Chapter 307: The Unfathomable Mr. Ji

Having met Gao Tianming and his wife, Ji Yuan now had some new ideas in mind. After accepting the greetings, he smiled and spoke to them.

“Alright, there’s no need to be so polite. It is a blessing to meet you here.”

Ji Yuan extended his hand to the side and introduced his companions.

“This is the great Hero

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Yan Fei, and this is the demon Niu Batian.”

Gao Tianming and Lady Gao bowed to the two of them.

“Good to meet the both of you!”

Niu Batian and Yan Fei hurriedly returned the greetings, and they all briefly acquainted themselves.

Gao Tianming was extremely surprised to see Ji Yuan here. He hadn’t had the chance to speak with Ji Yuan at the Dragon Lord’s birthday banquet, so being able to chat with him now on the streets of the city of the dead was naturally a welcome development.

“Mr. Ji, you also know Xin Wuya? Did he invite you to attend his celebration?”

“Xin Wuya? Is that the name of the Lord of this ghost city?”

Ji Yuan replied after a moment’s thought.

Gao Tianming could infer from this statement that Mr. Ji and the Lord of the ghost city did not in fact know each other.

“Did City Lord Xin not invite you? Did you come to congratulate him on your own initiative, sir?”

Gao Tianming’s expression was visibly surprised, while at the same time internally complaining to himself.

‘This Xin Wuya can garner such great respect? Could he truly make Mr. Ji come over to congratulate him in person?’

“Hmph, what congratulations? Mr. Ji and the two of us found a carriage-load of idiots had strayed into the city of the dead, so we wanted to come in to find and rescue them. Otherwise, this place full of old ghosts would be very agitated at the sight of a couple of living people.”

Niu Batian sneered coldly, explaining Ji Yuan’s reasoning while at the same time elevating his status in their eyes by showing off how well he and Mr. Ji knew each other.

“Oh? Is that so? So Mr. Ji caught that old ghost Wuya doing such a thing. If he had any sense, he would have handed them over. I don’t believe that he would dare do such evil acts in front of Mr. Ji!”

Indeed, they heard right: he used “City Lord Xin Wuya” previously, but now, hearing that the other party might be at odds with Mr. Ji, he had directly switched to “old ghost Wuya.”

Gao Tianming and his wife, Xia Qiu, possessed considerable monstrous spiritual energy, and had been specially invited to the celebration. They must have had connections with the City Lord of the ghost city, and their presence together likely signaled their recognition of the city of the dead’s status.

Yet, even under such circumstances, upon hearing Mr. Ji’s intentions, they immediately and unhesitatingly pledged their support.

Their actions further reinforced Mr. Ji’s profound strength in Niu Batian and Yan Fei’s eyes.

Ji Yuan nodded.

“The City Lord of the ghost city likely doesn’t know about this matter yet. As far as I know, those people were captured by a ghost called the Dark Minister, to be handed over to the Lord during the banquet. I was originally considering ways to properly rescue them, but since you and your wife are here, there is some room to maneuver. We can try to petition for their release.”

Gao Tianming narrowed his eyes, gazing into the depths of the city.

“Mr. Ji, don’t worry, I will take care of this matter. I know this old ghost Wuya well, I doubt he will refuse to hand over the prisoners!”

At this, Gao Tianming smiled again, and bowed slightly before ushering them towards his carriage.

“Mr. Ji, please take a seat, let’s go find that old ghost Wuya together!”

It seemed that Gao Tianming was well-acquainted with the City Lord of the ghost city, so Ji Yuan could rest assured. It would be best to avoid taking any action, of course. However, he also didn’t want to ride in that damp-looking carriage, which would have been unpalatable to any non-aquatic creatures.

“No need, I can simply walk. You two can take a seat.”

“In that case, I will walk with you, Mr. Ji!”

Gao Tianming declared, waving a hand towards the carriage. The procession began moving again, but this time the carriage was empty. The very man the procession was serving was walking beside it, chatting and laughing with the man in white.

Ji Yuan politely chatted with Gao Tianming and his wife for a little bit, focusing mainly on the Old Dragon’s affairs. After that, he simply listened, and didn’t say anything more. It wasn’t that he was acting aloof, but rather that he simply lacked common ground to chat about.

Although Gao Tianming desperately wanted to establish a good relationship with Ji Yuan, he knew that in front of such a distinguished figure, he shouldn’t approach too aggressively. Thus, seeing that Mr. Ji was merely listening calmly, occasionally offering a polite smile, he quickly withdrew and had a maid — a water monster in disguise — bring a tray of preserved fruits and pastries to Ji Yuan’s side.

“Mr. Ji, please enjoy. I will go and greet the two friends behind us.”

“Alright.”

Ji Yuan responded lightly, and picked up a slice of dried apricots as a gesture of appreciation for his enthusiasm.

Gao Tianming winked at his wife, Xia Qiu, then walked back a few steps with a smile, naturally approaching Niu Batian and Yan Fei. He bowed slightly and whispered:

“Excuse me, gentlemen, I was a little engrossed in chatting with Mr. Ji just now.”

Yan Fei quickly returned the bow, followed by Niu Batian. Niu Batian

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swallowed the remaining red bean cake in his mouth and replied understandingly.

“It’s okay, it’s okay, this Old Bull understands how you feel, after all, it’s not easy to meet Mr. Ji!”

“Brother Niu is right! I wonder how Hero Yan and Brother Niu met Mr. Ji?”

Yan Fei smiled helplessly, gripping his sword.

“Master Gao, you praise me too much. I am just a mere mortal warrior, I don’t deserve the title of Hero. I was saved by Mr. Ji a little over ten years ago, and he saved my life again a few days ago. It’s not a matter of friendship, but rather of life-saving grace!”

Gao Tianming nodded after hearing this, but didn’t dare to neglect his manners.

“So that’s how it is. Hero Yan and Mr. Ji have known each other for more than ten years. For a mortal, this is quite a long span of time! What about you, Brother Niu?”

As for Yan Fei’s refusal to be called a Hero, Gao Tianming pretended he hadn’t heard it. Mr. Ji called him by that title, so how could he call him Xiao Yan or Xiao Fei?

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“Oh, just call me Old Bull. Haha, actually it’s similar to Brother Yan. I was previously chased by a powerful enemy, but I didn’t Brother Yan to be caught in the middle, and involve Mr. Ji along the way. As a result, that stinky bitch recognized Mr. Ji and was terrified…”

The Old Bull gave a brief account of what happened that day, making Gao Tianming once again exclaim about his good fortune.

Having finished his story, Niu Batian looked at Ji Yuan in front of them, took a step closer to Gao Tianming, and said in a low voice.

“Brother Gao, what is Mr. Ji’s background, and how powerful is he?”

Gao Tianming also subconsciously glanced at Ji Yuan’s back. Even in this city of the dead, he felt a special sense of calm when looking at him.

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“Mr. Ji’s identity is extremely mysterious, and I don’t know too much. If you really want to know, you can probably ask the Dragon Lord. I first met him at the Dragon Lord’s thousandth birthday banquet. Numerous aquatic creatures traveled thousands of li to congratulate him, and there’s a rumor…”

Gao Tianming’s voice trailed off again, then became even quieter.

“I heard His Royal Highness the Dragon Son mention it casually. It is said that the Dragon Lord almost missed his own birthday banquet back then because he spent years searching for his friend, Mr. Ji, to invite him to the feast. The countless aquatic creatures and realms that came to congratulate him were less important in his heart than Mr. Ji alone…”

“Hiss…”

Niu Batian’s head was numb, and Yan Fei had goosebumps all over his body at his words. It wasn’t fear, but rather an inexplicable excitement.

A Dragon Lord’s thousand-year birthday? Thousands of aquatic creatures from all over the world coming to celebrate? Just by hearing these words, he could already imagine the scene. In comparison, this ghost city’s so-called celebration was nothing.

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The more Gao Tianming observed Niu Batian and Yan Fei’s reactions, the more he understood that these two people were not that familiar with Mr. Ji. Yan Fei was a mortal, so it was natural that Mr. Ji would not discuss such matters with him. And the Old Bull seemed to only have met Mr. Ji very recently.

“As for Mr. Ji’s strength, I estimate that he is at least a True Immortal!”

“True Immortal!”

Niu Batian whispered subconsciously. This was truly a legendary figure.

“That’s right! He is least True Immortal! I am familiar with the Dragon Lord’s son, His Highness Ying. Although not many know of Mr. Ji outside of Dazhen, I have come to understand that Mr. Ji’s greatest skill is probably his swordsmanship, followed by his edicts. He also possessed the Spirit-Binding technique, and his words carry the sound of the Tao.”

Having finished this sentence, Gao Tianming grew even more engaged, and quickly added more.

“It’s hard to explain the rest, but Mr. Ji’s swordsmanship is incredible, even terrifying. I heard that Mr. i has a sword technique called the ‘Heaven Rending Sword.’ As the name suggests, when the sword is drawn, it carries enough might to rend the heavens. Without the ability to withstand the heavens, one cannot withstand the force of the Heaven-Rending Sword. When I first heard about it, I couldn’t even imagine it. His Highness Ying told me to imagine standing alone on the ground, the sky collapsing over my head…”

After hearing his words, even Yan Fei could imagine the power of this immortal technique. Both he and Niu Batian subconsciously glanced up at the sky, gulping involuntarily.

However, Niu Batian was quite surprised that he hadn’t heard anything about Mr. Ji’s fire control technique. Perhaps it couldn’t he compared to the might of the Heaven-Rending Sword, but it was not so insignificant to not even be mentioned. Last night, he had almost lost his life just by visualizing the flames.

“Uh, Brother Gao, what about Mr. Ji’s fire control technique? It’s so powerful, could you please tell us about it?”

Niu Batian originally wanted to know more, but he saw a look of confusion on Gao Tianming’s face.

“Well, I’ve never heard of Mr. Ji’s extraordinary fire control technique, nor have I ever seen him use it. Could it be that Brother Niu has seen it?”

“No way? You haven’t heard of it?”

“I’ve never heard of it. Brother Niu, do you know something?”

Niu Batian was stunned for a moment, and then felt inexplicably proud for some reason. However, his face remained serious as he spoke in a low voice.

“Actually, I didn’t see it in full, but it’s clear that Mr. Ji can control fire, and his abilities are definitely beyond Brother Gao’s imagination. Last night, Mr. Ji used a breath of fire to help this Old Bull eradicate that evil woman’s technique. It was just an exhale of fire…”

There was a hint of fear in the Old Bull’s words, setting the scene for what he was recounting.

“Although I didn’t see it, this Old Bull has keep spiritual senses. When that breath of fire entered my body, I could vaguely sense the boundless sea of flames behind it. That raging fire could surely consume anything…”

Niu Batian took a deep breath, half-deliberate, half-genuinely needed, creating a feeling of tension, before he continued.

“I once asked Mr. about the source of the fire. Mr. Ji said that it was the True Fire that he had cultivated, a skill no one else in the world possesses. It is a combination of the Divine Heart Fire that transforms into the True Fire of the Alchemy Furnace, the extreme Yang energy of the Celestial Fire of Samadhi, and the extreme Yin energy of the Cold Yin True Fire, the lower Sea of Qi Fire,

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and the extreme Yin energy of th eCold Yin True Fire. These three are combined and refind into one, which is called… the True Fire of Samadhi!”

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Gao Tianming broke out in a cold sweat just by hearing those words. He was an aquatic creature, and water and fire were mutually restraining elements. Just hearing this explanation was extremely terrifying.

Yan Fei wasn’t as deeply impressed by the True Fire of Samadhi as he had been at the Heaven Rending Sword, but the Old Bull’s words reminded him of something, so he chimed in.

“Brother Niu, you forgot one more thing: Mr. Ji’s Golden-Armored Warrior!”

“That’s right! Brother Gao, you didn’t mention this method just now either. Mr. Ji uses a piece of yellow paper to summon a golden-armored guardian general, known as the Golden-Armored Warrior, or the Yellow-Robed Warrior. I asked Mr. Ji about it, and he said it could be considered a guardian technique. Although I haven’t seen this warrior in action, judging by its arrogant demeanor and its reverence of Mr. Ji, I imagine it’s certainly quite skilled!”

Gao Tianming absolutely agreed with this statement. How could one of Mr. Ji’s summons be weak?

But at the same time, Gao Tianming shook his head helplessly.

“I have indeed never heard of this technique…”

At this moment, when Niu Batian and Gao Tianming looked at Ji Yuan again, their sense of awe and unfathomable depths grew even more palpable. Gao Tianming felt that perhaps, next time he saw His Highness the Dragon Son, he would have something to talk about that was better than anything the other party had to share.

“By the way, Brother Gao, what would happen if the City Lord of the ghost city doesn’t hand over those people…”

The Old Bull spoke, with some malicious meaning hidden in his words. Gao Tianming also gave a sinister smile when he heard.

“Hmph, that would be courting death. As far as I knows, although Mr. Ji treats all sentient beings equally, he hates evil ones the most…!”

T/n: JY has very, very good hearing, so you can imagine how much of a fun time he’s having up at the front of the conga line, listening to these three gossipy bros just going off on absolutely crazy speculations about his powers

JY: yeah, it’s a weak technique, here are the drawbacks. Man, I should really get stronger

Everyone else in the world: um. sir. please spare us

Once again, I translated some of these to “Warrior” previously because the distinction was just so dang fine, but here it’s used as “Hero.” I might fully switch over to “Hero” eventually, but until then it’s going to be a case-by-case basis

The raws say Yan Fei. The raws are very clearly wrong.

In case you didn’t remember, Xiao is a diminutive nickname.

Lit. “not even a fart”

For a refresher, see chapter 94. Note that NB is using different titles for the fires because his knowledge base is cultivation, not anatomy. Still, they’re listed in the same order (heart, kidney, “sea of Qi” i.e. dantian). Also note that he’s missing that last fire ingredient, “Hidden Divine Fire” 😀