Chapter 12: Winged Serpent Lake

Three black swift beasts galloped across the wilderness.

"Young master," Qiuye couldn't help but say, "That Jiang He's child bears great hatred toward you. If left to grow, he may bring harm to you in the future."

Ji Ning glanced at Mowu on the other side.

Qiuye quickly added, "It's not that Mowu told me; I saw you were unhappy and thought it over, but still felt I had to speak."

Ji Ning sighed. "The one I hate is Jiang He. His child has no grievance with me. When I seek revenge, why should I harm his son?"

"But when tribes go to war, they usually eliminate threats..." Qiuye began.

"I understand," Ji Ning nodded. "For the survival of the tribe, any means are justified. But can a mere child affect my Ji clan? My clan rules this land; we have executed countless people, and there are countless who secretly hate us. Our rule depends not on avoiding offense, but on our own strength!"

Qiuye seemed thoughtful.

"Even if you offend no one, if you are not strong, others will still destroy you," Ji Ning said calmly. "But if you are strong, those enemies may secretly resent you, yet outwardly they will remain respectful. After a hundred years, their descendants may truly submit to my clan."

"And for a cultivator, cultivation places greater importance on the heart," Ji Ning said.

The heart unites with heaven! Unity of heaven and man!

The heart comprehends the Dao, grasping its true meaning!

Ji Ning understood well: a cultivator must follow his true heart. The clearer and more transparent the heart, the faster the progress in cultivation.

"Going against one's true heart brings suffering and causes cultivation to stagnate or even regress," Ji Ning shook his head. "I, Ji Ning, will kill only the one I intend to kill, not harm his wife and children. That is my true heart!"

In his past life, tormented by illness, Ji Ning had always been lonely. Those who spend time alone often think deeply; some become mad, while others see through their own hearts and become wise. Ji Ning had seen through his own heart, which allowed him to become more open-minded and calm. In this life, without seeing through his own heart, how could he have the perseverance to train hard every day?

Qiuye and Mowu exchanged glances.

True heart?

They didn't understand!

"Enough," Ji Ning said, seeing their expressions. "Don't dwell on it. Let's go to Winged Serpent Lake."

"Young master, not to Black Tooth Tribe? You said earlier... you wanted to take care of Chuncao's younger brother?" Qiuye asked.

"No rush," Ji Ning shook his head. "I'll go to Winged Serpent Lake first, kill the great demon Winged Serpent, then go to Black Tooth Tribe. The root of all this trouble is the Winged Serpent. Chuncao's two younger brothers, one died at its hands. I will avenge Chuncao with its death, and then take her only remaining brother to West Prefecture City."

"Let's go."

Ji Ning lightly tapped the black swift beast's belly, and it sped up, galloping swiftly.

Qiuye and Mowu followed, heading toward Winged Serpent Lake.

...

Traveling by day and resting at night, even with the swift black swift beasts crossing mountains and rivers, it took over three days to reach a spot not far from Winged Serpent Lake.

"Greetings, young master."

Ten black-armored guards knelt on one knee in unison.

Ji Ning, seated on the black swift beast, glanced at them and nodded, then ordered, "Mowu, Qiuye, you two rest at this outpost. Winged Serpent Lake is just a few dozen li ahead; I can't take you further. I'll go alone."

"Yes." Mowu and Qiuye replied respectfully.

Ji Ning dismounted, then with a leap, he shot forward like a great bird, disappearing from the sight of the ten black-armored guards, Mowu, and Qiuye in just two flashes. The black-armored guards, seeing Ji Ning's movement technique for the first time, stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Winged Serpent Lake was now a forbidden area.

The Ji clan had deployed dozens of scattered squads, each of ten black-armored guards, stationed around the lake to monitor the great demon Winged Serpent.

...

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh..." Winged Serpent Lake, a hundred li in circumference, was vast beyond sight. Even without wind, waves rose three feet high.

Ji Ning stood on the shore, gazing at the lake, and murmured, "This lake is truly unfathomable. Even with my water-control abilities, if I enter the depths, my speed would be far inferior to the great demon Winged Serpent's."

The deeper one goes, the greater the water pressure, and water control becomes more difficult.

A human's strength is reduced to less than a tenth underwater, while water creatures can perform beyond their normal limits.

"Though I'm strong now, compared to a great demon at the Xiantian perfection level... I'm probably only slightly stronger," Ji Ning thought. This was after cultivating the 'Windwing Evasion Art' and comprehending the true meaning of the Dao. After all, the strength of the fourth level of 'Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens' was roughly equivalent to a late-stage Xiantian divine-body cultivator.

Compared to the great demon Winged Serpent, he was still slightly lacking in raw power.

Swoosh!

Ji Ning took a step and shot out a li, walking on the water as if on solid ground.

"Winged Serpent!" Ji Ning suddenly shouted.

"Winged Serpent!" "Winged Serpent!" "Winged Serpent!" ... The sound rolled like thunder, spreading rapidly through the air and penetrating deep into the lake.

A moment later—

In a deep, winding lair at the bottom of the lake, the great demon Winged Serpent lay coiled in sleep, its huge scaly bone wings wrapped around its body.

"Winged Serpent!" A voice reached it through the water.

The sleeping great demon Winged Serpent suddenly opened its crimson eyes.

"What's going on?" the great demon Winged Serpent growled. "Go investigate at once."

"Yes."

From outside came the fearful roars of some minor water demons. Though most humans couldn't understand their language, the minor demons could understand each other.

...

Two black-armored guards were hiding in the weeds by the lakeshore.

"Winged Serpent?"

"Someone's provoking the Winged Serpent." The two guards exchanged startled glances, then looked into the distance, but they were dozens of li away and couldn't see Ji Ning.

"I'll keep watch here; you go report."

Over a dozen black-armored guards were keeping watch around the lake. Three guards near Ji Ning spotted him and recognized him—they had been transferred from West Prefecture City specifically for this duty.

"It's Young Master Ji Ning."

"Young Master Ji Ning is provoking the Winged Serpent? He's truly impressive, walking on water as if on land, just like Commander Ji Yichuan before him!"

"Enough talk, go report this."

...

The black-armored guards were shocked and quickly began relaying the news to their respective squads. But given their speed, it would probably take a day for the news to reach West Prefecture City.

Ji Ning continued walking calmly across the vast lake.

Splash, splash...

The head of a large green shrimp and the head of a big black fish broke the surface, gazing into the distance.

"A human youth?" The two minor demons exchanged glances.

Splash!

They quietly dove back into the deep water and swiftly swam toward the Winged Serpent's underwater lair.

"Great king, great king, there's a human youth on the water's surface," the green shrimp and black fish minor demons growled.

"A human youth?" The Winged Serpent spread its scaly bone wings, its crimson eyes fixed on the two minor demons, who trembled and nodded.

"But this human youth walks on water just like that Ji Yichuan did, not sinking at all," the green shrimp minor demon quickly added, and the black fish nodded in agreement.

"Walking on water without sinking?"

The great demon Winged Serpent transformed into black mist and then into a black-clad man.

The black-clad man stood there, his narrow eyes full of doubt. By nature, serpents are suspicious, and having been hunted and ambushed by several Xiantian lifeforms of the Ji clan, he was already a nervous wreck. Now a human youth who could walk on water appeared to provoke him—how could he not be suspicious?

"Have you seen him before?" the black-clad man asked the two minor demons.

"No, no. We remember clearly the few Xiantian lifeforms who came to Winged Serpent Lake before. This human youth is definitely not any of them," the green shrimp minor demon said quickly, and the black fish nodded.

The black-clad man nodded. "I'll go take a look."

Swoosh!

He quietly slipped out of the underwater lair's tunnel. In human form, his speed underwater was far slower than in his true form, but his true form was so large that surfacing would cause a commotion and surely be detected.

"Who is it?" The black-clad man quickly and quietly surfaced, looking around.

In the distance, about eight or nine li away, he saw a youth in animal skins, clean-featured, walking casually on the water. The area around the youth was empty, with no other human experts.

"It's him!"

The black-clad man's narrow eyes suddenly blazed with fierce killing intent.

Murderous rage!

Hatred!

Surged into his heart instantly, causing the water around him to tremble.

Ji Ning, sensing something, turned his head and saw him. Though the great demon was in human form, Ji Ning immediately recognized it as the Winged Serpent.

"Great demon Winged Serpent!" Ji Ning roared in anger.

The black-clad man gave Ji Ning a cold glare, then slowly sank back into the deep water.

"Winged Serpent," Ji Ning quickly walked across the water to that spot, looking down and shouting, "Don't you want to kill me? Don't you hate me to the bone? Come on, come on... I'm here waiting for you to kill me."

Deep underwater.

The black-clad man's narrow eyes burned with rage. He desperately wanted to rush up and devour Ji Ning's flesh.

"That red serpent, I killed it with my own hands."

"Haha, I killed it with one sword stroke. So fragile." The voice from above kept provoking the Winged Serpent's inner fury.

The black-clad man's body trembled slightly as he suppressed his murderous intent. "I can't rush, I can't rush. Rushing would fall into the Ji clan's trap. The agreement between Poison Vulture Ridge and the Ji clan only confines me to Winged Serpent Lake for a hundred years, and at most the top-level Zifu cultivators won't act. But it doesn't say those Xiantian lifeforms can't attack me."

Humans and great demons fought fiercely.

But there was a taboo: the true leaders on both sides would not bully the weak by acting against lower-level beings. The Zifu old demon wouldn't kill... and the Ji clan's Zifu cultivators wouldn't come out to kill either.

After all, the Zifu stage was the foundation.

Once Zifu cultivators fought and one fell, it would shake the tribe's foundation. Neither humans nor demons wanted to destabilize each other's foundations.

"That Ji Ning's surroundings are empty, no one else," the black-clad man's eyes flickered with malice. "But how could he come to die? His father Ji Yichuan and other Xiantian lifeforms are probably nearby, hidden by some concealment formation. If I rush out, I'll be surrounded and attacked instantly."