Chapter 6: Boiling Murderous Intent

Ji Ning spoke softly, but Mu Zishuo and Qingqing could all feel the boundless hatred and murderous intent in his words.

This grudge had long been etched into his soul!

This grudge had long been rooted in his bones!

Ji Ning could not forget that when he first left Mount Yan, he had desperately wanted to take revenge! But at that time, he knew nothing, and the outside world was too vast for him. So he decided to first join a sect, to strengthen himself, and suppress the hatred deep in his heart. Only now, having left his sect and become a Dragonwing Guard, was it time for revenge!

"Father, mother, uncle," Ji Ning said silently in his heart. "I will not let a single one of those three go! Never!"

"Junior apprentice-brother." Ji Ning turned to look at Mu Zishuo beside him. "I'm going to take revenge... I can take Qingqing and Uncle Bai with me. You don't have to..."

"What are you saying, senior apprentice-brother!" Mu Zishuo said angrily. "Since my mother died, I've had no family left in this world! I have no attachments. Don't worry about implicating me. The pain of a parent's death... I know it well. Back then, I personally killed that vile thief to avenge my mother. This time, I must go with you."

Ji Ning was stunned.

Mother died? Avenging his mother?

Junior apprentice-brother Mu Zishuo had no family left? He had never mentioned this before.

"Good!" Ji Ning nodded and gently patted Mu Zishuo on the shoulder. "Good brother."

Mu Zishuo looked back at Ji Ning.

"Let's go to Anchan City." Ji Ning said.

Mu Zishuo quickly asked, "To Anchan City? By the way, senior apprentice-brother, you want to take revenge. Although we've completed two tasks, there's no need to rush back to the Red Dragon Mountains to report. We can go after your enemies under the pretext of capturing the murderer. That way, we'll have an excuse."

Ji Ning nodded. Back then, Xue Hongyi had wanted to search Ji Ning and the others under the pretext of 'suspecting the Ji clan of harboring criminals.' Fortunately, Beishan Baiwei had blocked it. At that time, Beishan Baiwei was an envoy of the Marquis of Anchan; without that identity, it would have been hard to stop him.

"I was thinking the same thing," Ji Ning said. "But I need to make some preparations in Anchan City. First, I need to check the intelligence on my enemies. Second, I need to purchase some treasures."

"Purchase treasures?" Mu Zishuo asked in confusion. "Are your enemies very strong?"

"Not strong. They should all be Zifu cultivators. Even if they've broken through, at most they'd be ordinary Wanxiang cultivators." Ji Ning said.

"Then why do you need to buy treasures?" Mu Zishuo was puzzled.

Ji Ning said darkly, "Because I want them to be utterly annihilated, body and soul!"

The chill in his words startled Mu Zishuo, Qingqing, and the Whitewater Hound.

Mu Zishuo recalled the time when, as a child, he had killed his enemy. He had been just as frenzied back then... He could fully understand Ji Ning's state of mind.

"Let's go." Ji Ning said.

"Mm."

They immediately boarded the dragon-headed warship and quickly departed.

...

Anchan City.

Ji Ning first went to visit his friend Beishan Baiwei.

"I've already learned that among the latest batch of Dragonwing Guards, there are your name, Brother Ji Ning, and your junior apprentice-brother Mu Zishuo." Beishan Baiwei sat down, looking at Ji Ning, then glanced at Mu Zishuo beside him. A maidservant came forward to offer wine.

Ji Ning glanced at the maidservants.

"You may withdraw." Beishan Baiwei waved his hand, and the maidservants and servants all left.

"Brother Baiwei, I came to ask for your help with something." Ji Ning said solemnly.

"Speak freely." Beishan Baiwei said.

"I need intelligence on three people: Dong Qi, Shui Yi, and Yu Tong, disciples of the Snowdragon Mountain. But I don't want the Treasure Pagoda to know that I've checked this information." Ji Ning said.

Beishan Baiwei nodded slightly: "I understand. I'll send someone to the Treasure Pagoda right away to look into it."

"Troubling you." Ji Ning said.

Killing these three was not difficult.

The difficulty lay in their backing, Snowdragon Mountain. Shui Yi and Yu Tong were of lesser status, but Dong Qi was the grandson of a Primal Daoist of Snowdragon Mountain. Once he made a move, even if he was discreet, Snowdragon Mountain would likely investigate... If they found that someone had checked the intelligence on these three at the Treasure Pagoda, they would surely become suspicious.

So he had to cut off the trail as much as possible.

"I'll arrange it now. It won't take more than an hour to find out." Beishan Baiwei stood up. "Rest here for a while. I'll go make the arrangements."

...

In just half an hour,

a servant entered the hall and handed three thick books to Beishan Baiwei.

"You may go." Beishan Baiwei ordered.

The servant quietly left.

Beishan Baiwei handed the three books to Ji Ning: "These are the most detailed intelligence the Treasure Pagoda has on the three of them. The intelligence is divided into several levels; this is the highest level, the most detailed. It even digs up some of their secrets. But the Treasure Pagoda is, after all, an intelligence organization, not an omniscient god. It can't find out everything. For instance, this time, they don't know that you requested intelligence on these three."

Ji Ning nodded.

Human power has its limits. No matter how formidable the Treasure Pagoda, it couldn't know everything.

"Dong Qi." Ji Ning began to flip through the book.

Beishan Baiwei, beside him, slowly sipped his wine, as did Mu Zishuo. Neither of them disturbed Ji Ning.

Ji Ning read quickly.

The book recorded things in considerable detail, from childhood to the present, including many incidents: troubles he had caused within Snowdragon Mountain, even the female disciples he had raped. A great many events were recorded... but there was no mention of the ambush and killing of his uncle Wei Chi Shan and his parents.

"The Treasure Pagoda is not omniscient. If a cultivator occasionally ambushes and kills someone outside, and no one talks about it, it's indeed hard to trace." Ji Ning shook his head.

"This Dong Qi... is truly a scourge."

After reading, Ji Ning found that Dong Qi was a spoiled child, now only at the Zifu Completion stage.

Dong Qi came from the great tribe Dong.

Because the Dong tribe had a Primal Daoist, 'Coldlight Daoist,' the tribe was naturally powerful. There were many talents in the Dong tribe, such as Dong Yi, the eldest among Dong Qi's generation. He was exceptionally brilliant, but Dong Yi had been killed by the Dragon Whale Demon King in the Prisonfall Great Marsh.

Coldlight Daoist had only one son, who died while roaming outside. That son had only one bloodline: Dong Qi.

Thus, Dong Qi was Coldlight Daoist's only grandson, and was naturally doted on.

Although other disciples of the same generation, like Dong Yi, could also get some benefits, they naturally couldn't compare to Dong Qi. So many in the Dong tribe flattered Dong Qi, fostering his arrogant personality. His greatest hobby was raping beautiful women, preferably those with good temperament.

Thus, he had harmed many, but because of his powerful background and a group of servants, he had never run into trouble.

"What?" Ji Ning frowned. "He lives at Snowdragon Mountain, right with Coldlight Daoist?"

Dong Qi was too favored.

Ordinary disciples rarely got to see a Primal Daoist, but he stayed by his side all the time.

"If he's at Snowdragon Mountain, I have no way." Ji Ning shook his head. Confident as he was, he wasn't crazy enough to storm the mountain gate of an ancient, long-established sect. Even a loose immortal would have to think twice. After all, that was the sect's foundation, with great formations and suicidal measures that would make even a loose immortal pale.

"Next."

Ji Ning then flipped through Yu Tong's information.

Yu Tong was an ambitious cultivator with a strong scheming mind. To obtain enough resources, he was willing to be Dong Qi's lackey! Later, after using Dong Qi, he quietly left... Now he was a Wanxiang Initial stage cultivator, living at Canyue Mountain with his master, a Wanxiang Completion stage cultivator.

Yu Tong himself had actually done very little evil. At least according to the Treasure Pagoda's records, he had committed very few evil deeds, only two. Of course, the incident involving Ji Ning's parents was not recorded!

His master, 'Canyue Real Person,' on the other hand, had done much evil. He was a cold, petty man who had been at the Wanxiang Completion stage for over two hundred years, and was extremely powerful!

"Although he has a master, at Canyue Mountain?" Ji Ning relaxed. "Such a desolate place makes it easy to deal with."

"Next."

Ji Ning then flipped through Shui Yi's information.

Shui Yi...

was originally a servant of the Dong tribe, one of the most outstanding among the servants. He had been nurtured by the Dong tribe and was now a Zifu Completion stage cultivator. Because his potential was limited, he had long since returned from Snowdragon Mountain and lived in the Dong tribe.

"Inside the Dong tribe?" Ji Ning's head ached. "This is more troublesome... but to kill him, it can be done."

The Dong tribe was Coldlight Daoist's tribe.

But Coldlight Daoist was stationed at Snowdragon Mountain, so the Dong tribe had no Primal Daoist guarding it. However, there were a group of Wanxiang cultivators. Obviously, the Dong tribe's security was far inferior to Snowdragon Mountain's. Ji Ning was confident. After all, he only needed to kill Shui Yi, not destroy the Dong tribe.

"First kill Yu Tong, then Shui Yi. These two were the direct murderers who attacked my uncle and my parents." Ji Ning thought.

...

Beside him, Beishan Baiwei sensed the fierce killing aura emanating from Ji Ning and the fierce glints flashing in his eyes.

"My brother Ji Ning, usually so good-tempered, can also be so frenzied," Beishan Baiwei thought. "He must have a great grudge, and not an ordinary one."

"Brother Baiwei."

Ji Ning stood up, and Beishan Baiwei quickly stood as well.

"I've troubled you this time, Brother Baiwei. You've helped me several times. Great kindness need not be spoken; I, Ji Ning, will remember it in my heart." Ji Ning cupped his hands. "I won't stay any longer. I'll take my leave."

"Brother Ji Ning, if you need anything, just say so." Beishan Baiwei said.

"I have a plan." Ji Ning cupped his hands again, then left with his junior apprentice-brother.

...

After another hour or so, as the sun set in the west,

Ji Ning and the others boarded a dragon-headed warship that rose into the air, leaving Anchan City.

"With this treasure, I will make sure you cannot even reincarnate!" Ji Ning gripped a censer-like treasure, then looked up. "Junior apprentice-brother, head south, to Canyue Mountain!"