ji Ning.”

“The Sword Immortal of Darknorth?”

“What a pity. I heard he was assassinated by the Seamless Gate.”

“The one who struck, the Darklight Swordmaster… was said to have been killed by Houyi. Houyi is truly formidable. Without even using his bow, a single axe-stroke slew the Darklight Swordmaster.”

“I heard from my grandmaster that Ji Ning’s talent is astonishing, no less than Houyi’s.”

“Perhaps. But Ji Ning still can’t compare to Houyi. The gap is too vast. If his true body had survived, after a million or ten million years of bitter training, he might have had a chance to match Houyi. Now… there’s no hope anymore.”

“A pity.”

…

Ji Ning appeared on the island. The island was densely packed with immortals, and though it was only a few hundred thousand kilometers in circumference, many of the immortals present noticed his arrival. They all felt sorry for him, lamenting that he had been born at the wrong time. They all acknowledged that Ji Ning’s talent was astonishing; he had simply been born too late.

“What’s going on? So many treasures gathered here. And the hidden formations on this island are terrifyingly powerful.” Ji Ning was full of doubt. “And the immortals here, even the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, many of them are descendants of great powers.”

“Come over here.”

A stream of qi brushed past him.

Ji Ning followed the trace, his eyes burning with candlelight as he saw a seemingly unremarkable Daoist temple in the distance.

“Master?” Ji Ning was even more shocked. This Daoist temple was exactly Patriarch Subhuti’s temple. For endless ages, the temple had always remained on Mount Innerheart. How had it appeared on this island?

Swoosh.

Ji Ning immediately flew over, crossing more than a hundred thousand kilometers before landing before the temple.

“Uncle-Master.” Before the temple stood the two童子, Qingshui and Baihe. They both bowed respectfully, their eyes filled with curiosity and admiration as they looked at Ji Ning…

Ji Ning’s heart relaxed. Seeing the two童子 like this, it seemed everything was still alright.

Ji Ning immediately stepped into the temple.

Before long, he saw the white-haired and white-bearded Patriarch Subhuti sitting cross-legged in the distance.

“Master.” Ji Ning walked over and immediately bowed with utmost respect.

“Sit.” Subhuti looked at Ji Ning with a smile.

Ji Ning sat down cross-legged, looking at his master.

“Aren’t you curious?” Subhuti looked at Ji Ning.

“Of course I am.” Ji Ning nodded. “The Tristar Crescent Major World… there was never an island like this before. Now, suddenly, this island has appeared. Not only are its formations terrifying, but there are also numerous cave treasures, palaces, flying boats, and other treasures from various great powers, along with a large number of their younger disciples gathered here. Especially you, Master—you’ve even moved your temple here.”

“Master,” Ji Ning frowned, “has this place been turned into a refuge by the great powers of the Three Realms?”

Subhuti nodded. “It is indeed a refuge.”

Ji Ning felt uneasy.

“Master. The Buddha Tathagata, the Daoist Three Purities, and the ancient imperial clans all have their own means. Protecting their younger generations isn’t difficult. Why have they all been moved to the Tristar Crescent Major World?” Ji Ning asked urgently. “Has the situation already deteriorated to this extent?”

“The situation has indeed deteriorated. Doing this now is merely a precaution.” Subhuti said.

“Deteriorated?” Ji Ning was startled.

He had only been in the World Prison for six years. Had such huge changes occurred in the outside world already?

“What happened?” Ji Ning pressed.

“Listen carefully, and your master will explain,” Subhuti said. “Back then, when the Seamless Gate suddenly struck at you, after our negotiations, they agreed to no longer use the Daofather Avatar in the struggle for qi of fortune. You also agreed not to interfere in that struggle. In the days that followed, the two sides engaged in Realm Wars—all quite normal. However, half a year ago…”

Ji Ning was secretly shocked. A change half a year ago?

“Half a year ago, the Daoist Three Purities felt that our struggle with the Seamless Gate was growing increasingly fierce. Once the struggle for qi of fortune ends, the final decisive battle will begin. But aside from our two major camps, there are two other factions. If those factions are not dealt with, they might take advantage of the situation to reap the spoils.”

“Two other factions?” Ji Ning was taken aback.

“The first is the faction of Old Man Yuan and his followers,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “The Four Ancestors of the River Source aren’t particularly strong. Before the final decisive battle, they will inevitably have to choose a side. With their meager strength, they are hardly in a position to ‘reap the spoils.’”

“The second is the Ancient Primordial Ruins!” Patriarch Subhuti said gravely.

Ji Ning was jolted awake.

The Ancient Primordial Ruins?

Right.

The Ancient Primordial Ruins! He had been so focused on the Seamless Gate that he had nearly forgotten about them. Back then, when he was exiled to the Realm of Annihilation, he was attacked by the ‘Broken Horn World’ within the Ancient Primordial Ruins. In the end, it was his master, Patriarch Subhuti, who took action and slaughtered the three Mother Queens. The Broken Horn World was merely one small faction within that place. If the entire Ancient Primordial Ruins united, they would be incredibly powerful! Even True Gods and Daofathers dared not charge in recklessly; doing so would cost them their lives.

“The Ancient Primordial Ruins are a much more powerful force than the Four Ancestors of the River Source,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “In that primordial war of destruction long ago, after it ended, Mother Nuwa forced the Chaos Aliens to retreat into the harsh environment of the Ancient Primordial Ruins.”

Ji Ning nodded.

The environment of the Ancient Primordial Ruins was indeed extremely harsh, with spatial disorder and temporal chaos. The sheer danger of the environment itself—falling into certain shattered spaces—could kill even ordinary Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

“Back then, Mother Nuwa had reached the World God level,” Subhuti said. “She swept through everything, utterly invincible. The reason she didn’t kill those Chaos Aliens was that she wanted to leave a neighbor next door, to keep us constantly vigilant, to prevent us from fighting among ourselves, and even to implicitly force us to keep training and growing stronger.”

“Mother Nuwa was absolutely right, and we heartily agreed. You must understand, in the primordial era, because there was no external enemy, we were consumed by internal strife. Countless great powers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals died in those internal conflicts.”

“By leaving those Chaos Aliens alive, Mother Nuwa put an end to our large-scale internal conflicts,” Subhuti said. “Moreover, experts from the Three Realms frequently entered the Ancient Primordial Ruins to temper themselves. This caused the power of our Nuwa Camp’s immortals and demons to continuously rise, and we gave birth to several new True Gods and Daofathers.”

Ji Ning nodded.

The threat of an external enemy would indeed make one’s own side more united.

“This time, the Daoist Three Purities felt that… before engaging in the final decisive battle with the Seamless Gate, we should first deal with the Ancient Primordial Ruins,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “Those Chaos Aliens living in the Ancient Primordial Ruins, dwelling in such perilous conditions, have always dreamed of entering the Three Realms. If we and the Seamless Gate end up crippling each other, the Chaos Aliens of the Ancient Primordial Ruins will surely attack.”

“That’s right.” Ji Ning agreed.

“So we raised this matter with the Seamless Gate,” Patriarch Subhuti said. “The final decisive battle between our two camps is unavoidable, but there is a threat lurking right beside our bed that should be dealt with first. However, the Seamless Gate was completely unwilling to take action against the Ancient Primordial Ruins.”

“They’re unwilling?” Ji Ning was puzzled. “What do they mean? Do they want us to do it? Do they want our Nuwa Camp to exhaust our own strength? But… no one is stupid. The Seamless Gate must understand that without resolving the Ancient Primordial Ruins, there can be no peace for the final decisive battle.”

“It’s not as simple as you think.” Subhuti shook his head. “I and several other great powers made a secret investigation. We discovered that… within the Ancient Primordial Ruins, many terrifying formations have been erected. Fuxi recognized the handiwork of Master Stonerule in those formations.”

“Master…” Ji Ning was shocked. “Are you saying that many of the formations in the Ancient Primordial Ruins were laid by Master Stonerule?”

“Yes.”

Subhuti nodded. “We are ninety percent certain that the Ancient Primordial Ruins have long since secretly allied with the Seamless Gate.”

A cold light shone in Subhuti’s eyes. “Those members of the Seamless Gate… in the past, we allowed them to remain within the Three Realms. Now, in order to win the final decisive battle, they have gone so far as to collude with those Chaos Aliens. They have forgotten that the war between the two primordial Chaosworlds was instigated by these very Chaos Aliens! Hmph. But then again, to us on this side, the Seamless Gate is also a tribe of aliens.”

“What do we do now?” Ji Ning asked urgently.

“As you can see, the Tristar Crescent Major World has become a refuge,” Subhuti said coldly. “We have already sent great powers into the Ancient Primordial Ruins. We will annihilate every single Chaos Alien within it!”

Tomato is still writing… there will be a third chapter~~~ It will be late~~~~