Father and Daughter

“Exterminate all of those alien chaos beings in the ancient primordial ruins?” Ji Ning asked, his voice laced with concern. “Can we be certain of victory?”

“Of course, I can’t claim absolute certainty against an alliance of the ancient ruins and the Seamless Gate,” Bodhi said. “But this time, the vanguard of great powers we’re sending will be led by Fuxi and Tathagata. Fuxi is a formation grandmaster, supremely skilled at entanglement and containment. The Buddha Tathagata, meanwhile, has peerless defensive techniques and excels at handling dangerous situations. With the two of them leading the team… even if they encounter some extraordinary danger, they should be able to hold out long enough for us to arrive and reinforce them.”

Ji Ning let out a sigh of relief.

Fuxi. The number one formation master of the Three Realms.

Tathagata. His divine body’s defensive power was unrivaled.

“Those two are leading this operation, along with nineteen other Daofathers. Some are top-tier Daofathers, others are merely ordinary ones,” Bodhi continued. “They’ll be acting together, but they’ll split into four smaller squads, all moving in concert to assault the same world.”

“Assault the same world?” Ji Ning was puzzled.

“Right. The ancient ruins are home to countless worlds,” Bodhi explained. “That Broken Horn World you encountered back then was just an insignificant one among them. We have no clear idea where the true dangers or the hidden alien great powers in those ruins actually lurk. So we have no choice but to roll over them, world by world! They will attack the same world simultaneously.”

“The reason we’re splitting into four squads is in case of any hidden trap formations,” Bodhi added. “If all four squads attack one world at the same time, and one squad falls into a formation or prohibition, the other three will know immediately. They’ll be on their guard and can go to the rescue. Even if the Seamless Gate or the ancient ruins have set some kind of trap, they won’t all be swallowed up at once.”

Ji Ning nodded, then fell silent for a moment before speaking solemnly, “Master, I want to go to the ancient ruins.”

“You want to join the battle?” Bodhi was startled.

“Yes.” Ji Ning nodded gravely.

Bodhi was silent at first, then looked at Ji Ning. “The spatial dimensions in the ancient ruins are all twisted and chaotic. Time and space are in disarray. Right now, they’re in a very dangerous world within those ruins. If you go there now, your first task will be to rendezvous with them. But we can’t get a clear spatial fix on them because the ruins are too chaotic. We can only tell you the approximate world. Going to join the squad will be… dangerous.”

Bodhi said all this hoping Ji Ning would back down.

He knew very well that Ji Ning’s All-Things Emissary had already been destroyed!

“Disciple is confident of success.” Ji Ning looked at his master, and a faint sword-light glimmered in his eyes.

“You…” Seeing that fleeting flicker of seven-colored sword-light, Daofather Bodhi was utterly stunned.

This… this…

Lu Dongbin comprehending the fifth level of the Taiji Force was already incredibly impressive. But now, Ji Ning had reached the fifth level of the even more offensively potent Sword Force! Remember, the reason the Darklight Swordmaster was so terrifying at assassination, even able to destroy Ji Ning’s original divine body with a single sword, was because of his Sword Force. And Ji Ning was different from the Darklight Swordmaster; his sword had already surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos.

With such swordsmanship alone, Ji Ning was already extremely close to the level of a leader!

“I didn’t expect that in the blink of an eye, your power would have reached such heights.” Daofather Bodhi laughed. “It seems I was worrying unnecessarily. It’s fine. You have the art of the Primaltwin. Going to explore those ancient ruins shouldn’t be too dangerous.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded. “Disciple will go see my daughter first.”

“Your daughter, Brightmoon, has been very worried about you. You should go see her,” Bodhi said.

“Worried…” Ji Ning was momentarily stunned, then nodded gently. He quickly departed.

Watching Ji Ning’s receding back, Bodhi stroked his beard and smiled to himself. “I saw it right all those years ago. Compared to Heartforce, Ji Ning’s talent in the sword is truly greater. In less than a thousand years, his swordsmanship has reached this level… with this skill, he is enough to look down upon the entire Three Realms.”

By the lakeside.

A black-robed girl sat silently on the shore, staring at the water.

“Brightmoon.” Autumn Leaf walked over and called out to her.

The black-robed girl turned her head to look, then turned back to silently gaze at the lake.

“What’s wrong? Why are you so unhappy?” Autumn Leaf asked.

“I’m fine, Aunt Autumn Leaf.” The black-robed girl shook her head lightly.

“Are you worried about your father?” Autumn Leaf sat down beside her.

The black-robed girl hesitated for a moment, then nodded faintly. “A little. Father has dedicated himself entirely to cultivation. He’s the only person since the primordial era who can match Houyi. But Aunt Autumn Leaf… you heard them too. You heard what they said. They said Father’s true body was killed by the Seamless Gate. They said that puppet of his was destroyed… I didn’t believe it. I went to ask Master Patriarch Bodhi, and he didn’t deny it…”

“Don’t worry.” Autumn Leaf reached out and gently embraced Brightmoon. “I watched your father grow up. No matter what kind of setback he faces, he always comes back stronger. He would never be discouraged or give up. You have to believe in your father.”

“Can you tell me more about him?” Brightmoon looked at Autumn Leaf.

“Alright.” Autumn Leaf smiled and nodded.

In the distance, Ji Ning, Uncle White, and Qingqing were gathered together, looking over at them.

“To protect their descendants, the great powers of the Nuwa camp moved them all here,” Uncle White said. “So Ning, the things that happened in the Zhuolu Major World couldn’t be hidden from Brightmoon forever. At first, she didn’t believe it. She even argued with the other immortals and devas. Later, she personally went to beg for an audience with Patriarch Bodhi… only then did she truly believe what had happened in the Zhuolu Major World. She’s been worrying about you for months now.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning looked at his daughter, feeling a warmth in his heart.

“Go to her. She’ll be overjoyed to see you,” Uncle White said.

“Mm.”

Ji Ning walked over.

Autumn Leaf was speaking softly, and Brightmoon was listening intently to the stories about her father. She never tired of hearing them. She longed to hear as much as she could.

Ji Ning felt a pang of secret shame. Having his daughter worry about him like this… he really had been a failure as a father. He had always had a Primaltwin silently protecting her, but that clone had been in secluded cultivation the entire time, never paying attention to the outside world. Only when Brightmoon was in danger and the protective seals were triggered would that clone investigate.

So many things had happened in the Tristar Crescent Major World, and he had been completely unaware.

“My Primaltwin has always stood guard in silence, never revealing itself. I thought it would temper her, sharpen her will… but maybe… maybe my love and presence are more important to her than tempering?” Ji Ning pondered silently. “Was I wrong?”

“Father!”

Brightmoon, as if sensing something, suddenly turned her head. She saw Ji Ning standing behind her. A flash of ecstatic surprise lit up her face as she immediately leapt to her feet and flew toward him, crashing into his arms.

“Father, you’re finally back! I’ve been waiting for you for so long! You were gone for way, way too long this time!” Brightmoon hugged Ji Ning tightly, chattering nonstop.

Ji Ning gently stroked his daughter’s hair. Having become a Celestial Immortal, she had condensed a ‘Celestial Immortal body,’ which now looked like this. She was strikingly similar to her mother, Yu Wei. She even loved to wear black robes… looking at his daughter, sometimes Ji Ning felt as if his senior apprentice-sister were right beside him. But his senior-sister’s gaze was warmer and more profound, while his daughter’s eyes were filled with worship and affection.

Senior-sister was colder.

His daughter was more lively.

“Father, all the other immortals and devas on the island said your true body had been destroyed. They said you…” Brightmoon looked at Ji Ning, her hands still gripping his arm tightly. She spoke softly. “Can you please stop fighting the Seamless Gate?”

“So many of the great powers on this island have children and disciples, and not one of them is retreating,” Ji Ning said, shaking his head. “I can’t back down either, Brightmoon. You should understand that.”

“But Father has already sacrificed so much! Your true body was destroyed, your strength is greatly diminished! What more do they want? You’re only a True God and True Immortal. Sure, you’re powerful in Heartforce and can command the Rahu Formation, but when it comes down to it, you’re not a True God or a Daofather. There are plenty of True Gods and True Immortals on this island who haven’t even joined the fight. Father, you’ve already done much more than they have!” Brightmoon looked at him, on the verge of tears. “I’m scared… I’m scared that your Primaltwin will be killed too. I’ve already lost my mother. I don’t want to lose my father.”

Ji Ning’s heart trembled.

“Promise me,” Brightmoon said, looking at him. “Stay with me, okay?”

“I will stay with you.” Ji Ning’s heart ached at the look in his daughter’s eyes. He nodded gently. “I will always be with you. From today on, my Primaltwin will stay here with you.”

“Primaltwin?” Brightmoon was puzzled.

“Didn’t you know that your father’s true body is the one in white?” Ji Ning tapped Brightmoon’s forehead lightly.

“I thought… I thought…” Brightmoon’s face lit up with joy.

“Don’t look down on your father just because others do.” Ji Ning smiled. “Your father’s true body and his Primaltwin are both alive and well. In fact, I’m even stronger than before!” As he spoke, he stretched out his palm, and a faint seven-colored sword-light appeared within it. That beautiful light radiated a power that made one’s soul tremble.

Brightmoon stared at the seven-colored sword-light in shock.

As Ji Ning’s daughter and a disciple of the Mount Innerheart sect, her knowledge was considerable. She had long since learned about the five levels of Sword Force, especially since her father walked the path of the Sword Immortal. She recognized it immediately.

“Father, you… you…” A surge of excitement and pride welled up in Brightmoon’s heart. The fifth level of Sword Force? Surpassing the limits of the Heavenly Dao? This was her father! The other immortals and devas could say what they wanted, but her father was far, far more powerful now than he had been back then.

“Father, you said your Primaltwin would stay with me… but what about your true body?” Brightmoon immediately realized what he meant.

Ji Ning laughed. “Of course, it has to go out. Your father can’t hide.”

“But… but…” Brightmoon bit her lip, her voice low. “I… I really don’t want you to go out to war anymore.”

“When the great calamity comes, someone has to stand up,” Ji Ning said with a smile.

“Let the tall ones hold up the sky that’s falling,” Brightmoon insisted.

“Your father is one of those tall ones,” Ji Ning said with a chuckle. “Alright, you’re a Celestial Immortal now. Stop acting like a little girl in front of your father.”

Being with his daughter, Ji Ning could feel a constant surge of power rising within him. It was an incredibly fierce desire born from the depths of his heart.

“I have to protect my daughter.”

“Even if it costs me my life.”

The white-robed Ji Ning turned his head to look at the girl in black standing by the lakeshore. Then, without hesitation…

“Master, send me on my way.” Ji Ning sent a mental message.

“Be careful in the ancient ruins, every step of the way.” Bodhi’s voice rang in Ji Ning’s ears.

“Mm.” Ji Ning nodded.

A spatial vortex appeared before Ji Ning, and he stepped into it.