Chapter 12: The Attitude of the Xia Emperor

"Senior Red Snow, this Pure Yang True Immortal is skilled in the Grand Dao of Qiankun. I must ask the seven of you for help!" Ji Ning's second soul sent a plea for help. Knowing that Ji Ning was in danger, Red Snow and the other six Celestial Gods had long since come from their world into the Water Mansion. They hadn't expected Ji Ning to call in their promise so soon.

In fact, Ji Ning had previously shot seven arrows to buy some time, while also channeling his Return to Void primordial energy to activate the Great Teleportation talisman. The time he had bought was sufficient, but the Great Teleportation had still failed.

There were countless 'Grand Daos' in the heavens and earth. Who would have thought he would encounter someone who had fully comprehended the Grand Dao of Qiankun? In the presence of such an existence, even Great Teleportation was impossible.

"Junior apprentice-brother." Yu Wei looked at Ji Ning with anxiety. The Palace Immortal and Tonghe Celestial Immortal were also extremely anxious but helpless.

"Die." The Flowing Brightness True Immortal's face twisted with murderous intent.

Just then—

"Ji Ning, you are saved." Suddenly, the voice of the yellow-furred bear rang out in Ji Ning's mind.

"Boom~~~"

In the void between Flowing Brightness True Immortal and Ji Ning, a black passage suddenly appeared. The black passage frantically tore through the void, and a man in a black imperial robe stepped through it.

"The Xia Emperor?"

"Your Majesty?"

The Palace Immortal, Yu Wei, and Tonghe Celestial Immortal all showed expressions of excitement and joy.

The one who had stepped through the black passage was none other than the black-robed Xia Emperor. As he emerged, he pointed a finger, and a beam of golden light flew out, transforming into a golden dragon that directly knocked away the black-and-white great seal. He cast a cold glance at the distant, maddened Flowing Brightness True Immortal: "Flowing Brightness, how dare you cause trouble in my Great Xia!"

Ji Ning also breathed a sigh of relief.

"I apologize for disturbing the seven seniors earlier." In the Water Mansion, the black-robed Ji Ning was bowing.

Beside him, the yellow-furred bear said with a smile, "Now that the Xia Emperor has appeared, there is no need for the seven of you to act."

"Does this count as fulfilling the promise?" The enchanting Snow Scorpion Celestial God laughed.

"No, of course not." Ji Ning quickly said.

Seeing Ji Ning like this, the seven Celestial Gods all laughed.

"Haha..."

"We won't hold it against you."

However, Red Snow Celestial God soon became serious: "But Ji Ning, I must remind you: before, in the ancient ruins world, your master Patriarch Subhuti acted without much concern. But now we are in the Three Realms... the enemy is powerful, and Patriarch Subhuti will have many concerns. Even if he acts, he might not be able to save you."

"I understand." Ji Ning nodded. He certainly understood that his master was also treading on thin ice during this great calamity.

"Moreover, your master cannot always be dreaming of the Three Realms. When you are in danger, he may not know." Red Snow Celestial God said.

Ji Ning nodded.

Yes.

His master had not given him a talisman, and when he was in danger, he had no way to notify his master.

"We promised to help you once, but only once." Red Snow Celestial God said. "Your master is far away and cannot quench your immediate thirst. Look, you encountered danger not long after returning this time. You should understand... you must be more careful in this calamity."

Ji Ning nodded: "My return, wreathed in karmic fire, has certainly drawn the attention of the Heartless Sect. They have long regarded me as a great enemy... In this calamity, I have come to realize that since I cannot hide my edge, I might as well let it shine. Let more powerful figures notice me and deem me worthy of their help!"

"Although the Heartless Sect is arrogant, they have always operated in the shadows, showing that they have their concerns. My master's side also has many powerful experts." Ji Ning smiled. "As long as I gather enough allies, I will be safe."

"Finally using your head a bit." Red Snow Celestial God smiled. "With enough allies, you might even survive the tribulation without the seven of us having to act."

...

Outside.

The moment the black-robed Xia Emperor appeared, Flowing Brightness True Immortal grew even more furious: "Xia Mang, you would block me and become my enemy?"

"It seems you have long since joined the Heartless Sect. Since we are on different sides, we have long been enemies." The black-robed Xia Emperor said calmly. "I suggest you scram far away, get out of my Great Xia." Although he had an absolute advantage in strength, the Xia Emperor knew that his opponent was skilled in the Grand Dao of Qiankun and was extremely good at escaping.

Flowing Brightness True Immortal took a deep breath. He also did not want to be an enemy of the Xia Emperor, for the Xia Emperor had an extraordinary background, possessed several powerful innate spirit treasures, and was renowned. Earlier, Flowing Brightness had isolated the space, but the Xia Emperor had still torn through space and arrived. This was a transmission method similar to the 'Town Realm Tower,' capable of ignoring spatial isolation and forcibly tearing through space to teleport, using one of the Xia Emperor's innate spirit treasures, the 'One Thought Illuminating Heart Lamp.'

"I only need to kill this youth." Flowing Brightness True Immortal said coldly. "I can spare the other three."

The Xia Emperor glanced at him: "Scram out of my Great Xia immediately!"

Nonsense, he had come to save Ji Ning.

"You—" Flowing Brightness True Immortal was furious. "Xia Mang, today I want to see just how strong you, a descendant of the ancient imperial clan, really are!" Instantly, nine golden chains appeared around him, one end seemingly penetrating into the void, while the other end wildly surrounded the black-robed Xia Emperor.

This was his truly formidable combat technique, more silent and subtle, and more insidious.

As for the black-and-white great seal? Magical treasures flew faster than escape techniques, and the black-and-white great seal was more ferocious. He intended to use it to forcibly break through the formation restrictions and crush Ji Ning and the others to death.

"Showing off such tricks before me?" The black-robed Xia Emperor smiled coldly. A huge snow-white lotus appeared beneath his feet, spreading layer by layer in all directions, completely suppressing the void and also blocking the omnipresent nine golden chains.

"Destroy."

The Xia Emperor said softly.

Where there had been only a single beam of golden light before him, now three beams appeared. These three beams shot through the air, transforming into three winding golden dragons. The three golden dragons had different auras: one was more flamboyant and unrestrained, another was more gloomy and chilling, and the third seemed to come with goodwill, appearing harmless.

The three golden dragons with distinctly different auras made the distant Flowing Brightness True Immortal show an angry expression.

"Life, death, illusion, extinction—all are but fleeting splendor!"

Flowing Brightness True Immortal said coldly.

Immediately, the nine golden chains around him began to dance, causing the surrounding void to ripple like water.

"Sizzle sizzle sizzle~~~" After the three golden dragons flew in, they moved with increasing difficulty.

"Hmph."

The distant black-robed Xia Emperor's expression darkened. With a flip of his hand, a small bell appeared. The moment this small black bell appeared, "Dong~~~" a bell sound rang out.

"Pfft." Flowing Brightness True Immortal immediately spat out a mouthful of blood and gritted his teeth: "Fine, fine, fine. Xia Mang, since you insist on protecting this brat, we are irreconcilable!"

"You?" The black-robed Xia Emperor sneered, clearly disdainful.

"Then wait. This brat will die, he will definitely die!" Flowing Brightness True Immortal's eyes were filled with madness.

Whoosh.

Flowing Brightness True Immortal immediately used an escape technique. It was extremely difficult to stop someone who had fully comprehended the Grand Dao of Qiankun from escaping.

Even the Xia Emperor could only watch him flee.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Tonghe Celestial Immortal, the Palace Immortal, Yu Wei, and Ji Ning all flew over and expressed their gratitude.

The Xia Emperor turned and looked at Ji Ning and the other three, smiling: "It's good that you're safe. Earlier, I detected the battle here through my treasure and realized something was wrong when I saw Flowing Brightness appear. I wanted to use Great Teleportation to come, but that Flowing Brightness had isolated the space here, making Great Teleportation impossible. I had to forcibly tear through space and teleport over. Fortunately, I made it in time. If I had been a step slower..."

Ji Ning and the others understood why the Xia Emperor had only arrived at the last, most dangerous moment. Ji Ning had already asked the seven Celestial Gods for help.

Fortunately.

Fortunately, that promise had not been used.

"Ji Ning, you must be careful." The Xia Emperor said. "Although I don't know why Flowing Brightness True Immortal is so determined to kill you, I guess that among the Celestial Immortals you killed, there must be someone very close to him, which is why the usually graceful Flowing Brightness True Immortal has become so mad. A Pure Yang True Immortal who has comprehended the Grand Dao of Qiankun, bent on killing you—this is very dangerous."

"I understand." Ji Ning said solemnly.

"But in this great calamity, such danger is nothing." The Xia Emperor said. "The coming storms will grow more and more terrifying. This is my talisman. If you encounter danger, crush it immediately. As long as it's not a True God or Dao Ancestor, I am confident I can save you."

In terms of strength, the Xia Emperor was slightly inferior to Lü Dongbin.

However, the Xia Emperor had many life-saving items and could even hold out for a while against a True God or Dao Ancestor.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Ji Ning accepted the talisman.

"Prepare well." The Xia Emperor looked up at the sky. "After this probing, a war that will sweep across all of Great Xia is about to begin. As long as you are in Great Xia, you cannot avoid it." After speaking, the Xia Emperor took a step and vanished through the void.

Ji Ning looked at the talisman in his hand and revealed a smile.

Indeed.

Earlier, when he single-handedly fought the nine Celestial Immortals of the Shaoyin clan, he was already impressive. But in the eyes of the highly discerning Xia Emperor and Redwood Dao Ancestor, he was merely a fairly talented genius in the Three Realms, at most worth recruiting. But this time, he had fully revealed his edge, and even by ancient standards, he was probably the most monstrous among Return to Void cultivators. Although his enemies would be more wary, the Xia Emperor and Redwood Dao Ancestor would likely also value Ji Ning more.

As for the talisman in his hand, especially the Xia Emperor's words, 'If you encounter danger, crush it immediately. As long as it's not a True God or Dao Ancestor, I am confident I can save you,' this already showed his attitude. Even Patriarch Subhuti had never said such a thing.

...

The Fifth World.

In a majestic hall, the Heartless Sect leader, the Blood Cloud Tower master, and the Ten Thousand Demons Cave master were all present.

"Azure Fox."

Accompanied by an angry shout, Flowing Brightness True Immortal rushed in.

"Flowing Brightness." The azure-robed woman spoke.

"Azure Fox, why didn't you act? So close, so close! I was so close to saving little sister Purple Grass!" Flowing Brightness True Immortal was furious.

The azure-robed woman shook her head: "Purple Grass crushed both your talisman and mine at the same time. You have comprehended the Grand Dao of Qiankun, but I have not. Even if I had rushed over, I would have been slower than you!"

Flowing Brightness True Immortal was choked. Indeed, he had been too angry earlier.

"I want to kill that brat." Flowing Brightness True Immortal's eyes glowed with a terrifying red light as he roared, "I want him dead."

...