Killing Tribulation

This was Ning Xiaochuan's last night living in the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. Ning Xiner had already packed his luggage, and tomorrow he would be heading to Begonia Manor.

Tomorrow, Ning Xiner would travel with the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion's talented youths to train in the Five Desolate Mountain Range. She had packed her own luggage as well.

Ning Xiaochuan found an opportunity to take out the hundred drops of Heart Nourishing Elixir and hundred drops of Blood Accumulation Elixir that Ning Xiner had placed in his luggage, then secretly put them into hers.

At the same time, Ning Xiaochuan took out another small jade vial containing thirty drops of second-grade Heart Nourishing Elixir and placed it in Ning Xiner's luggage as well.

This was all the Heart Nourishing Elixir Ning Xiaochuan had refined from ten second-grade Nourishing Heart Grass plants. It could originally have been sold for a great fortune, but he felt it would be more helpful for Ning Xiner's Martial Dao cultivation.

"Buzzz!"

In the Imperial City, the morning bell rang!

Ning Xiaochuan and Yu Yan arrived at the back gate of the Marquis Mansion, where an Azure Deer Carriage was already waiting.

An old man dressed in coarse cloth stood before the carriage. He handed a Purple Wood Box to Ning Xiaochuan and said in a low voice, "Young Master, this is something the Old Marquis has given you."

This old man was named Ji Bo, an old servant who had always remained by the Old Marquis's side.

With a puzzled expression, Ning Xiaochuan accepted the Purple Wood Box. His arm sank slightly, and his five fingers quickly tightened around the box to steady it.

The Purple Wood Box weighed several dozen pounds. It had not been carved from ordinary purple wood; faint golden patterns flowed through the wood. It was the legendary Gold Thread Purple Wood.

Not even a chest of Azure Gold could buy a square of Gold Thread Purple Wood. Its preciousness was evident.

It was said that a box made from Gold Thread Purple Wood could preserve food for an entire year without spoilage.

Ning Xiaochuan pressed his palm against the Gold Thread Purple Wood Box and immediately sensed wisps of Earth Martial Essence Qi flowing into his body. In an instant, his blood began to boil and circulate faster.

"Boom!"

Within his body, Heaven and Earth Profound Qi surged wildly! The Demon Sword within Ning Xiaochuan emitted a faint blood-red glow, wrapping around every one of his blood vessels. Thus, even a Martial Dao expert like Ji Bo did not detect any fluctuations of Profound Qi within Ning Xiaochuan.

Ji Bo sighed. "The Old Marquis sent you to Begonia Manor because he knew the struggles within the Marquis Mansion were perilous. He wanted you to stay far from those conflicts and preserve your life."

"This Gold Thread Purple Wood Box contains the Old Marquis's Earth Martial Essence Qi. If your congenital illness acts up, press your palm against the surface of the box and absorb the Earth Martial Essence Qi inside. It can temporarily suppress your symptoms. If you do not use it, simply keep the Gold Thread Purple Wood Box in a bag. One of the Old Marquis's purposes in entering seclusion this time was to make this life-extending treasure for you."

Ning Xiaochuan felt somewhat moved. It seemed the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion was not entirely cold and heartless. At least, family affection still existed.

Should he tell the Old Marquis that he could cultivate Martial Dao Profound Qi? No, better not!

Although the Old Marquis's cultivation is high and his authority great, there are too many factions within the Marquis Mansion. Once word gets out that I can cultivate Martial Dao Profound Qi, many people will risk everything and kill me behind the Old Marquis's back. An open spear is easy to dodge, but a hidden arrow is hard to guard against. Better wait until my cultivation has become strong enough!

Although Ning Xiaochuan had only arrived in this world not long ago, his experiences of the past few days had made him understand its dangers. Without sufficient strength, he would find it impossible to take even a single step.

"Ji Bo, thank Grandfather for me. I will live well." Ning Xiaochuan put away the Gold Thread Purple Wood Box.

Ji Bo nodded. "The powers within the Marquis Mansion are tangled and intertwined. For power, for profit, and for the succession of the Marquis Mansion, they openly and secretly fight one another. To better avoid drawing attention, I will not see you off, Young Master."

"Understood!"

Yu Yan boarded the Azure Deer Carriage, while Ning Xiaochuan sat outside, holding a whip covered in azure scales.

"Crack!"

The Azure Deer Carriage rolled over layers of fallen leaves, departing from that magnificent and resplendent marquis estate. It sped away and vanished at the end of the street.

Ji Bo watched the Azure Deer Carriage gradually recede, recalling the Old Marquis's words. "Xiao Chuan's congenital illness has completely worsened. At most, he has only half a year left to live. Let him peacefully spend these final six months!"

"Perhaps even Young Master himself does not know he has only half a year left. Heaven envies the gifted—Heavens! Can't you spare this child? Alas!" Ji Bo shook his head with a sigh and walked through the back gate of the Marquis Mansion.

Within a courtyard of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion! "What? The Old Marquis had Ji Bo give that Sickly Ning a Gold Thread Purple Wood Box? And it contains a vast amount of Earth Martial Essence Qi?" Ning Qianwu slapped the table and abruptly rose from his chair.

In the darkness stood a warrior clad in black armor. Dim blue flames flowed across the armor, crackling in the air.

The face beneath the black armor had deeply sunken eye sockets, a high nose bridge, and deathly pale skin. It looked like nothing but the bony face of a skeleton.

He looked like a Hell Messenger. In a somewhat hoarse voice, he said, "This subordinate's first Martial Dao Divine Power is the Heavenly Ear Spiritual Connection. I personally heard Ji Bo's conversation with Ning Xiaochuan. There can be no mistake."

The black-armored warrior repeated every word he had overheard without missing a single one.

Ning Qianwu's gaze darkened, and he sneered. "Of course I trust your Heavenly Ear Spiritual Connection. Within a hundred zhang, you can even hear ants fighting. Ji Bo's Martial Dao cultivation may be profound, but he could not possibly discover someone eavesdropping from a hundred zhang away."

"So that Sickly Ning has only half a year left to live. It seems he is truly nothing to fear. But Gold Thread Purple Wood and Earth Martial Essence Qi are treasures that can only be encountered, never sought. If they fall into my hands, they will certainly let my cultivation rise another level. Hei Lin, take men and retrieve the Gold Thread Purple Wood for me right now. Remember, do not act until they have left the Outer City."

"What should be done with Ning Xiaochuan? Should we pull up the weeds and remove the roots?" the black-armored warrior asked in a deathly voice.

Ning Qianwu said, "Do not kill him. Killing him will provoke the Old Marquis's fury. The Old Marquis will certainly know someone from the Marquis Mansion did it, and if he investigates thoroughly, we will not have an easy time either. Breaking both his legs will be enough. Make it look like he was robbed by bandits. Bianji is chaotic anyway. Sickly Ning does not even have the strength to truss a chicken; it would be perfectly normal for him to be killed and his treasure stolen."

"This subordinate understands!"

Black Profound Qi flowed around the black-armored warrior's body, turning into a whirlwind as he slowly vanished into the darkness.

"Clatter, clatter!"

Before long, five black-armored warriors rushed out of the Marquis Mansion, riding five pitch-black Iron Lion Mystic Beasts. They swept up fallen leaves like five black whirlwinds and thundered toward the city outskirts.

The Imperial City of the Yulan Empire was divided into the Inner City, the Outer City, and Bianji.

Begonia Manor was an industry of the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion. It was located in Bianji, far from the Imperial City, and had once been a place where the Marquis Mansion's descendants strolled and enjoyed themselves.

However, the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion possessed many properties. There were twenty-three manors in the Inner City alone, and over a hundred in the Outer City. Remote manors such as Begonia Manor had instead been left neglected for a long time.

Only clan members who had fallen from favor within the Marquis Mansion would be sent to manage such remote manors.

The Inner City was the most splendid and prosperous place; the Outer City was where martial artists and merchants gathered, while Bianji was a land of chaos.

Ning Xiaochuan drove the Azure Deer Carriage out of the Outer City and across the City Protecting River. The scenery around them changed. The towering ancient buildings became fewer, while lush green ancient trees appeared before them. Small hills and streams could even be seen.

"Yu Yan, that day by the river, Ning Han wanted to kill you. Who was the masked woman who saved you and took you away?" Ning Xiaochuan asked while driving.

Yu Yan lifted a corner of the carriage curtain, revealing half of her lovely oval face. After thinking for a while, she finally said, "That was my mistress."

"Your mistress? Who exactly is she?" Ning Xiaochuan had been deeply impressed by that mysterious woman, who had worn a white veil and killed with a sword. When he first saw her, he had thought she was an immortal descending from beyond the heavens. Naturally, he was extremely curious about her.

Yu Yan hesitated for a long while again before saying, "If I tell you, you absolutely must not tell anyone in the Sword Pavilion Marquis's Mansion."

Ning Xiaochuan understood her concerns. "Rest assured! I had a hand in Ning Han's death too. I would never tell anyone in the Marquis Mansion about it."

Yu Yan nodded. "My mistress is Yu Ningsheng, one of the Three Great Beauties of the Imperial City. Her talent and dance are unmatched beneath the heavens. Even those peerless geniuses of the Heavenly Emperor Academy would find it harder than ascending to heaven to meet my mistress once. And if they want her to dance for them, that still depends on whether she herself is willing."

"Your mistress is also a woman of the brothel?" Ning Xiaochuan asked.

Yu Yan said urgently, "Though my mistress was born in a brothel, she rose from the mud unstained. She has more integrity and kindness than many others. When I was sold into Jade Viewing Pavilion, if Mistress had not pitied me and taken me in as her musician courtesan, I would surely have become a lowly prostitute spreading my legs to receive customers by now."

As she spoke, tears streamed down Yu Yan's face. It was as though she had recalled some sorrowful memory from the past.

Ning Xiaochuan said apologetically, "I'm sorry. I should not have stirred up your painful memories."

"It has nothing to do with you, Young Master." Yu Yan pursed her lips and shook her head.

"Clatter, clatter!"

The roar of lions came from behind them, along with the sound of iron hooves striking the ground. The Azure Deer Horse pulling the carriage trembled in fear.

Five enormous black Iron Lion Mystic Beasts charged toward them, kicking up five clouds of dust as they blocked the Azure Deer Carriage.

Five warriors, entirely covered in black scale armor, sat atop the Iron Lion Mystic Beasts. A dense killing intent emanated from them, making the surrounding air several degrees colder.

Among them, the foremost warrior possessed the most terrifying aura. His eyes were black and hollow, like a god of death staring at Ning Xiaochuan.