Chapter 15: Protection

The nine commanders, including Ji Ning, had all returned to their respective camps. The camp was vast, and Ji Ning walked toward his dwelling.

"General."

"General."

When the Celestial Immortals and countless loose immortals saw Ji Ning, they all called out. Ji Ning smiled and responded, even calling out some of their names: "Daoist Ruohan, Daoist Dongzixiu..." He could feel the genuine reverence from these immortal soldiers. When he had commanded the legion in the Grand Xia capital, the immortals had only followed him because of the Xia Emperor's orders, but the battle just now had completely won them over. In the midst of the great tribulation, following a powerful leader greatly increased their chances of survival.

Being revered filled Ji Ning's heart with fighting spirit, but also with pressure.

He soon reached his dwelling.

Yu Wei, dressed in white, was already waiting at the door.

"You're back," Yu Wei said with a smile. "I just heard other immortals talking. Our Northsea legion won a great victory this time, killing several hundred Celestial Immortals and tens of thousands of loose immortals."

"Yes, but our Xishui legion also suffered heavy losses," Ji Ning said as he stepped inside. He couldn't help but look at the room in surprise. "Eh?"

The dwelling, though belonging to a commander, was quite spacious.

But before, it had been very plain, without any decoration.

Now, however, paintings hung on the walls, fine furniture was placed inside, and a study had even been partitioned off. On the desk were brush, ink, paper, and an inkstone, with three brushes hanging on a brush rack. Ji Ning usually liked to write and paint when relaxing. At the very back, a small resting room had been partitioned off for the two of them to sleep in.

On an exquisite black wooden table in the room were some fine foods.

"Senior apprentice-sister, you work so fast," Ji Ning said with a laugh. "I was only gone a short while, and the home has been completely transformed, even with a meal ready."

"This campaign will probably last a long time. This place will be our home for a while, so of course I had to make it look nice. Just now, when I saw the Xia Emperor summon you nine commanders to the main hall, I took the opportunity to prepare some dishes," Yu Wei said with a smile. "Since it's your first battle back, we have to celebrate."

"Yes, celebrate." Ji Ning sat down immediately, picked up his chopsticks, and took a piece of crystal-clear meat shaped like a pineapple. He ate it. It was indeed his senior apprentice-sister's cooking; he could tell at once. Back when they had lived together at the Black-White College, Yu Wei had often cooked for him.

"Not bad, delicious," Ji Ning praised. "Sit down too."

Yu Wei also sat down and ate with him.

Ji Ning and Yu Wei ate together, chatting idly. His heart, still agitated from the battle, had become utterly calm. In the past, when he was by his parents' side, he felt peace of mind. Now, with his senior apprentice-sister, he also felt peace.

Ji Ning glanced at Yu Wei, who was patting her belly and eating very slowly, and silently vowed: "Even though the great tribulation has arrived, I, Ji Ning, swear that I will do everything in my power to protect you, and also protect our future child." All of this needed his protection, and it was now the most important thing to him.

...

Within the Water Mansion, in the Star Hall, before the thatched cottage.

Ji Ning's true body condensed a solid immortal sword in his hand and directly began practicing sword techniques. Sword light flowed, and sword energy crisscrossed.

"I must comprehend the entire Dao of the Sword as quickly as possible, and also create a mental and soul technique," Ji Ning said, stopping. A hint of joy appeared in his eyes. "Although the fight with the Undermoon Sect was brief, the life-and-death struggle has greatly helped my insights into the Dao of the Sword."

In such battles, both sides were intent on killing each other.

There was no holding back!

This kind of completely ethereal, desperate combat was astonishingly effective for improving sword techniques. For example, consider mortals on Earth: one who trains for a few years in a martial arts school, and another who is forced into a life-and-death struggle with someone else. If the latter survives just a few such fights, he could probably kill the former in a single exchange.

Life and death... indeed hold great power!

"With prolonged fighting ahead, I must work even harder to comprehend the Dao of the Sword and achieve mastery as soon as possible." Ji Ning was already approaching the bottleneck of the Dao of the Sword; once he passed it, he would achieve mastery.

"I've barely touched the threshold of the mental energy circulation technique, but to create it..." Ji Ning frowned at the thought of the mental energy circulation technique, as it was clearly much more difficult.

Touching the threshold was relatively easy.

Because mental energy and the soul are closely related. Even without any technique, a strong mental energy greatly aids in controlling treasures with the soul. So Ji Ning quickly touched the threshold. But to continue delving deeper, comprehending the many manipulation techniques to achieve perfect mental energy and soul circulation, was too difficult.

"Time to start training in the Eight-Nine Arcane Art."

Ji Ning immediately sat cross-legged in front of the thatched cottage and took out a bottle of pills.

He opened the stopper, glanced at it, and nodded: "The Xia Emperor is indeed generous. Just a little will be enough for me to reach the sixth cycle."

He directly took out a golden Grand Empyrean Immortal Pill and tossed it into his mouth. Although the pill's medicinal power was astonishing, with his foundation of the fifth cycle of the Eight-Nine Arcane Art, he could fully withstand it.

...

On the square of the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

Nine ten-thousand-zhang Punishment Gods stood there, along with four equally towering divine golems.

"Ji Ning, the nine of you spar with them properly and let them get familiar with this level of combat," said the black-robed Xia Emperor and the others, who were watching. The Xia Emperor gave the order.

"Yes."

The nine Punishment Gods all looked at the four golems.

Of these four golems, three belonged to the Xia Emperor, and one was originally Ji Ning's. It should be noted that the Xia Emperor originally had two thousand Celestial Immortals under his command. A few had been sent to replenish the Xishui legion, and some had been assigned to operate the divine golems. Divine golems required Celestial Immortals to operate; loose immortals were useless.

"Careful," Ji Ning said.

"Daoist Beiming, go ahead and come at us," the four divine golems said cautiously.

Ji Ning and the other eight exchanged glances, then grinned slightly. With a whoosh, they all charged forward at once.

Nine Punishment Gods against four golems?

Normally, a single Punishment God could suppress two golems.

Ji Ning alone could fight four golems. When all nine attacked together... they were naturally bullying these divine golems.

"Boom, rumble~~~"

The fight was earth-shattering.

But the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, being a先天灵宝, was much more stable than the outside world. Even the ground was unharmed. Ji Ning and the others went all out, wielding saber techniques, sword techniques, staff techniques, and axe techniques, sending the four divine golems flying back again and again. The four golems were resilient, quickly getting up and continuing to fight, because sparring with their own people was about gaining experience, while fighting the Undermoon Sect would be a life-and-death struggle.

After a moment.

"Stop," the Xia Emperor said.

The nine Punishment Gods and four divine golems immediately stopped.

"How do you feel?" the Xia Emperor asked.

"Their strength is about the same as the Undermoon Sect's divine golems," Ji Ning said.

"No difference," said Tonghe Celestial Immortal and the others.

The Xia Emperor nodded: "As I guessed. We've tested these divine golems many times and found that one hundred and fifty Celestial Immortals operating one golem is optimal. If there are more Celestial Immortals, the golem's power increases only slightly. If fewer, the power drops significantly. One hundred and fifty is a critical turning point."

"Only one hundred and fifty Celestial Immortals?" Ji Ning exclaimed. "Then these four only use six hundred Celestial Immortals. Yet they can hold me off."

Ji Ning knew well how troublesome these divine golems were.

The Xia Emperor shook his head: "Their power comes mainly from the golems themselves. These divine golems are extremely rare... With yours added, I only have four. Even the Undermoon Sect has very few divine golems. Otherwise, if they deployed a large group of them, wouldn't we be doomed?"

Ji Ning and the others all nodded.

"Divine golems are hard to forge, and the cost is high. At least we can't forge them here," the Xia Emperor said with a sigh. "The core formation diagram of the divine golems has been targeted for theft by our True Gods and Dao Ancestors several times, but they all failed."

"The Undermoon Sect is that skilled at forging golems?" Tonghe Celestial Immortal and a few others didn't know.

"Of course they are. In terms of golems, they far surpass us. There's no denying that," the Xia Emperor said.

Ji Ning nodded.

The outpost where his junior apprentice-brother Mu Zishuo had been imprisoned was just a small outpost, yet the golems forged there were already astonishing. Even his junior apprentice-brother was shocked by their golem techniques. And that small outpost probably only used the basics of the Undermoon Sect's profound golem forging methods.

"The core formation diagram of the golems is the most precious," the Xia Emperor said. "If we could get our hands on it, we could also produce divine golems. The Undermoon Sect has other amazing golems, even more powerful than divine golems. If we could obtain a core formation diagram, it would greatly benefit our side in the situation of the Three Realms. A single diagram is more important than the gain or loss of our entire Grand Xia world. But it's unobtainable."

Ji Ning and the others all understood.

Even the leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist sects, the ancient imperial clan, and Bodhi of the One Dream Three Realms couldn't get it, which showed how strictly the Undermoon Sect guarded such core diagrams.

"If I could get one..." The Xia Emperor's eyes showed an irrepressible longing.

If he did.

Then perhaps all the True Gods and Dao Ancestors of the Nuwa camp would thank him. It should be noted that the Undermoon Sect's top-tier golems could even threaten True Gods and Dao Ancestors. This was one of the terrifying aspects that made the Nuwa camp wary of the Undermoon Sect. Within the Undermoon camp, there was even a separate faction, the 'Ten Thousand Demons Cave,' dedicated to forging golems. The Nuwa camp had tried to infiltrate it to get the diagrams, but failed.

"Alright." The Xia Emperor stopped his random thoughts and looked at Ji Ning and the others. "Rest for a while. The Undermoon Sect's forces are already showing off. Prepare for battle."

As he spoke, the Xia Emperor waved his hand, and a void image appeared beside him. In the void image, four White-Faced Flood Dragons and nine divine golems were visible. Clearly, the heavily damaged White-Faced Flood Dragon had been replenished. The Undermoon Sect, like the Xia Emperor, had reserves of Celestial Immortals and loose immortals.

Ji Ning stared at the void image.

Kill one! That would be a great achievement!

"We must win."

At this moment, the image that appeared in Ji Ning's heart was of Yu Wei patting her belly. This was what he would fight to protect with all his might, and it filled him with boundless battle intent!

They rested briefly.

Then, whoosh whoosh whoosh... the nine Punishment Gods simultaneously disappeared from the Eight Dragons Cloudcity and appeared outside.

...