Chapter 19 The Great Sinner

On the Evil Dragon River, a large boat was sailing downstream.

Inside the cabin, Prince Qi Rufeng and his two younger sisters were gathered together.

"At this point, we can only trust this senior Beiming," Qi Rufeng transmitted.

"Hmph." The little princess Qi Ruhui, dressed in purple, had dissatisfaction in her eyes. "Xiaoyu may only be a servant of our royal clan, but she is blessed with great merit. Even the Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals of some major sects are eager to take her as a disciple. Yet this Beiming took her so easily, without even making a Heavenly Dao oath. It's only because we are down and out now that he got such a bargain. If our royal clan were still strong, and he dared to toy with us like this, our clan would have annihilated him long ago!"

"Little sister." The black-clad girl quickly transmitted, "Times have changed. We are weak now. This senior Beiming previously offered a hundred Heaven-grade top-quality flying swords in exchange, showing he is a reasonable person. Now that Xiaoyu has become his disciple, he hasn't abandoned us but keeps his promise to protect us. Given our weakness, we should be grateful to meet someone who keeps his word."

"Little sister, remember, you are no longer the princess you once were," Qi Rufeng also transmitted sternly.

The little princess had been young when in the palace, spoiled into a bad temper.

Before she could be properly nurtured and tempered after reaching adulthood, the entire Qi Kingdom was destroyed. In the constant flight, who had time to teach and cultivate her? Amid the frantic escape, the little princess's resentment and anger only grew. Even because the elders in the clan doted on Xiaoyu, she was very jealous and disliked Xiaoyu.

But Qi Xiaoyu was blessed with great merit, and the clan had long ordered that she not be killed. Otherwise, the little princess would have long since disposed of the Qi Xiaoyu she despised.

"Thump, thump, thump." Suddenly, footsteps sounded on the stairs outside.

The three princes and princesses looked through the window toward the deck and saw a white-clad girl descending the stairs. This white-clad girl appeared outstanding, and her dharma robe emitted waves of fluctuation.

"Qi Xiaoyu?"

The three princes and princesses were greatly startled.

Qi Xiaoyu, who had previously been dressed as a maidservant, was now completely transformed. Her dharma robe was clearly extraordinary, and on her arm was a silver bracelet. The contrast between her fair arm and the silver bracelet made her skin appear even whiter. The jade hairpin in her hair exuded a mysterious and powerful fluctuation. Clothes make the man. Qi Xiaoyu, blessed with great merit, had a naturally approachable aura. As a cultivator, her skin and figure were excellent. With her fine temperament and appearance, after changing clothes, she outshone even the two princesses.

"That dharma robe and bracelet should be extremely rare Human-grade top-quality magic treasures. As for the jade hairpin? I can't even see through it!" Qi Rufeng said.

"This Beiming is truly extraordinary. Human-grade magic treasures may not be valuable, but Human-grade top-quality ones are rare," the black-clad girl marveled. "And given that senior Beiming previously produced a hundred Heaven-grade top-quality flying swords, it seems that since Xiaoyu is still weak and can only use Human-grade treasures, he would have given her even better treasures otherwise. The jade hairpin should also be Human-grade top-quality."

The purple-clad girl said, "Just some Human-grade treasures."

Qi Xiaoyu walked down the steps and then knocked on the cabin door.

"Open the door," the prince immediately ordered.

A guard behind him stepped forward and opened the door.

Qi Xiaoyu entered and quickly said, "Your Highness, Master asks you to come over."

"No need to call me Your Highness from now on. You are now a disciple of senior Beiming; just call me by name," Prince Qi Rufeng quickly said.

But the little princess Qi Ruhui said, "Xiaoyu, what kind of treasure is that hairpin? My eldest brother and second sister can't even see through it."

"Master said it's a life-saving item that can only be used once. Once activated with primal force, it can withstand attacks from top Loose Immortals for ten breaths," Qi Xiaoyu obediently said.

"What!"

Everyone in the cabin was greatly shocked.

Able to withstand attacks from top Loose Immortals for ten breaths? This was definitely a precious life-saving item. It was also one of the many treasures left by the Immortal Juhua back then. Ji Ning felt that as his first disciple, giving only a few Human-grade treasures would be too shabby; after all, she was a disciple of the Mount Innerheart lineage. So he gave her a life-saving item.

"Withstanding top Loose Immortals..." The purple-clad girl gritted her teeth, unable to suppress her jealousy. "This slave girl is so lucky."

Treasures like this that could block attacks had long been exhausted during decades of flight and life-saving escapes!

...

Qi Rufeng quickly left the cabin, went up the stairs to a boat hall on the second floor, and met Ji Ning.

"Greetings, senior Beiming," Qi Rufeng said respectfully.

"Qi Rufeng, I have something to ask you." Ji Ning sat there, pointing to a chair beside him. "Sit down."

"Yes." Qi Rufeng obediently sat beside him.

Qi Rufeng knew how to behave.

The gap in strength was huge; he was powerless before Ji Ning. Ji Ning had given him a promise, and he felt that this 'senior Beiming' was a good person. If they had encountered a ruthless and vicious person, there would have been many ways to force them to hand over Qi Xiaoyu.

"I ask you, the Firewing Demon King has been chasing you. Why haven't you been able to escape all these years?" Ji Ning asked in confusion. "Logically, Star Prefecture is so vast. If you fled millions of li away, the Firewing Demon King would have a hard time finding you, like fishing for a needle in the ocean. Yet you've been fleeing in panic for decades and are still being hunted."

Qi Rufeng shook his head and sighed. "The Firewing Demon King is a poisonous insect 'Firewing Bug' that cultivated into a demon. After it led a demon army to suddenly attack our Qi Kingdom's capital, the Firewing Demon King personally cast a漫天 'Firewing Poison' over my palace. The Firewing Poison spread throughout the palace. Once it touched the body, it immediately merged and could never be separated. It even contaminated the soul. Even Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals could not remove this poison."

"Oh?" Ji Ning was surprised.

Firewing Bug?

He had never heard of such a poisonous insect in the Great Xia world.

"This Firewing Poison does no harm to the body or soul," Qi Rufeng shook his head painfully. "But no matter how far away, Firewing Bugs can sense the location of the 'Firewing Poison'. Even if we fled to Cloud Prefecture or Flame Prefecture, those Firewing Bugs could still sense it. The Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals under the Firewing Demon King could also teleport to Cloud Prefecture or Flame Prefecture... So no matter where we fled, we couldn't escape pursuit."

Ji Ning understood.

What a formidable poison.

He remembered when he was young and ventured into 'Dongshan Swamp', he was hunted by the Tiemu clan. After being contaminated with Ice Flower Liquid, even though he fled far away, they still tracked him down.

But this Firewing Poison was even more powerful. It was personally cast by the Firewing Demon King and even contaminated the soul. In this Xieyue Great World, no matter where one fled, the countless Firewing Bugs under his command could sense the direction.

"Most of my royal clan were killed on the spot, and the rest scattered and fled," Qi Rufeng said. "At that time, there were even Loose Immortals among those who escaped. But no matter where we fled, they could track us down. So we kept fleeing within our original Qi Kingdom territory. After all, it was our former domain, we were familiar with it, and there were many secret places built by the royal clan..."

"After all this fleeing, only the three of us remain."

Qi Rufeng spoke with sorrow and helplessness.

Ji Ning understood clearly.

The key point was that the 'Firewing Poison' was hard to remove, causing these princes and princesses to be constantly hunted. Ji Ning had no way to help remove this poison that contaminated the soul.

"Let me ask you," Ji Ning said. "How great is the Firewing Demon King's sin? Is he shrouded in sinful blood light?"

"The Firewing Demon King is one of the Twelve Eastern Flow Demon Kings, notorious for his ferocity. Of course, his sins are immense. As for sinful blood light... I've heard that all Twelve Eastern Flow Demon Kings have sinful blood light soaring to the heavens. When probed with divine sense, it appears as endless blood light surging like waves, terrifying other Loose Immortals and Earth Immortals at the sight," Qi Rufeng said.

Ji Ning was delighted.

Endless sinful blood light surging like waves?

A great sinner?

The trial for the *Eight Nine Mysteries* this time was to take a disciple and kill ten great sinners. He had already taken a disciple, and now the most important thing was to kill ten great sinners. These twelve demon kings might provide ten great sinners.

"This is just what you've heard. It's not just a rumor, is it?" Ji Ning asked.

"Perhaps the rumor is exaggerated, but it shouldn't be far off. The Twelve Eastern Flow Demon Kings are notorious throughout Star Prefecture. Even in Cloud Prefecture and Flame Prefecture, their reputation is known. Even the most powerful forces with Celestial Immortal ancestors are unwilling to fight these twelve demon kings head-on," Qi Rufeng said. "So when our Qi royal clan fled to Cloud Prefecture, we were unfamiliar with the place, and the Twelve Eastern Flow Demon Kings' reputation was far greater. No one helped us, and we were eventually chased back to our homeland. In our former Qi territory, we could struggle a bit longer."

Ji Ning was startled.

Even forces with Celestial Immortal ancestors were unwilling to fight them?

"How strong are these twelve demon kings?" Ji Ning asked. "And how strong is the Firewing Demon King?"

"These twelve demon kings are all immensely powerful and ferocious, so they became sworn brothers. Each demon king is very strong, though there are differences. The Firewing Demon King is probably mid-tier. He has nearly a hundred Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals under him. He can kill ordinary Earth Immortals and Loose Immortals like killing chickens," Qi Rufeng said. "The strongest among the twelve is the first-ranked Golden Fur Bear Demon King. It is said that he once fought a Celestial Immortal ancestor, and even the Celestial Immortal could do nothing to him. In the end, the Celestial Immortal retreated voluntarily. Tell me, isn't that formidable? These twelve demon kings act together and advance or retreat as one. They are the absolute overlords of the entire Eastern Flow region. Although our Qi Kingdom once occupied a million li of territory, we never encroached on the twelve demon kings' domain. Yet unexpectedly, the Firewing Demon King destroyed our Qi Kingdom."

Ji Ning was secretly shocked.

The Celestial Immortal could do nothing and retreated voluntarily?

He had originally planned to find ten great sinners among these twelve demon kings, but it seemed killing them would not be easy!

"It's interesting precisely because it's not easy. I've trained for over thirty years at Mount Innerheart without a real fight. The Twelve Eastern Flow Demon Kings, worthy opponents!" Ji Ning felt his blood begin to boil, and the fighting spirit in his chest surged.

...