Chapter 70

"Master Brother, there is an enemy who sneaked in, trapped in the maze set up by Master. He looks like a young man," the handsome youth named Xiaoqi said, "But his strength is astonishing. Even one of Master's spirit beasts, the Black Needle, was killed by him, and I almost lost my life too."

The man in black robes frowned, "Oh? So powerful?"

"He is very powerful. The enemy is both a cultivator of qi and a body cultivator, and should be at the peak of the innate stage. Only Master Brother can kill him," Xiaoqi continued.

"Once Master Brother uses the Drunken Dragon Saliva, no matter how powerful he is, he will definitely fall into a coma and be captured," the others flattered.

The man in black robes glanced at the group of disciples, "Just one enemy, and you are all helpless! Hmph, Master is now refining a magical treasure and cannot be distracted. Since the six of you can't do anything else, go and torture these innate beings personally to help Master refine the magical treasure."

"Yes, Master Brother," the six men and women responded in unison, then each picked up various torture instruments from the ground and walked toward the bound innate beings.

These bound innate beings, whose dantians had been destroyed, were almost all from the Yan Mountains. There were very few from other places, as most had already been tortured to death. Even the dozens who were still alive were close to death.

"Both a cultivator of qi and a body cultivator? At the peak of the innate stage? I must see for myself," the man in black robes grunted and strode out.

...

"The Three Talents are the foundation," Ji Ning, protected by the water and fire lotus, sat cross-legged, muttering to himself while observing the great array around him, "Among the Five Elements, water and earth are the main ones... the source of change is in these positions."

A huge array model naturally formed in his mind, revealing the profound workings of the array.

Ji Ning immediately stood up.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

He instantly transformed into a blur, changing direction several times. The faster he moved, the greater the pressure on the array, making it easier to discern its true nature.

"This array model is even more profound than I thought," Ji Ning shook his head, "If I could see the array flags or array plates, I would quickly understand the array's secrets." He knew that a Zifu cultivator was controlling the array, and the Zifu cultivator might be unable to come due to some special reason.

But Ji Ning was clear that it was only a matter of time before the Zifu cultivator could spare the effort. Once he did, the Zifu cultivator's own strength, combined with the array's assistance, would almost certainly mean death for him.

"I must break the array."

Time was pressing, and under this无形的压力，Ji Ning was fully focused on comprehending the array, his understanding of array techniques continuously improving. Fortunately, he had the foundation from his previous life, the powerful soul of this life, and the array techniques left by a scattered immortal. The combination of these three aspects led to his remarkable progress. However, to break the array set up by a Zifu cultivator... he was still far from it.

The array set up by a Zifu cultivator required overwhelming force to break through. It was impossible for someone at the same level, and even a Wanxiang True Man would find it difficult. As for Ji Ning, he could only try to uncover the secrets of the array to break it easily. To break it by force? He was far too weak.

"Ugh!" The black mist ahead seemed to thin slightly, revealing a black figure in the distance. The black figure watched Ji Ning, who was sitting cross-legged, with interest, "Controlling water and fire? That protective lotus seems quite extraordinary."

Plop!

The man in black robes was now holding a porcelain bottle, the stopper removed, releasing a scent that could make one's heart drunk. The bottle contained Drunken Dragon Saliva, which, if drunk directly, could even make a Wanxiang True Man fall into a stupor. Of course, making a Wanxiang True Man drink it was difficult, as they would detect it immediately upon smelling it.

The mere scent of the Drunken Dragon Saliva, if inhaled, could almost instantly render an innate being unconscious. As the eldest disciple, he had been given this Drunken Dragon Saliva by his master, allowing him to capture many innate beings silently.

"Pour, pour, pour!" The black figure watched Ji Ning with anticipation.

"Hmm?"

Sitting cross-legged, Ji Ning felt a fragrant scent enter his nose, causing his body to soften and his head to spin. However, the innate divine body he had achieved through the "Chi Ming Nine Heavens Chart" was far superior to ordinary divine bodies. Although he felt a slight dizziness, the divine power within his body quickly resisted the sensation.

"Which little scoundrel is using tricks behind my back!" Ji Ning stood up abruptly, shouting loudly.

"Ha ha ha, indeed, it's hard to intoxicate an innate divine body cultivator," the man in black robes walked over from a distance, "The body of an innate divine body cultivator is already that of a divine being, and the difficulty of intoxicating them is no less than intoxicating a Zifu cultivator. Therefore, the innate beings I captured in the Yan Mountains are all qi cultivators."

"Qi cultivators fall unconscious at the first whiff, and once their dantians are destroyed, they are completely helpless. But for divine body cultivators, even if their dantians are punctured, they can still regenerate, making them the hardest to control. Moreover, it's extremely difficult to torture a divine body cultivator to death," the man in black robes muttered to himself.

Ji Ning, however, stared at the man in black robes, holding two swords in his hands, extremely cautious. The man's approach gave him an intangible pressure... the domineering aura of an innate divine body cultivator, clearly indicating that the man had already activated his divine power and was ready to attack at any moment.

"You said you captured innate beings?" Ji Ning stared at him.

The man in black robes, however, answered indirectly, looking at Ji Ning with a smile, "If I'm not mistaken, you should be Ji Ning, the young master of the Ji Clan."

"Hmm?" Ji Ning was startled.

This was an era of tribes, where communication relied on shouting and transportation on running. Only the higher-ups in some tribes knew Ji Ning's name. Even if they knew, they might not recognize him...

"Looks like I'm right," the man in black robes sighed, "In the entire Yan Mountains, there is no one else who is so young and already an innate being, and even considered to be at the peak of the innate stage by my junior disciples. It can only be Ji Ning, who kicked down a city wall with one foot and kicked Jiang Sansi away with another."

"You know quite a lot," Ji Ning looked at him.

"Of course, I need to know a lot," the man in black robes sighed, "I was ordered by my master to capture a large number of innate beings in the Yan Mountains. I naturally need to gather a lot of information about the innate beings in the Yan Mountains. If I don't, I might accidentally kick a steel plate and get into trouble. For example, your father, Ji Yichuan... he has been at the peak of the innate stage for a long time, and I even suspect he is already a Zifu cultivator. I wouldn't dare to capture such a person."

"Once I have a clear understanding, I can capture them accurately. So many innate beings have gone missing in the Yan Mountains, but no one knows who did it," the man in black robes looked at Ji Ning, "So young and so powerful, there is no one else like you in the entire Yan Mountains, especially since this is the territory of the Western Manor of the Ji Clan, and you are from the Western Manor of the Ji Clan."

Ji Ning was shocked.

So many innate beings have gone missing in the Yan Mountains? How did he not know?

Actually, these incidents had just recently occurred. Capturing innate beings had to be done quickly and suddenly, and it might take a few days for the other side to notice. By the time the entire tribe made a decision, even more time would pass. Therefore, a large number had to be captured quickly and in a frenzy. If the major forces in the Yan Mountains became aware and set traps, it would be dangerous.

"Nearly a hundred innate beings have gone missing in the Yan Mountains," the man in black robes looked at Ji Ning, "Because this area is close to the Ji Clan, more have gone missing from the Ji Clan, a total of twenty-four. Some are directly from your Ji Clan, and some are from tribes under your Ji Clan. The Ji Clan's territory is so vast that you might not have an accurate count of the missing innate beings yet."

Ji Ning was horrified.

The Ji Clan, had so many innate beings gone missing?

"Even some from the Western Manor of the Ji Clan have gone missing. I'll name a few, and you probably know them," the man in black robes said, "Ji Wuyu, Ji Shan, Wa Qiong, Zhen Tu, Meng Yu, these five are all directly from the Western Manor of the Ji Clan. You should know them, right?"

"Ah!"

Ji Ning's face turned pale.

Ji Wuyu... was Ji Lie's son, Ji Lie's most outstanding son. Ji Lie's lineage and the main lineage had been competing for the position of the next Manor Lord, and Ji Wuyu was one of the most active. Ji Ning had once disliked this person.

Ji Shan, a young innate being from the Western Manor of the Ji Clan, though not a leader, was highly expected by the Western Manor. After all, he was surnamed Ji and belonged to the main lineage.

Wa Qiong, a newly promoted innate being cultivated and absorbed by the Western Manor of the Ji Clan. Ji Ning had seen him many times in the Western Manor City, and Wa Qiong would always bow slightly and call him "Young Master Ji Ning" whenever he saw him.

Zhen Tu, one of the twenty leaders of the Ji Clan!

Meng Yu... Meng Yu... Meng Yu!!!

"Master Meng Yu!" Ji Ning's heart trembled.

Master Meng Yu had taught him archery and was the one he knew best among the five.

Five people.

Each one he knew well, having grown up in the Western Manor City. He had seen every one of the innate beings in the Western Manor City. He was familiar with them, as they were his clan members in this life. Some he had once despised, some were from his main lineage, some had some connection with him, and some had taught him archery!

"You..." Ji Ning's face was pale.

"You know them all, right? Ha ha," the man in black robes suddenly shouted loudly, "Ji Wuyu, Ji Shan, Wa Qiong, Zhen Tu, Meng Yu, your young master Ji Ning from the Western Manor of the Ji Clan is inside the great array. Your young master Ji Ning will soon join you! Ha ha ha..."

His voice was loud, directly reaching the depths of the mountain far away.