Volume 21 - Chapter 12

The world of the Grand Xia . An island atop the great Darknorth Sea .

Ji Ning was viewing the scenery before him . Although it was winter, the innate heat within this island kept it in perpetual spring . The island blossomed with flowers and was quite beautiful to behold .

“Senior apprentice-sister . ”

“We’re going to meet again soon . Our family will be reunited . ” Ning still remembered how she looked, all those years ago, when she stroked her belly as she watched him train in the sword . That warm, loving environment…ever since the destruction of Shennong’s medicine and the shattering her soul, it had completely disappeared . For the sake of getting it back, Ning had risked his life and had done everything he could possibly do . Thankfully, he had been lucky enough to acquire the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, had been lucky enough to possess powerful heartforce, and had been lucky enough that senior Fuxi had created the Rahu Formation for him . This was the reason why he had been able to force the Seamless Gate to bow its head .

Finally…he and his daughter was going to be reunited with his wife . The three of them would be reunited once more, as a family .

Rumble…

A ripple of power descended . Startled, Ning turned his head to look .

A black-robed man was standing at the end of an upraised path in the distance . The black-robed man sauntered towards him, a smile on his face . “This island isn’t bad . It’s quite beautiful . Your Primaltwin remains on the Deerchaser world, but your true body has appeared . It seems you have emerged from Undermoon Lake . ”

“Yes . ” Ning nodded .

“Formidable, formidable . ” The black-robed Godking nodded, letting out a sigh of praise . “To tell you the truth, Ji Ning…although the two of us are on enemy sides, I admit I’m quite shocked and impressed that you were able to emerge from Undermoon Lake in just six hundred short years . Jueming entered during the Primordial Era and was only able to escape during the Three Realms era . ”

Ning said, “I’ve emerged . Isn’t it time for you to hold to your promise?”

“Did you bring the treasures I asked for?” The black-robed Godking laughed, “Per what I originally said, I would only release Yu Wei’s soul to you once you gave the treasures to me . ”

“I brought them . ” Ning’s heartrate began to speed up uncontrollably, but he was able to remain calm .

“I trust that you have the other two treasures…but what of the Iceheart Leaf?” The black-robed Godking laughed .

Ning waved his hand . A semi-transparent, crystalline Iceheart Leaf suddenly appeared, levitating above his hands .

“It really is an Iceheart Leaf . ” The black-robed Godking inspected it carefully, a slightly intoxicated look in his eyes . “It really is quite beautiful, just as the legends said it to be . This is my first time to see an Iceheart Leaf in person . Mmm…alright . You can destroy it now . ”

“Destroy it?” Ning’s heart sank . What was the meaning of this? Why was he being told to bring, then destroy the Iceheart Leaf?

“Now that I’ve seen it, it’s of no further use to me . ” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning . “I just wanted the chance to look at it, that’s all . ”

“I brought you the treasures that you asked for . Please give my senior apprentice-sister’s soul back to me,” Ning immediately said .

“Ahaha… . ” The black-robed Godking let out an ear-piercing laugh, an uproarious laugh, a crazy laugh . He laughed so hard, tears nearly came out of his eyes . His entire body trembled from laughter as he pointed a quavering hand at Ning . “Oh, Ji Ning, Ji Ning…and to think that you are a ‘peerless genius of this age’ . Haven’t you understood yet? When I told you to get me Iceheart Leaf, I simply wanted to force you into Undermoon Lake . The leaf, the other treasures…although they are of some use to me as a Daofather, they are meaningless to the Seamless Gate as a whole . Did you really think I would care about those three treasures?”

“All I wanted was for you to enter Undermoon Lake!”

“Although you managed to emerge after six hundred years…it was enough . It was enough . Our ‘Three Realms infiltration phase’ is complete . Our Seamless Gate is battling gainst your Nuwa Alliance on the Deerchaser world, and soon the entire war for karmic luck will be at an end . The infiltration phase is over . It no longer matters . ” The black-robed Godking roared with laughter . “If you came out after just one or two centuries, I’d probably have to come up with something else, but six hundred years? You are no longer a threat . ”

“No threat at all . ”

“Nowadays, our Seamless Gate’s forces are sent out in massive armies . You, a mere True Immortal with that feeble Rahu-something formation…what can you possibly do?” The black-robed Godking continued to roar with ear-piercing laughter like a madman .

Years ago, the Godking had been forced by Ning to bow his head . The Godking had been enraged to the point of wanting to kill Ning, but it wasn’t appropriate for him to personally act . However, the chance to see Ning enraged, see Ning feel despair…that would be even more delightful than simply killing him .

As the black-robed Godking laughed with abandon, he kept a careful watch over Ning, noting every single change in expression . He wanted to see Ning’s face become filled with panic and despair . Only then would the demon in his heart be satisfied! Other Immortal cultivators might be afraid of their dark side, but the Godking was a cultivator of Lord Demonheart’s arts . He himself was the veritable incarnation of a mental devil, while his master was the Lord of the Demonheart .

But…he was disappointed .

Ning just stood there . Stood there, not reacting at all .

Crack . Something suddenly seemed to shatter .

That woman who had quietly, blissfully watched with a smile on her face as Ning had trained in the sword…she was never coming back .

Pain!

Ning felt agonizing pain in his heart . Pain that made him feel nauseous . Pain that was about to drive him insane . He wanted to laugh…he wanted to roar…but he couldn’t make any sound at all . For many years now, the karmic sinflames had been constantly burning against his body, but Ning had never cared about the pain they brought . In this moment, however…the pain he felt was ten thousand times greater than the pain from the karmic sinflames .

“Ha…haha…”

Suddenly, a dry laugh rattled out from Ning’s mouth .

He sounded almost like a toddler who had just learned how to speak .

“Aha…ahaha…ahahaha… . ” Ning began to laugh wildly . He finally began to laugh, and his tears finally began to fall as well .

Upon seeing this, the black-robed Godking finally let out a satisfied smile . This was more like it . This was the reaction he had expected . For a brief moment, just now, the man hadn’t been reacting at all .

“Ahahaha…I knew all along that you weren’t worthy of my trust…” Ning’s eyes were completely bloodshot now . He laughed wildly, “I knew it all along . You, ‘Godking’, you toy with the hearts of men, causing chaos throughout the Three Realms . How could your promises be worth believing? But I still chose to believe, and I even entered Undermoon Lake, doing everything I could to return as soon as possible . ”

“I even impatiently ran over here to hand those three treasures over to you . I knew that your promises were as worthless as dogshit…but I still came . I held onto hope . A tiny shred of hope…hope…hope that she would be able to come back . ”

“I hoped that she would be able to come back . ”

“Brightmoon and I…we miss her . I want our family to be together again . That’s all I want . My family to be together . ”

“But you…finally…you have finally destroyed my last bit of hope . You destroyed it . ” Ning laughed so madly, he was shaking . “Ahaha…it was all just wishful thinking…I was just dreaming . I was lying to myself this entire time . Lying to myself . Telling myself that we could still be together . What a joke . I am such a joke . A joke!”

The black-robed Godking could sense how the heart of the youth before him had shattered . Could sense his agony . His despair . The destruction of that last shred of hope .

The Godking…was satisfied .

Was pleased .

This was more like it . This was true agony . This was true heartbreak .

The Godking looked at Ning . “It is time for you to wake up . You need to understand that at this current stage of the war, a single Empyrean God like you cannot have any impact at all . By now, only a large number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals joined together will have any effect . Still…I’m a man who appreciates talent . ”

“I’ll once more invite you to join the Seamless Gate . So long as you are willing to join us, you’ll immediately be able to reunite with your wife . Don’t you wish to be with her? Don’t you wish for your daughter to reunite with her mother? If you join the Seamless Gate, it will all happen . As a member of the Seamless Gate, you’ll be one of us…and I’ll naturally stop plotting against you . In fact, I’ll be quite good to you . You are a true expert amongst Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, after all . Although you won’t be able to change the course of the entire war for karmic luck, you’ll still be of some use . ”

“If you join the Seamless Gate now, you’ll be able to reunite with your wife . But if you refuse…well . She’ll be of no further use to me . I’ll kill her . I’ll shatter her soul . Ahahaha…”

“You have no other choices . ” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning .

Ning…was still bent over with laughter . “Joke . I’m a joke . ”

“Thank you . ” Ning straightened his back, raising his head to stare unblinkingly at the black-robed Godking .

The black-robed Godking’s heart skipped a beat .

What sort of a look was that? Such powerful heartforce…such a terrible gaze . If this was the gaze of an ordinary mortal, the Godking wouldn’t care at all, but this was Ji Ning, who had reached the fourth stage of heartforce . The black-robed Godking could sense that behind that gaze, there was an endless, blazing, burning hatred that not all the waters of the Three Realms would suffice to quench .

A desire to kill that had seeped into his spirit…his very truesoul itself .

“Thank you for destroying my hopes . Thank you for bringing my wishful thoughts to an end . Thank you…for freeing me from all my doubts . ”

“Let’s take it slow, you and I . The day is still young . Soon…I will make sure to properly thank you for all you have done . ”

After speaking, Ning turned and left, transforming into a streak of light .

“If you refuse, your wife will be useless to me . I will kill her,” the black-robed Godking immediately howled after him .

“My wife is already dead . I killed her!” Ning’s voice echoed in the air, but he himself had already departed from the Grand Xia .

Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 12 – Wishful Thinking.

The world of the Grand Xia . An island atop the great Darknorth Sea

Ji Ning was viewing the scenery before him . Although it was winter, the innate heat within this island kept it in perpetual spring . The island blossomed with flowers and was quite beautiful to behold

“Senior apprentice-sister . ”.

“We’re going to meet again soon . Our family will be reunited . ” Ning still remembered how she looked, all those years ago, when she stroked her belly as she watched him train in the sword . That warm, loving environment…ever since the destruction of Shennong’s medicine and the shattering her soul, it had completely disappeared . For the sake of getting it back, Ning had risked his life and had done everything he could possibly do . Thankfully, he had been lucky enough to acquire the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, had been lucky enough to possess powerful heartforce, and had been lucky enough that senior Fuxi had created the Rahu Formation for him . This was the reason why he had been able to force the Seamless Gate to bow its head

Finally…he and his daughter was going to be reunited with his wife . The three of them would be reunited once more, as a family

Rumble….

A ripple of power descended . Startled, Ning turned his head to look

A black-robed man was standing at the end of an upraised path in the distance . The black-robed man sauntered towards him, a smile on his face . “This island isn’t bad . It’s quite beautiful . Your Primaltwin remains on the Deerchaser world, but your true body has appeared . It seems you have emerged from Undermoon Lake . ”.

“Yes . ” Ning nodded

“Formidable, formidable . ” The black-robed Godking nodded, letting out a sigh of praise . “To tell you the truth, Ji Ning…although the two of us are on enemy sides, I admit I’m quite shocked and impressed that you were able to emerge from Undermoon Lake in just six hundred short years . Jueming entered during the Primordial Era and was only able to escape during the Three Realms era . ”.

Ning said, “I’ve emerged . Isn’t it time for you to hold to your promise?”.

“Did you bring the treasures I asked for?” The black-robed Godking laughed, “Per what I originally said, I would only release Yu Wei’s soul to you once you gave the treasures to me . ”.

“I brought them . ” Ning’s heartrate began to speed up uncontrollably, but he was able to remain calm

“I trust that you have the other two treasures…but what of the Iceheart Leaf?” The black-robed Godking laughed

Ning waved his hand . A semi-transparent, crystalline Iceheart Leaf suddenly appeared, levitating above his hands

“It really is an Iceheart Leaf . ” The black-robed Godking inspected it carefully, a slightly intoxicated look in his eyes . “It really is quite beautiful, just as the legends said it to be . This is my first time to see an Iceheart Leaf in person . Mmm…alright . You can destroy it now . ”.

“Destroy it?” Ning’s heart sank . What was the meaning of this? Why was he being told to bring, then destroy the Iceheart Leaf?.

“Now that I’ve seen it, it’s of no further use to me . ” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning . “I just wanted the chance to look at it, that’s all . ”.

“I brought you the treasures that you asked for . Please give my senior apprentice-sister’s soul back to me,” Ning immediately said

“Ahaha… . ” The black-robed Godking let out an ear-piercing laugh, an uproarious laugh, a crazy laugh . He laughed so hard, tears nearly came out of his eyes . His entire body trembled from laughter as he pointed a quavering hand at Ning . “Oh, Ji Ning, Ji Ning…and to think that you are a ‘peerless genius of this age’ . Haven’t you understood yet? When I told you to get me Iceheart Leaf, I simply wanted to force you into Undermoon Lake . The leaf, the other treasures…although they are of some use to me as a Daofather, they are meaningless to the Seamless Gate as a whole . Did you really think I would care about those three treasures?”.

“All I wanted was for you to enter Undermoon Lake!”.

“Although you managed to emerge after six hundred years…it was enough . It was enough . Our ‘Three Realms infiltration phase’ is complete . Our Seamless Gate is battling gainst your Nuwa Alliance on the Deerchaser world, and soon the entire war for karmic luck will be at an end . The infiltration phase is over . It no longer matters . ” The black-robed Godking roared with laughter . “If you came out after just one or two centuries, I’d probably have to come up with something else, but six hundred years? You are no longer a threat . ”.

“No threat at all . ”.

“Nowadays, our Seamless Gate’s forces are sent out in massive armies . You, a mere True Immortal with that feeble Rahu-something formation…what can you possibly do?” The black-robed Godking continued to roar with ear-piercing laughter like a madman

Years ago, the Godking had been forced by Ning to bow his head . The Godking had been enraged to the point of wanting to kill Ning, but it wasn’t appropriate for him to personally act . However, the chance to see Ning enraged, see Ning feel despair…that would be even more delightful than simply killing him

As the black-robed Godking laughed with abandon, he kept a careful watch over Ning, noting every single change in expression . He wanted to see Ning’s face become filled with panic and despair . Only then would the demon in his heart be satisfied! Other Immortal cultivators might be afraid of their dark side, but the Godking was a cultivator of Lord Demonheart’s arts . He himself was the veritable incarnation of a mental devil, while his master was the Lord of the Demonheart

But…he was disappointed

Ning just stood there . Stood there, not reacting at all

Crack . Something suddenly seemed to shatter

That woman who had quietly, blissfully watched with a smile on her face as Ning had trained in the sword…she was never coming back

Pain!.

Ning felt agonizing pain in his heart . Pain that made him feel nauseous . Pain that was about to drive him insane . He wanted to laugh…he wanted to roar…but he couldn’t make any sound at all . For many years now, the karmic sinflames had been constantly burning against his body, but Ning had never cared about the pain they brought . In this moment, however…the pain he felt was ten thousand times greater than the pain from the karmic sinflames

“Ha…haha…”.

Suddenly, a dry laugh rattled out from Ning’s mouth

He sounded almost like a toddler who had just learned how to speak

“Aha…ahaha…ahahaha… . ” Ning began to laugh wildly . He finally began to laugh, and his tears finally began to fall as well

Upon seeing this, the black-robed Godking finally let out a satisfied smile . This was more like it . This was the reaction he had expected . For a brief moment, just now, the man hadn’t been reacting at all

“Ahahaha…I knew all along that you weren’t worthy of my trust…” Ning’s eyes were completely bloodshot now . He laughed wildly, “I knew it all along . You, ‘Godking’, you toy with the hearts of men, causing chaos throughout the Three Realms . How could your promises be worth believing? But I still chose to believe, and I even entered Undermoon Lake, doing everything I could to return as soon as possible . ”.

“I even impatiently ran over here to hand those three treasures over to you . I knew that your promises were as worthless as dogshit…but I still came . I held onto hope . A tiny shred of hope…hope…hope that she would be able to come back . ”.

“I hoped that she would be able to come back . ”.

“Brightmoon and I…we miss her . I want our family to be together again . That’s all I want . My family to be together . ”.

“But you…finally…you have finally destroyed my last bit of hope . You destroyed it . ” Ning laughed so madly, he was shaking . “Ahaha…it was all just wishful thinking…I was just dreaming . I was lying to myself this entire time . Lying to myself . Telling myself that we could still be together . What a joke . I am such a joke . A joke!”.

The black-robed Godking could sense how the heart of the youth before him had shattered . Could sense his agony . His despair . The destruction of that last shred of hope

The Godking…was satisfied

Was pleased

This was more like it . This was true agony . This was true heartbreak

The Godking looked at Ning . “It is time for you to wake up . You need to understand that at this current stage of the war, a single Empyrean God like you cannot have any impact at all . By now, only a large number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals joined together will have any effect . Still…I’m a man who appreciates talent . ”.

“I’ll once more invite you to join the Seamless Gate . So long as you are willing to join us, you’ll immediately be able to reunite with your wife . Don’t you wish to be with her? Don’t you wish for your daughter to reunite with her mother? If you join the Seamless Gate, it will all happen . As a member of the Seamless Gate, you’ll be one of us…and I’ll naturally stop plotting against you . In fact, I’ll be quite good to you . You are a true expert amongst Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, after all . Although you won’t be able to change the course of the entire war for karmic luck, you’ll still be of some use . ”.

“If you join the Seamless Gate now, you’ll be able to reunite with your wife . But if you refuse…well . She’ll be of no further use to me . I’ll kill her . I’ll shatter her soul . Ahahaha…”.

“You have no other choices . ” The black-robed Godking looked at Ning

Ning…was still bent over with laughter . “Joke . I’m a joke . ”.

“Thank you . ” Ning straightened his back, raising his head to stare unblinkingly at the black-robed Godking

The black-robed Godking’s heart skipped a beat

What sort of a look was that? Such powerful heartforce…such a terrible gaze . If this was the gaze of an ordinary mortal, the Godking wouldn’t care at all, but this was Ji Ning, who had reached the fourth stage of heartforce . The black-robed Godking could sense that behind that gaze, there was an endless, blazing, burning hatred that not all the waters of the Three Realms would suffice to quench

A desire to kill that had seeped into his spirit…his very truesoul itself

“Thank you for destroying my hopes . Thank you for bringing my wishful thoughts to an end . Thank you…for freeing me from all my doubts . ”.

“Let’s take it slow, you and I . The day is still young . Soon…I will make sure to properly thank you for all you have done . ”.

After speaking, Ning turned and left, transforming into a streak of light

“If you refuse, your wife will be useless to me . I will kill her,” the black-robed Godking immediately howled after him

“My wife is already dead . I killed her!” Ning’s voice echoed in the air, but he himself had already departed from the Grand Xia