Friend!

Above Winged Serpent Lake.

Nine dragons pulled a celestial chariot that appeared out of thin air. It was none other than the Xuanji Patriarch Xuanji of the Shaoyan Clan, with the Duke Feather God accompanying him.

"Is this where Ji Ning lives year-round?" With a thought, Patriarch Xuanji revealed every detail of Winged Serpent Lake.

Clear Heart Island is completely deserted, but some people are still migrating by boat on Winged Serpent Lake.

Those were just ordinary people; after all, Winged Serpent Lake was Baili in circumference, and it would take a long time to travel by boat alone.

"They all escaped as expected." Patriarch Xuanji snorted coldly, then looked at Duke Feather God beside him. "Have the people sent to Fragrant Xiangcao Valley returned?"

"They should have just arrived," Duke Feather God hurriedly reported. "Don't worry, Ancestor. I've arranged for four Loose Immortal to bring the Iron Ox Tribe members here soon."

They had already visited Ji Ning's sect, the ' Black-White Academy '.

Because the Heavenly Immortal Tuoshan from the Anchan Beishan Clan intervened, the Patriarch Xuanji encountered a setback at the Black-White Academy and was still furious. The Duke Feather God was also afraid of being blamed, so he became even more respectful.

Upon hearing that four Loose Immortal had already gone, Patriarch Xuanji's expression softened slightly.

Even the small Black-White Academy, with only eight Loose Immortal, dared to defy him. He hadn't even bothered to visit the Changsheng Estate, which possessed combat power comparable to celestial immortals.

"Bring his people here first, then we'll go see Zhou Hao," Patriarch Xuanji coldly ordered. "Now, kill all those mortals below."

"Kill them?" Duke Feather God hesitated.

The sin of a cultivator killing a mortal is immense.

There are at least twenty boats and at least a thousand people in the Winged Serpent Lake below.

Killing them all, while not necessarily incurring serious sins, would certainly greatly diminish one's luck.

For cultivators, low luck leads to bad luck. Even celestial immortals who experience too much bad luck may perish in battles.

"If it weren't for the test, how could my Nong'er have died? He was just a mere Duke Feather God."

His most beloved and cherished Shaoyan Nong, died during the trials of the next Duke Feather God.

Although the murderers were Ji Ning and Yun Yuchan, Patriarch Xuanji still felt angry looking at the current Duke Feather God.

"Why aren't you making a move?" Patriarch Xuanji coldly snorted.

No matter how much Shen Yu cursed secretly in his heart, he could not do anything in the face of the difficulties faced by Ancestor Xuanji. He could only look at the nine dragons pulling the immortal chariot, and communicated with his heart and ordered, "Kill the mortals below."

If you don't do it yourself, you'll suffer less sin; it's a last resort.

The nine dragons were unwilling, but they were merely chariot-pulling spirit beasts and could not disobey orders.

Wow~~~

Nine flames, like nine Fire Dragon, spewed from the dragon's mouth.

Meanwhile, in a hidden space within another dimension of Winged Serpent Lake.

Ji Ning and a large, yellow-haired bear were looking at Winged Serpent Lake through a water mirror.

When he saw the nine dragons rushing down and spewing flames, intending to slaughter the mortal servants who had migrated to Clear Heart Island, Ji Ning closed his eyes in anguish.

"A celestial being, actually taking out her anger on mortals, what a skill." The yellow-haired bear looked disdainfully at the Heavenly Immortal Xuanji in the water mirror.

It is the spirit of the magical artifact of the Winged Snake Water Mansion, which was created by the original master of the Water Mansion with endless effort.

When it hides, not even a celestial being, let alone Pure Yang True Immortal, can detect it; naturally, it looks down on a mere celestial being.

Moreover, this celestial being is so narrow-minded.

"This disaster is all my fault," Ji Ning said in a low voice.

"Don't say that," the yellow-haired bear said calmly. "You've provoked a formidable enemy and suddenly encountered this calamity. It's already quite an achievement that you've managed to arrange things properly for your tribe. These mortals are destined to live this way; there's no need to worry about them."

Ji Ning nodded slightly.

He has done everything he could.

"I will watch closely. One day, I will repay the Shaoyan Clan a thousandfold for the bloodshed they have committed against my people." Ji Ning stared intently at the water mirror in front of him.

Seeing the nine Fire Dragon descend, the mortals on the boats on the lake screamed in terror, as if the end of the world had come.

suddenly--

The world fell silent.

The nine Fire Dragon that were about to fall onto the lake surface also stopped.

A powerful force descended instantly, tearing open a giant rift in the space above the lake. A large red hand with mottled, ancient palm lines emerged from the spatial rift and crushed the nine Fire Dragon in one swift motion.

Pfft!

A wisp of white smoke emerged from the palm of the giant red hand, and then a fiery red giant broke through the spatial rift and stepped into the Winged Serpent Lake.

The Winged Serpent Lake, hundreds of feet deep, only just submerged his calves.

Standing in the water, the fiery red giant first bent down to collect all the boats on the lake, then coldly looked at the Nine Dragons Immortal Carriage in the sky with his only vertical pupil that glowed red.

"By order of my master Zhou Hao, no one is allowed to slaughter any member of the Yan Mountain Ji Clan. Anyone who disobeys will be executed!" The giant roared.

Enveloped by the terrifying killing intent of the red giant, the nine dragons that had just spat out flames were so frightened that white foam dripped from the corners of their mouths.

Even Duke Feather God's arm couldn't help but tremble slightly.

That was a natural reaction, like an animal encountering its natural enemy, when it was locked onto by a more powerful being.

"Useless trash." Patriarch Xuanji glanced at Duke Feather God and the nine dragons, and starlight emanated from his body, enveloping the celestial chariot.

... Inside the Winged Snake Water Mansion space.

"It's the demon god that Senior Brother Zhou Hao subdued." Ji Ning's eyes lit up.

He vividly remembered seeing Zhurong Ying awaken in the Prison Mountain Great Marsh ten years ago, and the feeling of being so close to death back then.

Upon hearing Zhurong Ying say that he had come on Zhou Hao's orders, Ji Ning was even more moved.

"They're gods and demons of the Zhurong Clan," the yellow-haired bear exclaimed. "It's been so long since I've seen real gods and demons. Back when Master was preaching, there were several celestial beings from the Zhurong Clan in the Water Mansion... Sigh..."

"Senior, can these gods and demons defeat the celestial beings of the Shaoyan Clan?" Ji Ning asked.

He was more concerned with the present than with matters from countless years ago.

The celestial beings of the Shaoyan Clan do not even spare the mortals within their own clan, and they may very well target the divine and demonic servants of Senior Brother Zhou Hao as well.

"This little guy probably hasn't been at the Void Return stage for long. He can defeat ordinary Celestial Immortals, but he's no match for the top Celestial Immortals," the yellow-haired bear shook his head.

"That celestial being remained so calm even upon encountering a true ancient god or demon, clearly not an ordinary celestial being. However, this little fellow, relying on his God and Devil Body, is immune to injury. It won't be easy for that celestial being to kill him, but escaping shouldn't be a problem."

Ji Ning felt relieved upon hearing this.

As long as it can run, that's good.

If, because of me, Zhou Hao's divine and demonic servants were to perish here, I would owe him a huge debt of gratitude.

"That Zhou Hao is truly a man of honor," Huang Mao Da Xiong exclaimed.

During the time Zhou Hao stayed on Clear Heart Island, Huangmao Daxiong kept an eye on things from his Water Mansion.

Upon hearing this, Ji Ning nodded.

It can summon its subordinate gods and demons at crucial moments, especially when facing a behemoth like the Shaoyan Clan.

If even a Daoist partner cannot face challenges together, how much less a mere friend?

The thought that Mu Zishuo would follow him into exile without hesitation, and now Zhou Hao to protect his tribe...

"How fortunate I am to have such a good friend!" Ji Ning thought to himself.

I need to pick up my child from their tutoring class.

There will be no major updates for the next couple of days; two chapters a day will be enough. I'll release more chapters next month.