Chapter 229: Lord Of A World, An Unprecedented Transformation
“This can be considered my first true step onto the path of longevity and immortality, right?”
Ning Qi chuckled in his heart.
In his deductions, the Realm Lord Cultivation System, due to fusing with the world, possessed a lifespan far surpassing the Immortal Dao Cultivation System. The First Realm Lord Realm might be comparable in strength only to a Nascent Soul True Monarch, but its lifespan could be even more exaggerated than that of an Integration Realm Old Ancestor.
In other words.
Surpassing one epoch was entirely possible.
This was still due to the limit of his own spirit’s capacity to endure. Otherwise, the lifespan would be the same as the small world—eternal as long as the small world did not perish.
All along.
Ning Qi’s greatest pursuit had been longevity and immortality. Now, he was finally beginning to touch that goal.
But this was only the beginning, far from enough.
Ning Qi took a deep breath.
He gazed at the Martial World Will before him and could clearly sense a hint of confusion emanating from that consciousness. After Ning Qi had just evolved the Myriad Daos, it seemed to regard Ning Qi as one of its kind. This was not only because Ning Qi had evolved the Myriad Daos, but also because Ning Qi had been constantly adjusting the resonance between himself and the world.
It was as if he were another will born from the Martial World.
“Integrate with me, and the Martial World will endure forever!”
Ning Qi was stating a fact.
“Rumble!”
A massive roar suddenly exploded, causing all saints’ souls to tremble. This heavenly sound was far more terrifying than the fluctuations previously emitted by the Martial World Will. They felt some panic, unsure of its origin.
Only Ning Qi knew.
It was the Martial World itself.
In the end, the Martial World Will was merely the ‘steward’ born from the Martial World, not the Martial World itself. Its purpose was solely to protect the Martial World.
And now.
The Martial World itself seemed to have detected a more suitable existence.
It naturally responded.
After all, the Martial World had no consciousness or emotions. Its only instinct was to exist, and all its actions stemmed from this most fundamental need.
This was precisely Ning Qi’s goal—he could more easily merge his body with the Martial World.
The Martial World Will began to tremble.
It sensed the supreme majesty of the birth mother body, but instinct drove it to resist. It had finally gained consciousness, and though it currently possessed only simple instincts, over long years it would inevitably grow stronger, even developing more emotions and wisdom.
To perish now was something it naturally refused.
The Martial World Will erupted in brilliant light. The weakened it eyed the being before it with fear, continuously emitting roaring booms, attempting to drive Ning Qi away.
But Ning Qi smiled.
He saw through the Martial World Will’s bluff. Without feedback from the Martial World Main Body, it was merely rootless duckweed.
Ning Qi stepped forward again.
In the next instant.
The Myriad Daos evolved at his side, with the most essential parts gradually converging into one. The Myriad Daos returning to one was not mere empty words—Ning Qi was evolving this process. All saints were stunned, as if witnessing a myth.
Through the Thunder River canopy, they saw.
Pure white flames slowly igniting on Ning Qi’s body.
The flames appeared utterly ordinary, but all saints seemed to see their own paths within them, only more advanced, containing a power they could not comprehend.
This was the Origin Fire, a mutation of the Nirvana Origin Fire in some sense.
“Hum!”
In that instant.
The Origin Fire surged violently, blotting out the sky. All the anomalies stirred by the Martial World Will turned to nothingness before this flame, refined into the purest spiritual energy.
All saints’ eyes widened.
Some Martial Saints with higher comprehension had their minds go blank. They vaguely comprehended something—the scene before them was essentially dissecting the essence of the Myriad Daos for them, displaying it one by one. This was far more effective than any supreme secret manual.
The more they comprehended, the more reverence they felt toward Ning Qi.
But the next moment.
The congregation cried out in alarm, hearts tightening. Dragon Mountain Daoist even rushed straight over, stopping before the Thunder River canopy, anxious and restless.
They saw the pure white flames growing ever more ferocious, gradually turning even Ning Qi’s fleshly body to nothingness.
If not for Ning Qi’s calm expression, the congregation would likely have already taken action.
Light blazed ever brighter in Ning Qi’s eyes.
This was naturally a secret technique he had long deduced. To merge body with the world, the first step was to abandon one’s fleshly body, incinerate it with Origin Fire, and unify the spirit. It seemed perilous, but it was always under his control.
“Fuse!”
Ning Qi rarely laughed heartily, his laughter shaking the heavens, gradually calming all saints.
Under everyone’s gaze.
Ning Qi’s fleshly body completely dissolved, then transformed into a tiny flame sprout. But all saints could sense powerful force within it. That small flame sprout was tenacious, charging toward the majestic Martial World Will.
This contrast was extremely impactful.
But for some reason, all saints sensed fear from the Martial World Will’s flickering light.
“Hum!”
The small flame sprout finally rushed into the light cluster.
In that instant.
Endless radiance exploded, the powerful impact piercing the Thunder River canopy with countless holes. All saints were horrified, retreating again and again. Even with their spiritual sense, they could not perceive what was happening inside.
At this moment.
The tension in everyone’s hearts reached its peak.
They feared Ning Qi’s failure. If he truly failed, it would be unbearable agony for the Martial World. One could say Ning Qi was now the Martial World’s last hope.
Gazes fixed on that side, hearts unconsciously accelerating.
Finally.
The light dissipated.
All saints’ eyes instinctively widened, then surged with ecstatic joy.
At the site of the originally vast and majestic light cluster, a pure white flame sprout burned quietly. Though only a tiny flame sprout, it emanated the same majesty as the previous Martial World Will, instinctively inspiring reverence in all saints.
“This is… success?”
This thought arose in all saints’ hearts.
But the pure white flame sprout merely burned quietly, giving no response. All saints could only suppress their anxiety and continue waiting.
Strictly speaking.
Ning Qi had succeeded halfway.
The Origin Fire formed from all his power had successfully devoured and assimilated the previous Martial World Will.
In that instant, vast and majestic memories and scenes surged in. Most were meaningless slumbering times, but a small portion were essence—control and comprehension of Heaven and Earth Origin, and occasional glimpses of the world’s beings. This was a completely different perspective and experience, benefiting Ning Qi immensely.
Ning Qi guarded his true heart, digesting the remnants left by the previous Martial World Will.
The Origin Fire continuously filtered those instincts poured in from the Martial World Main Body.
He wanted to devour the Martial World Will, not be assimilated by it—not even the slightest change.
Time passed, unknown how long.
Ning Qi’s consciousness shook, finally awakening from the previous chaotic state.
He immediately sensed his current wondrous state.
With a thought, Heaven and Earth Origin gathered. Controlling the Myriad Daos felt like instinct, effortless and casual. He cast down an imperceptible gaze, infinitely distant, able to see everything happening in the world.
He saw all saints looking toward him with worry.
He saw towering mountains, vast rivers, brimming with vitality, vibrant and flourishing.
He saw, within the world, every being fulfilling their roles—exotic beasts clashing in combat for survival territory, martial artists diligently training, hoping to rise above others…
This was a completely different experience.
“Is this the perspective of a world will?” Ning Qi sighed inwardly.
To be precise.
He had now replaced the previous Martial World Will, becoming the new Martial World Will, and stronger than its predecessor because he possessed wisdom.
Even now, Ning Qi was far stronger than before.
At this step.
He had actually completed the supreme method deduced by True Martial Ancestor.
But Ning Qi was not satisfied.
This was far from the Realm Lord Cultivation System he had deduced earlier. Now, he could clearly feel the world binding him—that was the suppression from the Martial World Main Body. The Martial World needed only a ‘steward’ to protect itself.
The current Ning Qi was merely a cluster of consciousness. He possessed supreme strength but no fleshly body, more like an immortal soul trapped in the Martial World. This was not what he wanted.
He wanted to step into the Realm Lord Realm, becoming the lord of a world.
Without hesitation, Ning Qi began the next step.
“Hum!”
Under all saints’ horrified gazes, the small flame sprout that had been burning quietly suddenly erupted with terrifying fluctuations!
A massively thick Five-Colored Sword Qi shot into the heavens, sweeping up the congregation and sending them out along the Thunder Forbidden Zone. The commotion next would be great, and Ning Qi did not want to affect them.
All saints stood stunned outside the Thunder Forbidden Zone, somewhat dazed.
“What does this mean?” someone murmured.
Gui Changqing said solemnly:
“I guess the Hall Master is perhaps attempting something and sent us out to avoid harming us. Since that’s the case, let’s go down and wait, so as not to disturb the Hall Master.”
The congregation nodded, rushing downward together.
Only occasionally glancing back did they see the space they had occupied growing ever more terrifyingly volatile, giving them a sense of impending catastrophe.
Above the Thunder Forbidden Zone.
Only the flame sprout transformed from Ning Qi remained.
His state had adjusted to its peak, thoughts flowing as various deductions about the Realm Lord Realm surged in his mind.
“In the Immortal Dao System, when the Mana Realm reaches perfection, one can return the five energies to the origin to nurture supernatural powers, then use them to open the Purple Mansion. Now, with my self-created Realm Lord Cultivation System, the First Realm Lord Realm takes the Purple Mansion Realm as its blueprint.”
“The difference is that my ‘Purple Mansion’ is the world itself! Condensing World Power afterward allows one to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the world Main Body, at which point one can rightfully be called the lord of a world!”
“Turning the entire world into a Purple Mansion is extremely difficult and requires the support of myriad supernatural powers.”
Thoughts clarified.
Ning Qi began to act.
In that instant.
In the originally silent space, terrifying supernatural powers appeared one after another. After becoming the world will incarnation, combined with Ning Qi’s heaven-defying comprehension, condensing supernatural powers was effortless. In a turn, one succeeded.
Towering Five Elements Sword Qi, Heaven-Splitting Giant Saber, azure fire lotus, Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva, void-piercing heavenly spear light…
Whether seen or unseen by Ning Qi, all manifested beside him. Some from his own comprehension, others from the True Martial Inheritance. These supernatural powers varied in strength, but gathered together, their aura could destroy heaven and earth—truly so. The surrounding void could no longer endure, collapsing and reforming.
Ning Qi already felt it.
The oppressive and binding sensations from the void were intensifying—that was the Martial World Main Body detecting something amiss.
“Too late.” Ning Qi chuckled lightly.
With a thought.
The Thunder Forbidden Zone below began to roar. All saints rushing downward looked up in horror, then saw the eternally existing, terrifyingly fearsome Thunder Forbidden Zone transform into countless Thunder Dragons charging upward.
All saints felt great calamity approaching and dared not linger, fleeing downward like flying.
Ning Qi calmly watched the Thunder Dragons roaring in, each color distinct. This was the Thunder Forbidden Zone of the entire world, now all surging in—an unimaginable terror, visible only to Ning Qi.
Ning Qi could feel the Martial World Main Body trying to suppress him, but to no avail.
The pale flame sprout continuously elongated, forming a human shape.
Ning Qi waved his hand.
The boundless multicolored thunder gradually fused, with blood-colored thunder as the base, all other colors merging into it. Terrifying power exploded.
Then.
These thunder formed an endless Thunder River, layer upon layer encircling this area.
This region above the high heavens would from now on be completely a forbidden zone, impassable by anyone.
This was precisely Ning Qi’s purpose.
“From this day forth, this domain is the Inner World!”
Poundingly majestic Dao sound rang out, like a heavenly constitution.
In that instant.
Myriad supernatural powers activated, many annihilating the void, constantly collapsing and reforming, perishing and reborn. A miraculous and powerful force gradually birthed.
That was precisely… World Power!
Ning Qi was full of vigor, hands behind his back, like a king overlooking his territory.
His thoughts flowed unimpeded.
“The world is too vast. Using the world as Purple Mansion allows infinite spiritual power, but at the cost of quality. Now, I open inner and outer dual worlds: Inner World condenses World Power, Outer World condenses spiritual power. This balances both—this is the essence of the Realm Lord Realm!”
With the birth of the first strand of World Power.
Everything changed.
Ning Qi sensed himself undergoing terrifying metamorphosis at horrifying speed. A powerful sensation surged—stronger than when he had become the Martial World Will!
The original suppression from the Martial World Main Body immediately weakened slightly, and with more World Power condensing, that suppression lessened further.
Ning Qi even discovered.
He could vaguely sense things outside the world!
This filled him with anticipation and longing.
But it also meant he had grasped more Martial World authority.
The Inner World had entered the right track. Under the encirclement of the Thunder River, myriad supernatural powers activated together, strands of World Power continuously birthing, then feeding back to strengthen the Thunder River.
Ning Qi commanded freely.
“Outer World, form!”
His gaze seemed to pierce countless spaces, falling on every inch of the Martial World, every being.
Infinite power began to gather.
At this moment.
All Martial World beings instinctively looked up, shocked toward the sky.
They saw.
Above layered clouds, between rivers and streams.
Extremely terrifying power erupted—that was Ning Qi controlling Heaven and Earth Origin to form supernatural power, easily able to crack the ground or shatter void, now orderly promoting the Martial World’s metamorphosis.
Martial artists or exotic beasts at Heavenly Human Realm and above sensed it most clearly.
They perceived spiritual energy surging and changing, as if imprinted, then fading, making them doubt their perception.
But no.
This was Ning Qi’s Dao.
The Outer World was in fact the entire Martial World.
The Inner World condensed World Power, while the Outer World encompassed all spiritual energy. Now, Ning Qi was imprinting these originally disordered spiritual energies, ready to transform into vast spiritual power erupting with astonishing might.
Such inner and outer dual worlds made his combat power within the Martial World supremely powerful.
All Martial Saints had returned from the high heavens. Now sensing the spiritual energy fluctuations between heaven and earth, it immediately startled them. They knew the changes best.
They vaguely sensed an extremely terrifying existence had appeared between heaven and earth, suppressing above their heads.
“Heavenly Sword Martial Saint… it really succeeded!”
“Realm Lord, huh?”
All saints’ moods were complex.
Joy, yet some inexplicable sourness.
But ultimately, everyone adjusted their mindsets, because Ning Qi’s success was absolutely good fortune for the current Martial World.
They landed on Heavenly Peak Mountain, waiting quietly.
Inner World.
World Power already surged turbulently—this powerful force fused from spiritual power and World Origin. Even a casual strand held immense might. The originally silent space had become an ocean of power, formed supernatural powers more fearsome. In this virtuous cycle, the Inner World was about to fully open.
Ning Qi had reformed into pure white flames.
The Martial World Main Body completely fell silent.
He now held absolute control over the Martial World—as long as it did not perish, he could take or give anything in the world.
“This feels truly exhilarating.”
Ning Qi sighed.
At the instant the Inner World fully formed and metamorphosed, everything reached perfection.
Realm Lord Realm, achieved!
Ning Qi’s spirit shook.
Strands of spiritual insight surged.
This was an unprecedented life leap. In some sense, Ning Qi had become another kind of life. He could feel that his lifespan now was measured in epochs.
With the vast world as foundation, he sensed his comprehension soaring to an extremely powerful level.
This was Ning Qi’s greatest elevation ever.
Countless spiritual insights flashed, thoughts turning to birth endless inspirations. The second realm of the Realm Lord Cultivation System, previously without much clue, now had inspiration.
“This path is indeed correct—it leads straight to eternity!”
“If one day the Martial World continuously breaks its limits, promoting to Spirit Realm, even the legendary lost Immortal Realm, how powerful would my strength be?”
Even with Ning Qi’s temperament, he could not help longing.
At that time.
Likely with a mere glance, worlds would perish and rebirth—a realm beyond his current imagination.
However.
One must eat rice one bite at a time.
The most urgent now was to first resolve the Mountain Sea Realm’s invasion.
“According to the records in the True Martial Inheritance, Spirit Realm invasions of small worlds are generally by sects as units. In other words, though it seems Mountain Sea Realm is invading the Martial World, what we actually face is merely one sect or a coalition of several sects.”
“Moreover, these sects won’t be too powerful. Most likely the strongest is Nascent Soul Realm, with very small chance of Void Dao Realm. For in the Spirit Realm, a sect with a Void Dao Realm expert is already an Upper Sect. Such great powers have little interest in invading small worlds—they must participate in Spirit Realm War to obtain Spirit Realm Will rewards.”
“Now that I have stepped into the Realm Lord Realm, handling the crisis is not difficult, but it must be done properly to avoid drawing attention from Mountain Sea Realm’s Upper Sects and Immortal Sects, which would be dangerous.”
Ning Qi pondered.
Though he possessed strength comparable to a Nascent Soul True Monarch and was absolutely invincible within the Martial World, he would not be arrogant.
Though under Sea of Realms Rules small worlds were protected with various restrictions.
But the Spirit Realm was vast, filled with countless exotic treasures and immortal rarities, supernatural powers and secret techniques endless. Those great powers and magnates might possess means to circumvent such restrictions, like the True Martial Hall once traversing worlds.
Not encountering them now was merely because the Martial World’s value was insufficient.
If he drew those great powers and magnates’ attention,
Then, if an Integration Realm Old Ancestor descended, Ning Qi truly would have nowhere to cry.
“This battle must be won, but with technique.”
Ning Qi’s consciousness suddenly elevated, rising to infinite heights.
The perspective completely changed.
In a hazy space, infinite darkness, only glowing worlds shrouded in light, like fireflies in the dark, extremely spectacular.
Ning Qi felt he was one such firefly.
“Is this the Sea of Realms? Or rather… a corner of the Sea of Realms.” Ning Qi marveled. He could only perceive a region near the Martial World; farther was very blurry.
He sensed endless fireflies flickering, some bright, some dim. When the light fully extinguished, it meant the world’s silence—some man-made, some natural demise. After all, small worlds had lifespan limits.
“Outside the world, so this is the scene.” Ning Qi sighed.
When he had condensed the first strand of World Power earlier, he felt he could perceive outside the world. Now with success, he could perceive clearly.
But he discovered.
Even seemingly close small worlds were actually extremely distant, impossible to cross.
Thoughts turning, Ning Qi looked toward that brilliant light cluster like a great sun.
“This is… Mountain Sea Realm! The upper world of all small worlds in this nearby region!”
Ning Qi saw invisible connections descending from that light cluster, linking to every small world. In the past, Martial World beings breaking world limits could ascend to Spirit Realm along these tethers.
But now.
The connection between Martial World and Mountain Sea Realm had been polluted by some power, severing the ascension path.
“Life Poison comes from this.”
Ning Qi concluded after observing briefly. He did not know if other small worlds’ connections to Mountain Sea Realm were polluted, but he guessed they likely were.
Not only that.
Ning Qi even detected another one-way channel being constructed between Martial World and Mountain Sea Realm!
“As expected, the world channel is nearly complete.”
A trace of wariness rose in his heart.
He tried to destroy the channel but found it not so easy to shake. The other end had some power guarding it. Forcing destruction would cause huge commotion and might not even succeed.
“Cannot rush. Best to destroy when the channel fully extends here, avoiding too much suspicion.”
“According to Martial World records, the last invading Mountain Sea Realm sect called itself Golden Spirit Sect. Unknown if this time it’s still Golden Spirit Sect, or gathered even stronger forces.”
“Mountain Sea Realm invasion imminent—must hurry preparations to counter.”
Ning Qi exhaled lightly in his heart.
Fortunately, he achieved Realm Lord Realm before this, or it would have been apocalyptic catastrophe, even victory a narrow one. Now, the leeway was much greater.
Gazing a moment longer at that brilliant sun-like light cluster, Ning Qi withdrew his consciousness, returning to the Inner World.
The pure white flames burned silently, as if eternal.
With a thought from Ning Qi.
Vast World Power gathered, condensing in the void with various Heaven and Earth Origins infused.
In that instant.
A white-robed young Daoist appeared in the Inner World.
Reforming a fleshly body was trivial.
Ning Qi sensed his new fleshly body, lips curving slightly. This was far stronger than the previous one—after all, myriad world spiritual materials and rarities were merely transformations of Heaven and Earth Origin. Now directly controlling Heaven and Earth Origin, its toughness was imaginable.
The only difference was Ning Qi’s appearance had matured somewhat.
After stepping into Realm Lord Realm, lifespan eternal, unchanging over endless time. Thus reforming his fleshly body, he added a few years to the deduced appearance. Originally like a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old youth, now eighteen or nineteen.
As always, handsome as an immortal, transcendent and otherworldly.
“True Martial Ancestor’s method is becoming world will incarnation, which binds one. In some sense, though gaining powerful strength and eternal lifespan, one becomes a bound spirit.”
“But I am different. Most of my consciousness slumbers in the Inner World, but this fleshly body is equally my Main Body, unbound by Martial World, free to go anywhere. Merely strongest when within Martial World.”
“Moreover, if truly desperate, Martial World about to perish, I can detach consciousness—Martial World perishes but I endure, advance or retreat freely.”
Ning Qi smiled lightly, very satisfied.
He stretched his limbs, then slashed with his hand, void tearing. Hands behind back, he stepped in.
The next moment.
He appeared above Heavenly Peak Mountain.
