Realm-Breaking Jade

The vault of heaven was dark yellow, and the dense forest had withered.

The Spiritual Qi around him carried a dry heat, with Fire Qi abundant.

"Did I transmigrate again?" he exclaimed in astonishment.

Yet Zhou Ning actually felt a little comfortable. He rubbed his fingers together, and a flame sprang up, much stronger than before.

Immortal cultivators possessed all five elements, and what determined their aptitude was often which element stood out the most. As it happened, Zhou Ning's fire-element Spirit Root just barely reached middle grade, and he preferred regions where fire veins were abundant.

Zhou Ning looked inward at his sea of consciousness. An image appeared on the jade's surface: he was still sitting cross-legged in his room at Cuiwei Lake, but his head hung down as though he had fallen asleep.

"Not transmigration? Is this an avatar?"

Another thought stirred in Zhou Ning's mind, and his view abruptly changed. He raised his head in the room at Cuiwei Lake, while his body in the forest was already beginning to disintegrate.

"Return!"

Zhou Ning's consciousness immediately returned to the forest.

He could not help wondering what would happen if his self in this world died.

Before long, he dismissed the dangerous thought.

Zhou Ning checked the sky and saw that it was noon. His swift boots tapped lightly against the ground, and he soared forward, intending to leave the forest and learn about this land.

After the time it took an incense stick to burn, he reached the edge of the forest, where shouts of battle suddenly rang out ahead.

Zhou Ning frowned slightly, cast a Qi-Concealing Instruction, and activated the Spirit Eye Technique. He carefully circled behind a large tree and looked down at the official road below the slope.

Seven or eight figures floated in the air, directing dazzling Law Artifacts at a carriage on the ground. They shouted:

"Chai Dingchun, cease your stubborn delusions! Surrender the Profound-Piercing Wind, and we shall grant you reincarnation. In your next life, you can join the Firmament Treasure Sect and become our fellow disciple!"

The horse was already dead, but a shield of light covered the carriage. The blows sent ripples splashing across it, and it was on the verge of collapse.

Zhou Ning was shocked. "Foundation Establishment cultivators!"

Only Foundation Establishment cultivators could fly using their bodies alone; those at Qi Refining needed the aid of Law Artifacts.

"This is bad. If they're Foundation Establishment cultivators, their Divine Sense will spread in every direction. Won't I be exposed?" He hurriedly took out the purple bracelet.

It was a gift from Mr. Wen, the "guide to the immortal path," whom he had once saved.

Supposedly, several hundred years ago, a cultivator had given it to Mr. Wen's ancestor in gratitude for guiding him.

Zhou Ning quietly retreated.

At the same time, he wondered why he could understand the language of this world. Could they be different regions of the same world?

An indignant voice rang out from inside the carriage. "To hell with your Firmament Treasure Sect! You slaughtered my wife and daughter and destroyed my Lineage. You and I cannot live under the same sky!"

Hearing this, one of the people in the sky summoned a golden, glittering treasure diagram. Thirteen streaks of white light emerged and transformed into men and women, young and old, who called out together:

"Father, husband, son, we miss you!"

Holding the treasure diagram, the man stroked his beard and laughed. "Chai Dingchun, your entire clan is here in my Mountains and Rivers State Diagram, enjoying the bonds of family. Why don't you hurry and reunite with them?"

Zhou Ning watched, dumbstruck. At Cuiwei Lake, he had never seen anything like this.

Bang! The shield over the carriage finally shattered, and the attackers' faces lit up as they flashed forward.

Someone formed a Method Formula, and a huge hand of spiritual light appeared out of thin air. It reached out and tore apart the carriage walls.

A middle-aged Daoist sat on the carriage floor, his eyes tightly shut as he muttered to himself. A mysterious wind stirred around him of its own accord.

"Ah, I've done it!"

The next moment, wild joy appeared on his face, and he clapped his hands. "Behold my Vast Righteous Qi Instruction!"

As his hands came together, his entire body exploded into a cloud of black smoke. The smoke curled into a spiral, with two eyeballs dangling from the front, swaying to and fro.

The only thing of a different color was the brownish-yellow Storage Bag hanging in the black smoke.

Even from a great distance, Zhou Ning felt cold all over. "You call that thing a Righteous Qi Instruction?"

The people in the sky went pale. "This is bad! He's refined the Profound-Piercing Wind!"

"Run!"

The immortal cultivators who had held the advantage moments ago did not hesitate. They released their defensive treasures and swiftly flew back.

But the black smoke was faster. With a gentle sway, it shot up like a sinister wind and swept through several of them.

Zhou Ning saw clearly that the moment they touched the black smoke, their Law Artifacts and robes, their skin, flesh, and bones all turned to ash together.

It was truly horrifying.

A woman among them who wielded a sword used some unknown talisman and managed to hold out for a moment, only to be burned to charcoal.

With a pop, a puppet doll burst from her stomach. Covered in bloody mud, it landed on the ground, its two short legs pumping furiously as it screamed:

"Chai Dingchun, my father is a Purple Mansion Daoist..."

The black smoke seemed wary and, sure enough, did not pursue it any farther, letting the death-substitution puppet disappear.

"One left!" The black smoke doubled back and howled toward the forest.

Zhou Ning had already fled. Such profound Law Power was far beyond anything he could handle!

He pushed his lightness skill to its limit, yet the howl of the sinister wind behind him drew closer and closer.

How could two legs outrun someone flying?

"This is bad! How can I lose my life here?"

In his desperation, Zhou Ning pulled apart the purple bracelet in his hand and slashed his palm with it.

"Mr. Wen, I can only hope your ancestor once guided a great cultivator!"

The moment the purple beads touched his blood, they left Zhou Ning's hand and flew before his eyes.

Zhou Ning saw clearly that a purple insect the size of a peanut had spread its wings. Its compound eyes were so purple they were almost black, and its mouthparts were crimson and savage.

With just one look, the spiritual power in Zhou Ning's body fell into waves of disorder, nearly slipping out of his control.

The purple insect flew into the sky and let out a sharp, strange cry toward the rear.

The black smoke behind him was just about to engulf Zhou Ning when the cry struck it. It stopped dead and churned violently.

"Ah, how could this be?!"

The black smoke gave a miserable scream and exploded in an instant, vanishing like smoke and clouds.

The Storage Bag fell from the sky. Quick of hand and eye, Zhou Ning snatched it and stuffed it into the space inside his jade pendant.

He had just finished when he suddenly discovered that he could no longer move-or rather, the entire world had come to a standstill.

Zhou Ning could feel that his eyes could still move, but his spiritual power was completely restrained. A great terror welled up in his heart, accompanied by an intense palpitation.

Ripples suddenly spread through the forest ahead, revealing a figure in a black dress, with long hair and graceful steps. Her face could not be seen clearly.

She reached out and gently pinched the purple insect between her fingertips, her movements like those of a well-bred young lady.

"The Profound-Piercing Wind is gone. Perhaps it was never meant to be mine," she murmured.

She glanced at Zhou Ning and smiled faintly. "A variable."

Then she waved her hand.

Zhou Ning's flesh and blood burst apart, leaving not a trace behind.

Cuiwei Lake, the lakeside cottage.

"Phew!"

Zhou Ning's eyes flew open, and he gasped for breath.

Sweat beaded on his forehead, and fear still lingered in his heart. "I'm not dead!"

"What kind of damned place was that?!"

"Facing that female cultivator, I couldn't resist at all. What realm is she in?"

Recalling his experience in that world, then looking around at the familiar cottage and the Su Household cultivators who were ordinarily so kind, Zhou Ning actually felt the safety of coming home.

In his sea of consciousness, the jade that had been as black as ink had faded back to pure white.

If he wanted to use it again, he would probably have to spend a long time filling it with spiritual power.

"That's right!"

Something occurred to Zhou Ning. He reached out, and a small, exquisite brownish-yellow brocade pouch appeared in his hand.

"I'm rich, I'm rich! A Foundation Establishment great cultivator's Storage Bag!"