Chapter 47: Shennong and Bodhi

Primordial Dao Ancestor glanced at the immortal wine, vessels, and the shattered black jade bottle on the table, then looked at the wooden-faced Ji Ning. The look in Ji Ning's eyes made Primordial Dao Ancestor shake his head.

“Alas!” He immediately waved his sleeve and left.

“Master.”

Just as Primordial Dao Ancestor exited Ji Ning's room, he ran into Xia Emperor.

After all, the Eight Dragons Cloudcity was Xia Emperor's treasure, and Xia Emperor was second only to Primordial Dao Ancestor in discovering this matter.

“Master.” Xia Emperor called out.

“Defeated, defeated.” Primordial Dao Ancestor shook his head and sighed. “In this realm war, our Crimsonbright Realm has suffered countless casualties. I thought with the help of the Human Sovereign Shennong, we could win a battle. Who would have thought that Ji Ning's Dao companion, Yu Wei, a disciple of Lü Dongbin, was also a spy planted by the Void Sect. It made all our efforts come to naught!”

“Don’t we still have one dose of Shennong’s medicine?” Xia Emperor asked.

“It’s useless.” Primordial Dao Ancestor sighed. “The Void Sect’s Celestial God puppet requires a full hundred Celestial Immortals to operate. But the Dao Ancestor puppet only needs a single Pure Yang True Immortal, because it contains a core formation that can convert the power of ‘Chaos Source Stones’ into chaotic force, making it immensely strong… The Dao Ancestor puppet has layers of internal defenses. Even if I personally attacked, whether with mental attacks or other means, I couldn’t penetrate it. This Shennong’s medicine also cannot penetrate the Dao Ancestor puppet.”

“Now that Ji Ning’s dose is gone, only the last dose remains. The Void Sect’s Dao Ancestor puppet will surely target it. With the puppet’s intervention, our side cannot protect that dose.”

Primordial Dao Ancestor was helpless.

“Can’t one dose of Shennong’s medicine be split into two smaller parts?” Xia Emperor asked.

“What do you think it is? It is a complete dose of medicine, inseparable. Only because it is complete does it have such power.” Primordial Dao Ancestor shook his head. “If it could be split, I would have divided it into dozens or hundreds of portions long ago.”

“Is there no way then?” Xia Emperor was anxious and unwilling.

He truly could not accept it.

The Grand Xia world he ruled, the world he had poured endless efforts into, the homeland of his lineage, the ‘Xiamang clan’—was it to be lost like this?

“No way.” Primordial Dao Ancestor shook his head. “We can only seek out the Human Sovereign Shennong again and see if they have any ideas. But the Human Sovereign has already done enough. Alas… Ji Ning still has the antidote. Go and distribute the antidote, first rescue the Pure Yang True Immortals and Celestial Immortals.”

“Yes.” Xia Emperor nodded, then quickly said, “Master, please don’t blame Ji Ning. I saw through the door that Ji Ning is completely stunned by the blow… His Dao companion turned out to be a spy planted by the Void Sect. This hit Ji Ning the hardest—his most beloved Dao companion was a spy, an enemy. Alas…”

“Of course I won’t blame him. Yu Wei was a spy, but Ji Ning is a warrior on our side.” Primordial Dao Ancestor also turned and looked through the door at Ji Ning. “I just hope Ji Ning isn’t too deeply affected. Snowdance was killed by the one she loved most, and though Ji Ning didn’t die, the heartache is probably similar. Help out a bit, don’t let others blame Ji Ning. After all, he has only been cultivating for a short time.”

“Yes.” Xia Emperor replied respectfully.

…

“What? Yu Wei is a spy?”

“She caused the deaths of so many immortals.”

“Brother Northmont is too pitiful. His most beloved Dao companion turned out to be an enemy spy.”

“This Ji Ning is truly foolish. At a critical moment, the Shennong’s medicine was so precious, yet he wasn’t careful.”

Soon, the many Celestial Gods and True Immortals in the Eight Dragons Cloudcity learned of this. Each was unwilling to accept it, and some were even a bit angry at Ji Ning. But most felt sorry for him.

“Everyone, don’t disturb Ji Ning.” Xia Emperor also prevented many from visiting.

Only those with deep friendship with Ji Ning went to visit.

Dong Yan True Immortal looked in from the doorway.

“That such a thing happened to him.” Dong Yan True Immortal sighed softly. “But as far as I know, when a Void Sect spy’s identity is exposed, they are usually extremely ruthless, showing no mercy. This Yu Wei didn’t kill Ji Ning…”

“Regardless, Yu Wei is dead.” Xia Emperor nodded. “Ji Ning will surely hate the Void Sect even more… This Void Sect truly stops at nothing, has no bottom line, and deserves to die.”

…

In midair above the Grand Xia world.

A figure in a green robe carrying a flying sword gazed from afar at the Eight Dragons Cloudcity, pain in his eyes. He sighed softly: “Silly child.”

“She kept it hidden all along. I noticed she was hiding something, but never expected she was truly a Void Sect spy. Yet her nature wasn’t bad.” Lü Dongbin’s eyes held grief. “At least over the years, with Ji Ning’s trust in her, she could have killed him long ago. And in the end, when she destroyed the black jade bottle, she didn’t harm Ji Ning.”

“Utter annihilation?”

“Rather than let her soul return to the Void Sect, she chose utter annihilation?” Lü Dongbin shook his head.

The God King of the Void Sect could forcibly take away the soul of a controlled person, but Yu Wei chose utter annihilation.

“The reason she crushed the black jade bottle was probably to repay a kindness.”

“I’ve long heard that many spies of the Void Sect are fanatically devoted to that God King, willing to die for him. No wonder he’s a disciple of the Heart Demon Lord… His skill at manipulating hearts is indeed impressive. This silly child destroyed the black jade bottle to repay the God King’s kindness, then killed herself, not wanting to leave Ji Ning with any lingering attachments?” Lü Dongbin, who had wandered the world and seen countless joys and sorrows, naturally understood Yu Wei’s thoughts.

She was just a silly girl.

She truly thought the God King was good to her.

“To the God King, she was just a slave soldier.” Lü Dongbin shook his head. “But Ji Ning… alas…”

Lü Dongbin was also helpless.

Ji Ning was indeed supremely talented, showing astonishing brilliance at the start of the great calamity. But now the most important person in his heart had died and departed. Such a blow… Lü Dongbin could do nothing; Ji Ning had to get through it on his own.

…

Beyond the Three Realms, at the end of the endless void, lay the boundless chaos.

Chaos held infinite possibilities.

In ancient times, chaos gave birth to countless gods and demons: Pangu, Nuwa, Ancestor Dragon, Phoenix, Candle Dragon, Three Lives Daoist, Bodhi, Primordial, and others. The most powerful, Pangu, directly split heaven and earth, creating the vast ‘Ancient Pangu World,’ and in doing so, perished on the spot.

If another Pangu existed, he could open up another world in the chaos.

After all, chaos is endless… Goddess Nuwa entered the endless chaos and never returned.

In a region of chaos close to the Three Realms.

“Whoosh~~~”

A patch of medicinal fields lay in the chaos. Beside the fields was a thatched hut, and by the hut sat two people facing each other. One was the white-haired and white-bearded Patriarch Bodhi; the other wore simple clothes, with disheveled hair and beard, like an old farmer in the fields, but his eyes were vast and distant, bringing peace to the heart.

He was one of the Three Sovereigns of humanity: Shennong!

Among the Three Sovereigns, Suiren was the most ancient, and Fuxi wore a gossamer robe with the Eight Trigrams—both seemed extraordinary. Only Shennong was the most plain, like an old farmer in the fields.

“This encounter will likely become a heart demon for your disciple.” Shennong personally poured tea for Bodhi. The tea was murky but gave off an enticing fragrance.

“The Void Sect’s infiltration methods are indeed formidable, leaving no trace.” Bodhi shook his head. “I carefully considered Yu Wei’s past and present lives. It seems that in her past life, she suffered too much, turned into a demon, and killed wantonly. In that endless slaughter, she might have been controlled by the Heart Demon, naturally guided, and eventually became a pawn of that God King.”

“Mm.” Shennong nodded.

Knowing Yu Wei was a spy and then seeking the cause, one could guess this.

But if one didn’t know Yu Wei was a spy, there was no way to guess. After all, too many cultivators kill madly. And some fall into demonic ways due to mad killing, while others might be guided by heart demons during the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations—it’s hard to tell from the outside.

“This time, Primordial will lose.” Shennong shook his head. “The two doses of immortal medicine I just refined were made from rare herbs I found in the chaos. The materials are hard to come by. I’ve cultivated them in my fields, but even with time acceleration, it will take at least a hundred years for a new batch to grow.”

“If Primordial loses, he will naturally lead his army away from the Grand Xia world. What do you plan to do with your disciple?” Shennong asked.

Because no life-or-death battle was happening at the moment.

To retreat, they could easily withdraw.

By tearing open the void, they could leave easily.

“Ji Ning has Three Lives’ Star Picking Hand and is talented in heartforce. But I think his talent in the sword is even greater.” Bodhi sighed. “Ji Ning has the potential to grow into another ‘Houyi.’”

“Houyi?” Shennong nodded lightly.

Houyi was one who, as a Celestial God, had slain a Dao Ancestor—a myth.

“He has indeed been hit hard, but misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. Perhaps it will temper his state of mind.” Bodhi Dao Ancestor shook his head. “This kind of emotional matter can only be resolved by himself. I can’t do anything.”

…

Inside the Eight Dragons Cloudcity.

In Ji Ning’s room.

Ji Ning had stood up and began to tidy the table, carefully putting away the immortal wine and vessels one by one. He also gathered the fragments of the black jade bottle.

“Ji Ning.”

“Eighth Brother.”

Tonghe Celestial Immortal, Ten Thousand Beasts Celestial Immortal, Madman Celestial Immortal, and others all arrived.

“Don’t be sad.” Ten Thousand Beasts Celestial Immortal patted Ji Ning’s shoulder and said, “No one could have predicted this. Since Yu Wei was a spy, Eighth Brother, just forget her. Don’t keep torturing yourself inside.”

“Forget her.” Madman Celestial Immortal also said softly. “When Thousand Needles died, I was also in agony. But what can be done about such things? You have to look forward. Forget her, and it will be easier.”

Ji Ning looked up at Madman, his voice hoarse: “Seventh Brother, can you forget?”