Chapter 201: Private Territory
Lan Yiyi was taken aback.
“This… I don’t know either. This is an absolute secret; I’m afraid even those clan elders don’t know about it.”
Ning Qi frowned and said:
“Then this secret technique has always been with the Gu God?”
Lan Yiyi’s eyes lit up, and she hurriedly said:
“Probably not! Before me, there was no Saintess in the Southern Border at all. Doesn’t that mean that the Gu God hadn’t obtained this secret technique before?”
Qin Yun also noticed the anomaly:
“In other words, the Gu God obtained this secret technique just in the last few decades!”
Ning Qi slowly nodded.
He had asked this question with this consideration in mind.
If the Gu God had this secret technique before, he would have started cultivating a direct daughter as a tool person long ago, not waited until now.
“Then… could it be that someone deliberately delivered this secret technique into the Gu God’s hands? If that’s the case, what is his purpose?”
It wasn’t unreasonable for Ning Qi to think this way.
The compatibility of this secret technique with the Blood Emperor Gu and the Gold-Devouring Gu was too high. If it was said that the Gu God accidentally obtained a secret technique that just happened to help him achieve true Martial Saint in this era of great changes in heaven and earth, he absolutely wouldn’t believe it.
Too coincidental.
Coincidental as if it had been arranged.
With this thought.
He became vigilant in his heart.
If that was the case, hadn’t he unintentionally disrupted someone else’s scheme?
“I only hope I’m overthinking it,” Ning Qi thought to himself.
Those capable of such scheming were nine times out of ten the top old monsters, comparable to the Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint and the Great Yan Martial Saint. Even White Mountain Old Daoist and the others weren’t qualified, because even they themselves could only wait for Spiritual Energy Revival to recover their cultivation.
Lan Yiyi and Qin Yun looked at Ning Qi, both feeling a chill in their hearts.
Ning Qi let out a light breath.
“Never mind, overthinking is useless. Let’s leave early.”
With that.
He waved his hand, and the jade stone runes originally hidden in various places in the void glowed and reversed back. Although Ning Qi hadn’t given the Gu God a chance to escape this time, the existence of the White Mist maze formation still provided some deterrence.
At this moment, the white mist power dissipated.
Ning Qi activated various Martial Dao Artistic Conceptions, controlling Heaven and Earth Power to crush the already ruined Southern Border Ancestral Land a few more times.
The purpose was simple.
To eliminate the traces of the previous battle as much as possible.
After doing all this, he finally breathed a slight sigh of relief, and the three of them soared into the sky and left.
The originally lively Southern Border Ancestral Land became completely dead silent.
…
Unknown how much time passed.
In the ruins of the dead silent Southern Border Ancestral Land, a figure cloaked in a black robe slowly walked over.
Looking at the dead silent scene before him, his face showed no fluctuation.
“He’s actually dead?” the black-robed man murmured.
He waved his hand, and spiritual power surged. The originally calm void immediately boiled, and paths of power trajectories began to manifest, crisscrossing.
He observed carefully.
“Water and fire spiritual powers, both should have been used by borrowing Martial Saint Secret Treasures. In addition, there are various Martial Way Wills, Sword Dao, Blade Dao, wind Artistic Conception, thunder Artistic Conception… It seems quite a few people came.”
“Did they discover something? Or did this useless thing simply have bad luck?”
The black-robed man pondered in his heart.
Finally.
He waved his hand to remove the power trajectories in the void and sighed softly:
“Never mind, mud that can’t stick to the wall. However, I still need to investigate who was behind today’s events. If it was deliberate opposition to me…”
He snorted coldly in his heart, his gaze gradually turning cold.
Moments later.
The black-robed man also broke through the air and left, and the Southern Border Ancestral Land became dead silent again.
…
True Martial Mountain.
The return of Ning Qi and the others caused quite a stir.
After all, when he left, he had already asked Yuan Tiansheng to inform Luo Wentian, so as not to be unaware of his departure.
“Miss Lan, long time no see.” When Luo Wentian saw Lan Yiyi returning with them, he knew the matter had been perfectly resolved. A smile appeared on his face, especially upon seeing Qin Yun maintaining his original handsome appearance; the smile on his face became even more pronounced.
Ye Qinghe circled around Qin Yun exaggeratedly several times, clicking her tongue nonstop:
“I was wondering who was so handsome. Turns out it’s Little Eight. Looks like we don’t have enough face; it took someone else to step in to make a certain person care.”
She winked playfully.
Everyone burst into laughter.
Qin Yun scratched his head embarrassedly.
To be honest, he had originally wanted to keep the appearance after his lifespan was exhausted to constantly remind himself, but thinking that this trip was to see Lan Yiyi, he instinctively didn’t want to meet her with that aged face.
Lan Yiyi looked a bit shy.
Ning Qi smiled and bailed him out:
“Third Senior Sister, don’t tease Eighth Senior Brother. Let me tell everyone some good news: from now on, Miss Lan has officially joined our True Martial Sect!”
This was something Lan Yiyi had already decided on the way back.
The crowd immediately erupted in cheers.
“Welcome, welcome!”
In the crowd.
Lin Ruhua and Jiang Baishan, holding the little baby, smiled at each other. Not long ago, Lin Ruhua had successfully given birth to a son named Jiang Ming. Now seeing Lan Yiyi and Qin Yun like this, they couldn’t help but think of their past selves.
Lan Yiyi looked at those sincere smiling faces, somewhat dazed, a warm current surging in her heart.
From now on, she had completely cut ties with the Southern Border. She had felt a bit empty at first, but now she was gradually feeling a sense of belonging. The last time she came to True Martial Mountain to treat Qin Yun, she had already noticed that Qin Yun’s fellow disciples cared deeply for him; now it felt even more obvious.
A faint smile lifted at the corners of Lan Yiyi’s mouth.
Moments later.
Ye Qinghe and Lin Ruhua took Lan Yiyi down to familiarize her with the situation.
Ning Qi simply told Luo Wentian about what happened in the Southern Border. Upon hearing that the top combat power in the Southern Border had basically been wiped out, Luo Wentian couldn’t help but click his tongue. But after hearing Ning Qi’s speculation about the person behind the Gu God, he became somewhat grave.
“Although I don’t know if this speculation is true, it’s better to be too careful.”
To be honest.
Ever since the Ancient Saints collectively revived, the one under the most pressure in the entire True Martial Sect was Luo Wentian.
Because news kept coming from all over the world of powerful Martial Arts Sects from the past being destroyed. The former giants were no match for the Ancient Saints and headed toward extinction after offending them for various reasons.
These precedents naturally made him vigilant.
Ning Qi comforted him:
“Senior Disciple Brother, no need to worry too much. My current strength is not weak.”
A smile immediately appeared on Luo Wentian’s face.
Ning Qi was the pride of everyone in the True Martial Sect. Others only thought he was an Ancient Saint reincarnated, but only those closest to him knew that Ning Qi wasn’t some Ancient Saint reincarnation at all; he had achieved this in just twelve short years.
If this truth were known to the world, it would shock everyone.
They had no doubt that as long as Ning Qi was given enough time, becoming the strongest in the world was only a matter of time.
“There’s something I need to tell you. Not long after you left, King Zhenbei came.” Luo Wentian said seriously.
Ning Qi was taken aback.
King Zhenbei Li Xuanyang?
He had actually come.
He suddenly understood why he hadn’t seen Li Ling earlier.
Speaking of King Zhenbei, his momentum had been extremely strong lately.
Initially, when the Savage Emperor led his army to break through Zhenbei Xiong Guan to test the Great Yan Martial Saint’s reality, King Zhenbei had been seriously injured blocking the Savage Emperor and went missing.
But after the Great Yan Martial Saint appeared, King Zhenbei soared to prominence.
With the Great Yan Martial Saint’s full cultivation, King Zhenbei’s strength advanced by leaps and bounds. He was even granted a Martial Saint Secret Treasure and mastered its mysteries. Not long ago, King Zhenbei had battled an Ancient Saint and only fell slightly behind but still held his ground.
This feat.
Immediately made King Zhenbei famous, even more prominent than the previous General Yanwu and Blade Demon.
Ning Qi naturally knew this. He estimated that the Great Yan Martial Saint had used some method to help King Zhenbei refine the secret treasure, and it was even possible that Martial Saint Method had been granted, all to soar at the time of Spiritual Energy Revival.
This was very normal. Even Ning Qi was preparing diligently, making preparations for Blade Demon and others. A figure like the Great Yan Martial Saint would naturally do even more; King Zhenbei was definitely not the only one.
“He came on behalf of the Great Yan Martial Saint to see you, to delineate territory belonging to our True Martial Sect.”
At this point.
Excitement appeared on Luo Wentian’s face.
Whenever an Ancient Saint emerged, the Great Yan Dynasty would, out of respect, delineate a piece of territory for the Ancient Saints, giving them complete rule—essentially a nation within a nation. But after Ning Qi’s battle with the Chiyang Martial Saint in the True Martial Inheritance land, the Great Yan Dynasty had been slow to act.
Luo Wentian had originally thought the Great Yan Martial Saint had seen through some of Ning Qi’s foundation and thus not given the same treatment as other Ancient Saints. But now it seemed that wasn’t the case.
This was naturally great news for the True Martial Sect.
After obtaining management rights to True Martial City, the True Martial Sect had already tasted the benefits. Now this delineated territory would be much larger than before, becoming a solid foundation for the True Martial Sect from now on.
Luo Wentian was already rubbing his fists.
From now on, he would turn this territory into an impregnable fortress.
Ning Qi smiled and nodded:
“Alright, let’s go see him.”
Moments later.
Ning Qi met this long-unseen King Zhenbei again. King Zhenbei’s aura was now even stronger, full of majesty, but Ning Qi had already become much stronger. He felt some emotion in his heart. The first time he saw King Zhenbei was when the Demonic Sect’s five Heavenly Humans attacked; back then, he had seen King Zhenbei as his goal.
And now, he had long since left him far behind.
“Greetings, Heavenly Sword Senior.” King Zhenbei’s attitude was very good.
He was also sizing up the young Daoist opposite him—transcendent and otherworldly, as if about to ascend.
He too had endless emotions.
When he first learned of Heavenly Sword True Person, the other party was merely at the bottom of the Heavenly Human Ranking. Then slowly, he soared to the skies, until now, when it was revealed he was an Ancient Saint reincarnation. He had seen Ning Qi’s true appearance several times during that time and felt he was somewhat extraordinary but hadn’t thought deeply about it. He hadn’t realized this was Heavenly Sword True Person until the battle with the Chiyang Martial Saint exposed it.
Ning Qi smiled:
“No need for that. Little Eleven is my Junior Brother; we can address each other as peers.”
He didn’t want to take advantage.
King Zhenbei was stunned, then a richer smile surged in his eyes. He had already seen Li Ling, who was extremely satisfied with life in the True Martial Sect, and his cultivation progress was extremely fast, beyond his imagination.
This reminded him of back then.
Li Ling had wanted to join the True Martial Sect because he adored Heavenly Sword True Person, but unexpectedly, Heavenly Sword True Person ended up becoming his Senior Brother.
Having such a powerful Ancient Saint as a Senior Brother naturally made King Zhenbei happy for his son.
He didn’t think Ning Qi was just joking, because he knew these reincarnated Ancient Saints wouldn’t abandon their current life’s identity.
“Since Ling’er is mischievous, I’ll have to trouble Heavenly Sword Dao Brother to take good care of him.” King Zhenbei cupped his hands and smiled. “I’m here today on behalf of the Great Yan Martial Saint to grant Dao Brother a private territory. Please forgive us, Dao Brother; it’s not that Martial Saint didn’t want to come personally, but he has been in closed-door cultivation for some time.”
Ning Qi understood.
“Closed-door cultivation at this time—could it be preparation for the Spiritual Energy Revival?”
His heart skipped a beat. The actions of these peak experts were, to some extent, guiding lights. Calculating the time, it was only two or three months from the one-year mark White Mountain Old Daoist had mentioned; the day of Spiritual Energy Revival was drawing nearer.
Ning Qi waved his hand:
“I see. No matter for such a small thing.”
King Zhenbei breathed a sigh of relief. He had really been afraid the other party would be angry. After all, this one who could sever an arm of the Chiyang Martial Saint had unfathomable strength, one of the top among Ancient Saints.
According to some information given by the Great Yan Martial Saint, this one’s peak was at the level of a Five-Realm Martial Saint.
With this thought.
He didn’t dawdle, took out a map from behind, unfolded it before Ning Qi, and pointed to the location of True Martial Mountain:
“I wonder if Dao Brother has a preferred place. If not, how about delineating a territory centered on True Martial Mountain?”
Ning Qi glanced and said:
“Let’s delineate centered on True Martial Mountain.”
The True Martial Sect’s foundation was all here now, so there was no need to relocate. He had already discussed this with Luo Wentian, so there was no entanglement. He casually drew a line on the map, roughly the size of one prefecture.
This was the maximum range of territories those past Ancient Saints had received.
King Zhenbei gave a thumbs up:
“Good eye, Dao Brother.”
He had originally planned to offer some suggestions, but now it seemed the other party had already studied it. This territory encompassed a lot and could easily be developed.
Ning Qi chuckled lightly.
Then his gaze showed astonishment. He saw King Zhenbei draw another line on the map with his finger, actually including most of the True Martial Mountain Range that Ning Qi hadn’t drawn in. This made the territory area explode, nearly double the original.
King Zhenbei smiled and said:
“Martial Saint had said earlier that Heavenly Sword Dao Brother is extremely strong and deserves the highest respect. That slightly larger barren area can be added without issue.”
Ning Qi knew.
This was the other party showing goodwill, and not ordinary goodwill.
The True Martial Mountain Range was named after True Martial, but actually contained a great deal, rich in resources—not the barren area the other party claimed. True Martial Mountain was just one on the edge. The peak where Ning Qi had found the White Ape was also one of them.
He couldn’t help but sigh: sure enough, having connections in court makes things easier.
“Thank you.” Ning Qi said seriously.
The smile on King Zhenbei’s face grew even richer.
He had originally been loyal to the Great Yan Dynasty, but after learning some things about General Yanwu, he felt something was off. Even with the many grants from the Great Yan Martial Saint, it couldn’t calm his heart.
Every time he saw the Great Yan Martial Saint’s face, his heart pounded fiercely.
