Chapter 78: Losing One’s Family Name Is Common
Considering Ji Zhi’s busy political affairs, making him review memorials while recovering was inhumane. Jiang Li decided to keep a record of this and settle the score later.
Jiang Li briefly explained the situation to Ji Kongkong. Learning that she could help, Ji Kongkong was delighted to agree.
“How far back can you trace time?”
“Hehe, six hours!” Ji Kongkong said proudly. Her father had told her that, according to all recorded texts, her talent was undoubtedly the greatest in the Ji family.
At just the third level of Qi Refining, she could already touch the “Dao” and wield it freely. It was simply unimaginable!
“Mm, not bad.” Jiang Li’s indifferent remark made Ji Kongkong’s heart flutter with joy. She had no idea that Jiang Li was actually thinking: Other people’s kids can trace six hours at Qi Refining Stage 3, but I, at the Mahayana Stage, can’t even trace one second.
Jiang Li carried Ji Kongkong as they flew toward the Tianyuan Dynasty. Ji Kongkong’s little white legs swung restlessly.
“Have you ever seen a dead person?”
Jiang Li suddenly remembered that she was just a seven or eight-year-old child. Was it too cruel to have her go back in time to witness a murder scene? He didn’t want to leave a psychological shadow on her.
Ji Kongkong fell silent, her mood somewhat downcast. “I have. An older sister was jealous of my talent and wanted to kill me. My mother protected me… I want to understand the Dao of Time so I can go back and see my mother…”
Jiang Li didn’t ask any further about the process or outcome. He simply rubbed her little head affectionately.
Arriving at Tianyuan Imperial City, Jiang Li didn’t go directly to the Grand General’s mansion. Instead, he wandered around with Ji Kongkong—drinking tea and eating snacks at a teahouse, listening to a wildly inaccurate storytelling of The Human Sovereign’s Legend, and even letting her play with the Ruyi Gourd… Ji Kongkong laughed non-stop along the way.
Seeing her mood improve, Jiang Li still asked with concern, “Are you sure you’re okay? There’s no need to force yourself. I have other ways.”
Of course, by “other ways,” he meant finding another Zhou family member, though he couldn’t say that to Ji Kongkong.
He was already regretting bringing her along. Looking back now, it was obvious that bastard Ji Zhi wanted to train his child’s mental resilience. Since he couldn’t bear to do it himself, he tricked Jiang Li into helping, under the pretense of Ji Kongkong assisting them.
It seemed that handling state affairs wasn’t exhausting enough—Ji Zhi still had the energy to scheme against him.
“No problem!” Ji Kongkong waved her tiny fists and headed into the Grand General’s mansion. She disappeared before Jiang Li’s eyes, then reappeared, panting heavily.
“The killer suddenly appeared behind the Grand General. He didn’t have time to react and was killed instantly. I couldn’t see the killer’s face, but I know he went in that direction and disappeared into a mystic realm.”
Following her guidance, Jiang Li arrived at a spot deep in the mountains outside the city. Though it was only a mountainside, it was shrouded in mist. With the naked eye, visibility barely extended twenty meters—an ideal place for concealment.
Through the mist, Jiang Li spotted a Nascent Soul cultivator leading a Golden Core cultivator toward the mystic realm entrance.
“Check if the killer left the mystic realm,” Jiang Li instructed Ji Kongkong to trace back time.
Ji Kongkong quickly answered, “In the past few hours, only people have entered—no one has left.”
The killer was highly suspicious, and the Divine Repository Sect was shrouded in mystery. Jiang Li didn’t want to alert them just yet, so he set this clue aside for now.
“Excuse me, are you two entering the organization from here?” Jiang Li pulled Ji Kongkong along and politely asked the two cultivators.
The Golden Core cultivator looked wary, but the Nascent Soul cultivator gestured for him to relax. Seeing that Jiang Li was also at the Nascent Soul Stage, he responded courteously, “Fellow Daoist, you must be mistaken. With the chaos in the Imperial City, we brothers simply wish to avoid the turmoil. There’s no such organization.”
“Fellow Daoist, perhaps you should look at this first?” Jiang Li extended a fingertip, revealing a faint golden glow—serene and illusory, like a dream.
It was the power of karmic virtue that he had extracted from the old man.
The Nascent Soul cultivator’s expression changed drastically. He hastily grabbed Jiang Li’s hand, murmured an incantation, and opened the mystic realm. Then, he pulled Jiang Li, Ji Kongkong, and the Golden Core cultivator inside.
“Fellow Daoist, that was reckless! The power of the Divine Repository should not be revealed so casually!”
Inside the mystic realm, the Nascent Soul cultivator reprimanded Jiang Li. Since Jiang Li possessed the power of the Divine Repository, it meant he was aware of some sect secrets. Whether he was an enemy or an ally, the sect’s experts would determine the truth.
The Nascent Soul cultivator had great confidence in the Divine Repository Sect’s methods. Under the gaze of the Divine Repository Sovereign’s statue, Jiang Li wouldn’t be able to cause much trouble.
“The situation was urgent at the time. My ancestor gave this to me in a hurry and didn’t have time to explain clearly. I hope fellow Daoist understands,” Jiang Li said.
“My sister and I are from the Long Clan of Longyin City. I am Long Li, and this is my younger sister, Long Kongkong,” Jiang Li gritted his teeth as he spoke. “I don’t know where that damned city lord got his information, but he knew our ancestor was treating Long Sanshui’s injuries and that he couldn’t be disturbed. He seized the opportunity to wound our ancestor in secret. Left with no choice, our ancestor fought back despite his injuries, but in the end, he lost by a single move.”
“We are the last descendants of the Long Clan. Before passing, our ancestor told us to come to the highest mountain near the Imperial Dynasty. The mountainside would be shrouded in mist, and if we could find traces of people on the southern slope, they would be members of the organization.”
“Our ancestor also gave me this golden light, saying that as long as I showed it to the organization’s people, they would understand everything.” Jiang Li mixed one truth with nine lies, making the Nascent Soul sect member half-believe, half-doubt.
He had heard that the old leader of Longyin City had been killed and that he wasn’t a sect member—just someone who had dealings with Divine Repository Priest Li, often delivering human primers to him. Could it be that Priest Li had revealed the sect’s location to him?
Unfortunately, Priest Li was away, and it was uncertain when he would return.
Ji Kongkong blinked and said nothing. She recalled a story her father had told her—when traveling with Jiang Li, one might lose their family name. No need to worry; it was common.
“May I ask what this power is? Why can’t I absorb it?” Jiang Li inquired, but the Nascent Soul sect member didn’t answer.
“Since you’ve entered this mystic realm, you can only join our sect now. Fortunately, we have exactly ten people, so we can proceed with the initiation ceremony. I will be presiding over it. You may call me Real Person Feng.”
“I am Cheng Ziqi,” introduced the Golden Core cultivator, though no one really cared about his name.
Jiang Li used his divine sense to scan the entire mystic realm. The highest cultivation level here was only at the Soul Formation Stage. The killer couldn’t be among them.
How could a Soul Formation cultivator possibly kill a battle-hardened Body Integration expert?
Yet, the mystic realm had only one exit. Where could the killer have gone?
Jiang Li was confident that no one could disguise themselves under his divine sense—unless they were an immortal.
Since he couldn’t find the killer, he might as well see what this initiation ceremony was all about. Jiang Li handed the Ruyi Gourd to Ji Kongkong and instructed it to stay sharp and protect her.