Chapter 23: Celestial Immortal

Ji Ning stared at the black mist cave entrance before him, hesitating for a moment. This was clearly no ordinary cave entrance. Neither the 'Candle Dragon's Eye', nor his divine sense, nor that intangible intuition could detect what lay deep within the cave. But Ji Ning truly wanted to know who was trying to kill him.

"The Grand Xia world is seething with undercurrents. I'd better be cautious. It's best not to enter a place where I'm not sure of my footing." Ji Ning had been bold and unrestrained earlier because everything was under his control. But entering that black mist cave would be beyond his control.

Whoosh.

Ji Ning flickered and immediately fled far from that area.

Layers of formations.

Ji Ning casually chose a mountain peak, sat down cross-legged, and laughed loudly, "Whatever tricks you have, bring them on! If you don't attack me, I'll use a Greater Teleportation Dao Talisman and leave."

His voice resounded through heaven and earth, but no one attacked him.

"Now is not the time to leave," Ji Ning thought to himself. "Master is still undergoing his tribulation in that minor world. If the killer continues to pursue me and can't find me, he might go straight to that minor world. Since that's the case, I might as well stay here openly!"

…

"Master, he didn't go in," the black-clad youth said.

"That's because he's not stupid," the silver-armored youth shook his head. "The Celestial Immortals who went in before were all too confident, thinking they could definitely survive with their strength. Little did they know... the place the black mist cave leads to is our true headquarters. Even True Immortals and Celestial Gods can only barely escape with their lives."

The black-armored youth and Han Da both nodded.

They had both been there and knew how terrifying that place was. As the headquarters, it was naturally far more dangerous than this 'Eastwood Mountains' outpost.

"Master, now that Ji Ning is inside the grand formation, shall we attack him?" Han Da asked.

"Would attacking be useful?" the silver-armored youth looked at him.

Han Da gave an awkward smile: "Our attacks would naturally be useless. If you, Master, were to act, capturing him would be easy."

"Stop flattering me," the silver-armored youth sneered. "I know my limits. This Ji Ning is very mysterious. Just his protective measures alone—you all surrounded and attacked him furiously before but couldn't do anything. Even the Nine Heavens Divine Flame Poison couldn't harm him. Although I look down on the Blood Cloud Tower, they do have strength. The Di-9 squad formed the 'Basilisk Formation' and still couldn't harm him in the slightest. I can't kill him."

Han Da chuckled.

But he knew his master was very low-key. His master's strength was undeniably formidable; he had killed over ten Celestial Immortals!

The silver-armored youth silently watched Ji Ning from afar and thought, "This Ji Ning has a significant background. If he's practicing the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, his background is even more astonishing. I wonder whose disciple he is... When gods fight, mortals suffer. To those big shots, they are gods. I am just a mortal."

"Low-key, low-key." The silver-armored youth had lived too long and experienced too much.

So he knew very well—

Celestial Immortal?

They seemed formidable, but in the Three Realms, Celestial Immortals were merely 'pawns'. There were too many dangers that could kill a Celestial Immortal. Killing someone like Ji Ning, who had a terrifying background, wouldn't be considered 'bullying the weak' for a Celestial Immortal.

But in the Three Realms, there were some madmen, unreasonable madmen. If their disciples died, they would retaliate crazily!

"Although madmen are rare, who knows if Ji Ning might have some crazy uncle or senior apprentice-brother," the silver-armored youth muttered to himself. "I've endured so many years, it wasn't easy. After countless hardships, I finally became a Celestial Immortal. I still want to survive this great calamity. Careful, better be careful!"

"Master, now that Ji Ning is inside the formation, what should we do?" Han Da looked at the silver-armored youth.

"Trap him. Let him stay in the formation. If the Blood Cloud Tower wants to assassinate him, let them continue. We won't get involved," the silver-armored youth said calmly. "If he uses a Greater Teleportation Dao Talisman to leave, we don't need to stop him. As for attacking, forget it. Attacking him would consume a lot of elemental energy."

"Yes," Han Da replied respectfully.

…

Days passed.

On the third day after the failed assassination, Mystic Origin Ancestor was invited to the Blood Cloud Tower again. In the same secluded garden, the same silver-robed maiden received him.

"How is it?" Mystic Origin Ancestor sat down and looked at the silver-robed maiden across from him. "Have you killed Ji Ning?"

"No," the silver-robed maiden shook her head.

"No?" Mystic Origin Ancestor was shocked, then angered. "I already gave you the treasures. You should have killed Ji Ning. If your first wave failed, you should have sent a second wave. In short, you should have killed Ji Ning within a year as agreed. I don't care how you do it. But you should keep your word. This is a deal. My Shaoyin clan paid, and you should deliver."

The silver-robed maiden nodded: "You're right."

Mystic Origin Ancestor was taken aback.

"According to the contract, if our Blood Cloud Tower fails, we return the treasures you gave us," the silver-robed maiden directly handed over a storage ring. "This is what you gave me before, all inside. Our Blood Cloud Tower has taken a loss this time. We're returning everything."

"You, you..." Mystic Origin Ancestor couldn't believe it.

The contract did stipulate that.

If the assassination couldn't be completed, all treasures would be returned. This was the 'pride' of the Blood Cloud Tower, but they rarely did this.

"Is Ji Ning that hard to kill?" Mystic Origin Ancestor frowned.

"If we really wanted to kill him, our Blood Cloud Tower could certainly do it," the silver-robed maiden nodded.

"Then why not kill him?" Mystic Origin Ancestor pressed.

"The price isn't enough," the silver-robed maiden looked at Mystic Origin Ancestor.

"What price?"

"Twenty top-grade immortal treasures," the silver-robed maiden said. "If you pay treasures of that value, our Blood Cloud Tower will kill Ji Ning. Our previous estimate of Ji Ning's strength was wrong, so the price was too low."

Mystic Origin Ancestor's face flushed red with anger: "Why don't you just rob us? Twenty top-grade immortal treasures—that's equivalent to two Pure Yang treasures! That could hire a True Immortal or Celestial God, and you dare ask for that price!" The price was indeed exorbitant, a huge burden for the Shaoyin clan.

"Hire a True Immortal or Celestial God?" the silver-robed maiden sneered. "Go ahead and try. See who's willing to kill Ji Ning for you."

Mystic Origin Ancestor gritted his teeth.

He knew very well that the stronger one was, the more cautious. A Celestial Immortal killing Ji Ning might not be considered 'bullying the weak'. But if a True Immortal or Celestial God acted, it would definitely be 'bullying the weak'. If Ji Ning's backer was a Dao Ancestor, and the Dao Ancestor discovered the matter and saved Ji Ning before he died, it would be fine—at most a reprimand.

But if the Dao Ancestor didn't save him in time and only learned of it after Ji Ning's death, the enraged Dao Ancestor would likely kill the True Immortal or Celestial God outright.

For two low-grade Pure Yang treasures, which True Immortal or Celestial God would risk their life?

"Some powerful Celestial Immortals should be able to kill Ji Ning, right?" Mystic Origin Ancestor said in a low voice.

"If you want our Blood Cloud Tower to kill Ji Ning, pay twenty top-grade immortal treasures or equivalent valuables. If not, please leave. Our deal ends here," the silver-robed maiden said.

Mystic Origin Ancestor gnashed his teeth.

Twenty...

Mystic Origin Ancestor suppressed his anger and said in a low voice: "Just how powerful is this Ji Ning?"

"Want to know?" the silver-robed maiden said. "This is valuable intelligence. If you give me all the treasures in that storage ring, I'll tell you."

"Hmph."

Mystic Origin Ancestor rose in anger and turned to leave.

Ridiculous.

One piece of intelligence for three top-grade immortal treasures?

Watching Mystic Origin Ancestor leave, the silver-robed maiden shook her head: "Fool. If you rely on our Blood Cloud Tower to kill Ji Ning, your Shaoyin clan only pays a lot of treasures. If you rely on your Shaoyin clan—even if that ancestor from the Primordial Era comes out of seclusion and goes all out, he might kill Ji Ning. But the cost would be something your Shaoyin clan can't bear."

"Master wouldn't lie to me. It's suspected to be the Eight-Nine Arcane Art. Even Master wasn't qualified to learn it." The silver-robed maiden was shocked.

From the detailed intelligence of the previous assassination attempts, it was inferred that Ji Ning either had a heaven-defying protective treasure or the Eight-Nine Arcane Art. Either possibility carried extraordinary significance.

But...

The Blood Cloud Tower did heaven-defying things. As long as the price was right, they dared to do it!

…

Days passed.

In that minor world, the scorched earth filled one with despair at a glance.

"Why hasn't Master awakened yet?" The black-robed Ji Ning looked at the nearby Immortal Diancai.

"The Heart Demon Tribulation lasts at least seven days, but the maximum duration is hard to say," Five Craps Immortal shook his head. "Your master has only been undergoing the tribulation for ten days. Don't worry, don't worry."

"Mm," the black-robed Ji Ning nodded.

"By the way, is your true self really out of danger?" Five Craps Immortal asked worriedly. Beside him, the Whitewater Marsh also looked at Ji Ning.

The black-robed Ji Ning smiled helplessly: "Don't worry, there's really no danger."

Five Craps Immortal and Whitewater Marsh were still uneasy. If it were absolutely safe, Ji Ning's true self would have returned to this minor world. But Ji Ning's true self hadn't come back. They didn't know that Ji Ning's true self was staying in the Eastwood Mountains to attract the enemy's attention, not wanting to bring disaster to his master.

"Let me out! Ji Ning, Five Craps, just let me out! You can't kill me either. What's the point of trapping me here?" Inside the formation, the Blood God Cult Leader 'Blood Son' was shouting loudly from the black boat. Blood Son truly regretted it. Although his treasure boat prevented the others from harming him, he was trapped in the formation and couldn't escape. He never expected them to have such a skilled formation master.

The black-robed Ji Ning, Five Craps Immortal, and Whitewater Marsh didn't even bother to glance at Blood Son.

They just kept him trapped.

If they let him go, he might stir up trouble. It was best to keep him trapped in the formation. No need to worry about him disrupting his master's tribulation.

"Hm?" Suddenly, the black-robed Ji Ning, Five Craps, and Whitewater Marsh all turned their heads to look at the cross-legged Immortal Diancai.

At that moment, Immortal Diancai had opened his eyes. His eyes held endless vicissitudes, and a trace of tears glistened at the corners.

"Master!" the black-robed Ji Ning exclaimed excitedly.

…