Chapter 18

At this critical moment for the rankings, I need everyone's recommendation votes!

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"Hmm." Ji Ning casually flipped his hand, and a piece of gold glowing with a greenish light appeared in his hand. He threw it directly onto the black-snake man's stall, "Here."

"Is that all the gold?" The black-snake man and the two men behind him panicked, looking at the piece of greenish gold that was only as big as a finger, "And it's not even pure gold?"

"Sir."

"Respected Sir."

The three men all pleaded desperately. How could they explain this to their tribe? Other tribal warriors were still waiting outside the city. Those tribal warriors hadn't dared to enter the city... because each person entering the city needed to pay a sheepskin or its equivalent.

"Truly foolish, that's Thunder Gold."

"I'll offer a hundred pieces of Beasthead Gold for your Thunder Gold."

"Only a hundred pieces of Beasthead Gold? I'll offer one hundred and sixty pieces of Beasthead Gold for this piece of Thunder Gold, and I'll have it delivered right away!" Immediately, the people around started bidding. They were all people of some status in Xifu City, either from families of innate spirits or powerful figures from tribes that had moved to Xifu City. Their eyes were sharp.

The black-snake man grabbed the piece of Thunder Gold, feeling its weight far exceeded that of ordinary gold. He looked at his two companions, both surprised and delighted.

"Thank you, Sir."

"Thank you, great Sir."

The three men thanked him excitedly.

"Now you know to be grateful? Sword of Dripping Water is a renowned figure, and his son is of high status. How could he forcibly take your weapons? He just threw something at you, and you were scared out of your wits." A fat old man in animal skin spoke loudly, clearly saying it for Ji Ning to hear.

Ji Ning smiled, and the three swords in their sheath disappeared into the storage crystal. Because the storage crystal had limited space, Ji Ning only carried a few pieces of Beasthead Gold with him, while the rest were valuable treasures.

...

In the hall.

Ji Yichuan still sat in the main seat, with Wei Chixue sitting to his left. Both were slowly eating the food on the table in front of them.

Whoosh!

A figure rushed in, it was Ji Ning returning from his stroll.

"Father, Mother," Ji Ning said.

Ji Yichuan frowned, "When you go out, you should pay attention to the time."

Ji Ning obediently ran to his seat, knelt down, and started eating. The lunch was quite rich, with a lot of meat, noodles, and drinks. Ji Ning's appetite was huge, and he quickly finished all the food and drinks on the table.

Wei Chixue watched her son eat like a whirlwind.

"Father, Mother," Ji Ning remembered the three swords he bought today, "I met three tribal warriors while shopping. They must have come from a very remote area to Xifu City to sell a divine weapon. And I... bought this divine weapon."

"Divine weapon?" Ji Yichuan frowned, "In the Ji Family's treasure vault in Xifu, we have plenty of divine weapons. Didn't you already choose two divine weapons before? What good weapons could those sold in the city be?"

Since Ji Ning hadn't reached the innate stage of cultivation, he naturally couldn't use magical treasures, so he had specifically chosen two sword-type divine weapons from the family's treasure vault. Of course, during the cage battles, he used ordinary weapons.

"Father, the two divine weapons I chose from the family's treasure vault are far inferior to this one," Ji Ning said solemnly.

"Really?" Ji Yichuan looked at his son.

"Actually, the divine weapon I bought is a set of damaged flying sword treasures," Ji Ning explained, "The mystical patterns on it are completely broken, so it can only be used as a sharper divine weapon. However, it is indeed very sharp, far surpassing the divine weapons I chose from the family's treasure vault. Even with my strength, I can use it to pierce through the Golden Dawn Robe."

"Pierce through the Golden Dawn Robe?" Ji Yichuan was surprised, "Let me see."

Ji Ning immediately extended his hand, and the ancient-looking sheath with three swords appeared. He stood up and handed it to his father.

Ji Yichuan took it and examined it carefully, then drew the three swords to check: "The array patterns and runes on the sword bodies are completely broken, but sensing its aura... it is indeed a set of flying sword treasures! Unfortunately, it's a damaged treasure. Generally, damaged treasures have little value, and at most, the materials can be extracted by melting the treasure itself."

Ji Ning nodded.

He had read many books and knew that damaged treasures had low value because the materials of the damaged treasures had been mixed together after one refinement. Even if melted, only a small amount of the original materials could be extracted.

"Shh!" Ji Yichuan touched the sword's edge, and a drop of blood seeped out from his finger, making him look surprised, "What a sharp sword! Without infusing true essence, the sword itself is so sharp, I've never seen anything like it. Snow, take a look, can you identify its origin?"

Wei Chixue took it and examined it carefully, then shook her head after a long time, "I can't recognize it."

"Mother, was this flying sword treasure ranked before it was damaged?" Ji Ning asked urgently.

"Of course, it was a ranked treasure," Wei Chixue nodded, "Even when completely damaged, its sharpness can rival some unranked treasures. When it was intact... it was definitely a ranked treasure. However, I can't tell which rank it is, and probably no one in the entire Yan Mountain region can identify it."

Ji Ning nodded, understanding this.

Generally, innate cultivators used unranked treasures, while Zifu cultivators could use ranked treasures. Crafting treasures was even more difficult... in the entire Yan Mountain region, no one had heard of anyone who could personally craft treasures. Perhaps only in some incredibly powerful tribes in the distant lands, there were experts who could craft treasures.

"The Xia Dynasty has been passed down from the Age of Gods and Demons," Ji Yichuan threw the sheath with three swords back to his son, "The vast territory it governs has a history of tens of thousands of years, with countless tribes rising, declining, and perishing. Countless treasures have been left behind. Damaged treasures after battles are not uncommon. The Ji Family has hundreds of such damaged treasures, most of which have unclear origins. This damaged treasure being so sharp is quite rare, and it's suitable for you to use."

Wei Chixue added, "Ning'er, when you become an innate cultivator and infuse true essence into an unranked treasure... its power might not even match this one!"

Ji Ning nodded.

Treasures are powerful because of their mysterious and unpredictable nature.

Generally, innate cultivators use treasures in various ways. However, the Body Refinement path of the divine and demonic cultivators excels in close combat. They have nearly indestructible bodies, immense strength, speed, and recovery abilities, so even when using treasures, they prefer close combat weapons like swords, knives, and spears.

"These three swords, even if I become an innate cultivator, will still be suitable for me to use," Ji Ning felt delighted, thinking, "They will likely accompany me for a long time, so I should give them a name... yes, I'll call them the Beiming Swords!"

Ji Ning suddenly thought of 'Beiming' for a reason.

Years ago, when his father Ji Yichuan left the Yan Mountain region and wandered across the vast lands, he even went to the boundless northern sea, which people called the 'Beiming Sea.' In that vast sea, there were many islands, and Ji Yichuan wandered and met Wei Chixue.

They traveled together, experienced life and death, and eventually fell in love, leading to her pregnancy.

Because of the pregnancy... they left the dangerous Beiming Sea to return to Yan Mountain. However, they encountered many dangers along the way, and Wei Chixue was severely injured, which is why it was said that 'Ji Ning was injured in the womb.' At the same time, the divine beast 'Bai Shui Ze' carried Wei Chixue to safety at a critical moment.

So Ji Yichuan also said that Uncle Bai had saved Ji Ning's life.

His parents met, fell in love, and conceived in Beiming.

The word 'Beiming' had special significance for Ji Ning.

"Father, Mother," Ji Ning said solemnly, "I've named these three swords the Beiming Swords!"

***

While Ji Ning was delighted to have obtained the Beiming Swords, in a place called Winged Snake Lake in the Yan Mountain region...

Winged Snake Lake, vast and seemingly boundless, stretched nearly a hundred miles in length and width.

As the saying goes, deep mountains and large lakes must have demons.

This vast and mysterious lake undoubtedly harbored a great demon, with countless lesser demons inside. The great demon in the lake was called 'Winged Snake,' a thousand-year-old demon with immense power. It could fly, control water, and poison, making it a fearsome and powerful demon.

In the depths of the lake, there was a small island, which was the lair of the Winged Snake.

"Hum~~" A black snake hundreds of meters long coiled and spread its massive scaly wings, covering the sky. Its crimson eyes stared at the trembling group of demons, and a cold chill spread, causing a layer of frost to form on the ground.

The countless lesser demons, either kneeling or lying down, trembled in fear.

About a hundred demons lay on the ground, covered in frost, completely frozen to death.

"Hum~~" The enraged Winged Snake roared.

The lesser demons, various snakes, crabs, fish, and other fierce demons, responded in low voices, clearly terrified.

"Roar!" The Winged Snake roared coldly.

Swish, swish, swish~~

All the demons felt relieved and quickly retreated, many entering the depths of the lake. Some remained on the island to guard.

"Shh~~" The massive black snake suddenly turned into mist, then condensed into a black-clothed man.

"I, Wing, have ninety-two children!" The black-clothed man gritted his teeth, "Most died during their growth, and only sixteen survived! And only one has the blood of a divine and demonic being... my beloved Chimag!"

Snakes are inherently promiscuous.

Although he himself didn't have the blood of a divine and demonic being, he mated with many innate demons, including some innate divine beasts. For a thousand-year-old demon... capturing some innate divine beasts was easy, but divine beasts giving birth was rare. Among his children, only one had the blood of a divine and demonic being, Chimag.

He was also the one he loved the most, believing that once Chimag broke through to the innate stage, he would have even greater power and a brighter future.

"Chimag, I've always told you not to go out before becoming an innate being. Humans are delicious, but eating too many will bring the Ji Family to attack us," the black-clothed man growled, in great pain.

His spoiled child, Chimag, secretly went out and discovered that human flesh was far superior to other demons, truly delicious.

Chimag kept it a secret from his father and went out to wreak havoc repeatedly.

"My child, I must bring him back." The black-clothed man immediately transformed into a massive Winged Snake, his wings flapping, and he turned into a black shadow, disappearing into the clouds.

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