Chapter 34: Entering the Yinglong Guard

The dragon-headed warship flew through the clouds and mist.

Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo, both beaming with joy, were refining storage treasures.

“Senior apprentice-brother, the wealth of that Dragon Whale Demon King is far greater than that of the four Wanxiang Adepts we killed before,” Mu Zishuo said excitedly. “The dozen or so Wanxiang demons we killed earlier… combined, they don’t match this one Dragon Whale Demon King.”

“Of course. This Dragon Whale Demon King had roamed for ten thousand years, escaping from Primordial Daoists many times. And now he himself is at the Primordial level,” Ji Ning said. “He had just broken through to Primordial. If he had cultivated for a thousand years at the Primordial stage, his wealth would be even more astonishing. But a Primordial demon who had cultivated for a thousand years… I probably couldn’t even withstand him.”

Mu Zishuo shook his head. “Even if he had cultivated for a thousand years at the Primordial stage, he would still die at the hands of that ancient god-demon! It’s just that you were quick, senior apprentice-brother. As soon as the god-demon left, you immediately collected the corpse of this great Dragon Whale demon. The loose immortal who came later didn’t discover it. If he had, he would have taken it away.”

Ji Ning smiled.

He also thought he had been very wise.

But…

The Dragon Whale Demon King’s wealth was indeed astonishing. Just the treasures carried in his Zifu, which fell to the ground with his corpse after death, numbered eight: two Earth-ranked storage treasures, four Earth-ranked treasures, and two Heaven-ranked treasures. The two Heaven-ranked treasures alone were worth several thousand catties of primal liquid!

Now Ji Ning and the other were busy refining the storage treasures.

“So many treasures.”

“What treasure is this?”

“There’s also a storage treasure, probably from Dongyi Adept and Hongrui Adept. Keep refining!”

“Here’s a bottle of primal liquid. Hmm, a bit over six hundred catties.”

“If I’m not mistaken, this should be Dongyi Adept’s protective treasure. He used it to escape from me before, but then he died at the hands of the great Dragon Whale demon. In the end, this treasure fell into my hands.”

…

Ji Ning and the other took out one treasure after another to appraise their value, while Qingqing beside them curiously picked up this and that. After all, she was a great demon… and had only cultivated for a short time, so she couldn’t accurately judge the value of many strange treasures. She could only join in the excitement.

“All checked,” Ji Ning said with a sigh of relief.

“What a thrill,” Mu Zishuo said, eyes shining, grinning. “Senior apprentice-brother, I admire you more and more. When you collected the Dragon Whale demon’s corpse… that move made me bow in admiration.”

Ji Ning smiled. “See if there’s anything you need?”

Mu Zishuo looked carefully and shook his head. “None of them follow the puppet path, so there’s nothing I particularly need.”

“Nothing I particularly need either,” Ji Ning also shook his head.

Although Dongyi’s protective treasure was good, its power was average; it couldn’t hold out long against a Primordial Daoist. Ji Ning could escape from a Primordial Daoist on his own strength, so he didn’t care. His protective sword-qi treasure could block a loose immortal or earth immortal for a full breath’s time.

“We’ll split the primal liquid half and half,” Ji Ning said. “As for these treasures and curios, we’ll sell them all at Tianbao Mountain and split the proceeds.”

“But you collected them, senior apprentice-brother,” Mu Zishuo said, eyes wide.

“Don’t waste words,” Ji Ning scolded with a smile. “I just picked them up.”

“What about me, what about me?” Qingqing said from the side.

Ji Ning glanced at her. “You miser, who finds treasures as easily as drinking water or eating, don’t compete with us poor cultivators for treasures.” Just the huge chunk of ten-thousand-year-old ice Qingqing had was worth over ten thousand catties of primal liquid.

Qingqing immediately pouted. “Stingy!”

…

Time passed.

In the following days, Ji Ning and the others went to cultivate in the ice chamber within the ice layer, which was indeed very secluded. After the three-month period ended, they began their return to the Yinglong Guard station.

“We’re here.”

The dragon-headed warship flew through the clouds and mist high in the sky. Ji Ning stood by the railing, gazing into the distance. Soon, a mountain peak appeared ahead—the Yinglong Guard station.

“Haha, we’re back! We’ll soon be Yinglong Guards!” Mu Zishuo cheered with joy.

The warship swooped down.

This time, no one stopped Ji Ning and the others. They flew directly to the mountain peak of the station, to the open space beside the teleportation array. Ji Ning immediately saw the two plainly dressed old men beside the array, the familiar fat old man and thin old man.

“Two more return alive,” the fat old man said with a smile, then his gaze fell on the small snake coiled around Ji Ning’s wrist. “A demon?”

“This is a spirit beast I captured in the Yushan Great Wasteland,” Ji Ning said.

“You young man are quite impressive. The Yushan Great Wasteland is so dangerous… not only did you return alive, you even brought back a spirit beast,” the fat old man said with a sigh. “You two go rest over there. Wait a bit longer; there are still over thirty cultivators who haven’t arrived.”

Ji Ning glanced in surprise at the cultivators nearby, some sitting, some standing and chatting. There were only sixteen in the distance, eighteen counting themselves.

“Senior, how do you know there are still over thirty who haven’t arrived?” Ji Ning asked curiously.

“Right, a hundred of us went out. How do you know how many died?” Mu Zishuo also asked in confusion.

The fat old man and the thin old man both laughed.

“Have you forgotten? When you first went to the Red Dragon Mountains, each of you refined a token?” the fat old man asked.

Ji Ning and the other suddenly remembered. Only by refining that token could they enter certain important places in the Red Dragon Mountains.

“When you die, the token becomes ownerless. Our Yinglong Guard immediately knows,” the fat old man said. “Now, fifty-two tokens are still intact; the rest have become ownerless.”

Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo understood.

A mere token… had hidden such a trick. The Yinglong Guard’s methods were truly hard to guard against.

“Senior,” Mu Zishuo asked, “a few days ago, my senior apprentice-brother and I sent back a group of ordinary mortals to the station. They were mortals raised by demons. May I ask how they are now?”

“Are they well?” Ji Ning also pressed.

The fat old man said in surprise, “You sent them back? Don’t worry, they are fine. Our Yinglong Guard treats these poor clansmen well. But they were teleported away long ago, so they are naturally no longer in the Yushan Great Wasteland. Our Yinglong Guard has proper methods for安置 these clansmen.”

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

That was good.

He just wondered… what would become of that little child called ‘Iron Boy’?

“Let’s go.” Ji Ning and his junior apprentice-brother Mu Zishuo walked to the side. Both pointed at a flat stone. With a hiss, frost condensed, and a layer of ice formed on the stone. These stones had been cut flat by Yinglong Guards over the generations for resting, and were dirty from wind and sun. Ji Ning and the other’s display drew the attention of several cultivators nearby.

Cold frost?

Soon, some cultivators came over to chat with Ji Ning and the other, and they made some new friends.

…

One by one, the surviving cultivators returned from various parts of the Yushan Great Wasteland.

Donghe Feiyun, who was familiar with Ji Ning and the other, also returned, but with only one arm and a much heavier aura of killing intent. This led to quiet discussions among the cultivators.

“What’s going on?” Mu Zishuo transmitted. “This Donghe Feiyun used to be very talkative, but now he’s much colder. And he’s missing an arm… There are plenty of elixirs for regenerating limbs. A Wanxiang Adept could slowly regrow an arm by consuming some primal force. Why hasn’t he treated it?”

Ji Ning shook his head.

He also sensed that Donghe Feiyun had undergone a great change after this ordeal.

Half a day passed, and a few more cultivators returned.

“Look, Meng Liuqing,” Mu Zishuo transmitted to Ji Ning. “Of the six cultivators who ambushed us, she’s the only one left alive.”

“Meng Liuqing?” Ji Ning also saw that female cultivator of the Meng clan.

Meng Liuqing descended from the sky and, upon seeing Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo, her face changed slightly. She immediately turned and walked to the side…

“Meng Liuqing!”

A cold, harsh voice rang out.

Meng Liuqing turned to look. The one-armed white-robed youth stood up, his killing intent soaring, eyes full of cold light. “I will avenge my sister’s death. Meng Liuqing… wait to die! And the other five, I won’t let any of them go!” As a member of the Donghe clan, he dared to say this directly!

“The other five?” Meng Liuqing shook her head. “I don’t know about Dongyi, but the other four—Beihe Zhou, Xu Manquan, Nong San, and Ji He—are all dead.”

Donghe Feiyun was stunned. “Dead?”

The surrounding cultivators all looked over.

Four Wanxiang Adepts dead? This made the cultivators curious… what had happened?

“They died at the hands of the two senior and junior apprentice-brothers from the Black-White College,” Meng Liuqing said, glancing at Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo in the distance. She had a grudge with them, so she didn’t mind causing them some trouble. She had even specifically named Beihe Zhou and the others, so their fellow disciples and friends would know.

“You bitch!” Mu Zishuo stood up and shouted angrily. “You six set a trap and ambushed us. Four died, and you’re still scheming against us? Listen, bitch, don’t let me run into you again. If I do, I’ll kill you.”

“Right,” Ji Ning also looked at her coldly.

This was the Yinglong Guard station; no one dared to fight.

Meng Liuqing also looked coldly at Ji Ning and the other. Since there was already enmity, what was there to fear?

“Daoist brothers Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo,” Donghe Feiyun turned to Ji Ning and the other, bowing deeply. “Those six didn’t go after great demons but instead ambushed us cultivators. Dying at your hands was well deserved. If you ever need anything in the future, just say the word. I, Donghe Feiyun, will go through fire and water for you.”

“You’re too kind. We were just ambushed and dealt with them as a matter of course,” Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo quickly helped Donghe Feiyun up.

…

Soon, all the surviving cultivators had returned. Hongye Adept also came back. But Hongye Adept had no idea that Ji Ning and Mu Zishuo were the ones inside the formation back then. However, he had heard the Dragon Whale Demon King say, “Blame Ji Ning,” and so he gave Ji Ning a deep look.

“All fifty-two of you are alive. If you have brought back the corpses or heads of Wanxiang great demons, you may naturally join our Yinglong Guard,” the thin old man said. “Go, enter the teleportation array, to the Red Dragon Mountains.”

The fifty-two cultivators all entered the teleportation array.

Soon, the array lit up.

Ji Ning and the other fifty-two were teleported to the Red Dragon Mountains, two million li away.