Chapter 224: The Traitor Within
“Thump!”
“Thump!”
“Thump!”
……
The rhythmic beating sound continued to ring out. That mass of light emitting a vast aura was contracting its radiance, just like a heart beating. That sound was like Dao Rhyme, continuously echoing, containing a certain Dao Rhyme within it.
One by one, the Martial Saints all showed shock on their faces, not even the Ancient Saints were exceptions.
“Is this the World Will?”
“What a majestic aura. I only feel like an ant before It.”
“Seeing the World Will again, it’s still as grand as ever. No, even more grand than before. Our plan has indeed succeeded!”
All Saints were amazed and even more excited.
The current World Will was clearly in a very good state. Even though it was only initially reviving, there wasn’t the slightest sense of weakness.
This gave them more hope.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint and the others all showed joy in their eyes.
“Everyone, after stepping into it, do not have any hostility. Just use Spiritual Power to protect your body. The World Will has instincts and will attack anyone who threatens It.”
All Saints nodded.
At this moment.
Even the several Supreme Experts couldn’t help but slow their breathing, afraid of disturbing the World Will.
Golden Light flickered in Ning Qi’s eyes. Spiritual Insights continuously surged in his mind. After seeing the World Will with his own eyes, he touched its essence even more. Some past troubling problems were almost instantly solved.
“The World Will is not the Martial World itself, but more like a collection of subconsciousness born from the Martial World, with the purpose of elevating and protecting the Martial World itself. My guess was indeed correct. This way, fusing with the World Will won’t cause the Martial World’s backlash.”
“After all, it’s just changing the ‘steward,’ which won’t threaten its Main Body. Unlike the Mountain Sea Realm, which directly devours the entire world.”
A smile curved at the corners of Ning Qi’s mouth.
Although he now had the combat power of the Divine Ability Realm, confronting the entire Martial World was still somewhat difficult. But if it was merely the World Will, with the various methods he had comprehended, it wouldn’t be a big problem.
“Everyone, let’s go in together.” Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint said in a deep voice.
All Saints nodded in unison, then stepped forward, entering the space where the World Will was located.
“Boom!”
Almost the moment the congregation stepped in, the originally mild light mass suddenly burst with radiance, and a soul-shaking Dao Rhyme resounded. An extremely strong sense of oppression crushed toward the congregation.
The Martial Saints’ expressions changed.
But Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint’s voice had already rung out first:
“Do not resist! Just use Spiritual Power to protect your body!”
Everyone’s hearts tightened, merely instinctively protecting themselves.
Led by the several Supreme Experts, they formed a Spiritual Power Barrier, barely resisting that terrifying sense of oppression.
Ning Qi could clearly see.
After not resisting, that sense of oppression weakened somewhat. Then, a majestic consciousness washed over, seeming to identify the congregation’s identities. Whether they were people of the Martial World was not hard for It to discern.
The atmosphere was somewhat stagnant.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint took a deep breath, respect in his eyes as he loudly shouted:
“The Martial World’s All Saints have come to pay respects and request the supreme Martial World Will to save our common people!”
As his words fell.
His Spiritual Power continuously evolved in the space before him, and one shocking scene after another appeared.
In the Ancient Era, great enemies invaded. The Martial World’s beings fought relentlessly, killing until the heavens collapsed and the earth cracked, with mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
The World Will awakened at a critical moment, granting powerful combat power to one being after another, who then launched a counterattack.
These were scenes of the ancient people battling the Mountain Sea Realm.
Ning Qi saw many familiar figures among them.
Old Black Tortoise, Great Yan Martial Saint, Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint, Black Blood Demon Lord… Although their appearances varied somewhat, their power essence couldn’t be changed. Besides these people, there were some other experts comparable to them fighting desperately to the death, though they weren’t so lucky and ultimately died one by one.
Watching those shocking scenes, the many Martial Saints who hadn’t experienced that era were all shocked deep down. While fearing the terrifying strength of the Mountain Sea Realm’s great enemies, anger also rose.
The scenes continuously evolved.
In an instant, they turned to the World Will falling into slumber, followed by All Saints discussing together how to handle the next Mountain Sea Realm invasion.
Then came generation after generation of relentless efforts.
Until the Spiritual Energy Revival, when the World Will awakened again.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint’s voice carried sorrow:
“Now the great enemy still exists and is about to invade our homeland again. We beseech the Martial World Will to grant baptism, help us break through, and save the common people!”
All Saints’ emotions boiled, shouting in unison:
“We beseech the Martial World Will to grant baptism and save the common people!”
Those scenes seemed to resonate with their bloodlines, stirring shared hatred and enmity in many hearts.
The originally blazing Martial World Will gradually calmed.
It had no autonomous consciousness, only the instinct to protect the Martial World.
Now these scenes made It gradually recall the sense of crisis from long ago. It was that sense of crisis that ultimately caused It to condense, and now, that familiar sense of crisis was approaching again. Hope lay only among these people before It.
“Buzz!”
A gentle radiance radiated from above the Martial World Will, falling on every person. A sensation of clarity and comfort naturally arose, and the previous terrifying sense of oppression also dissipated.
Joy appeared on everyone’s faces.
This meant the Martial World Will had already acknowledged them and given a response.
Longing appeared on the faces of the several Supreme Experts.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint shouted:
“Everyone, no time to lose. Hurry and focus your minds and calm your breaths?”
With that said.
He took the lead, landing about a hundred zhang from the Martial World Will, and then Great Yan Martial Saint and the others did the same. Including Ning Qi, the six of them were each a hundred zhang from the Martial World Will, forming a circle, with the Martial World Will enclosed in the very center.
Immediately after.
Followed by those with Five Elements Perfection and the Five-Realm Martial Saints, who were three hundred zhang from the Martial World Will, also sitting cross-legged in unison, closing their eyes to regulate their breathing.
The remaining Martial Saints sat further out according to their cultivation.
The hundred Saints surrounded the Martial World Will, forming concentric circles, with auras erupting one after another, creating an extremely spectacular scene.
Everyone focused their minds.
In an instant.
The Martial World Will burst with radiance again, but this time the light carried no sense of oppression, instead infused with a trace of special power. Gentle rays of light wrapped around everyone, the closer to the Martial World Will, the thicker the infusion of that special power.
Ning Qi carefully comprehended it.
He felt his body’s Spiritual Power boiling continuously, his Five Viscera flickering with five-colored radiance, constantly circulating. The special power emanating from the Martial World Will fell upon it, producing a peculiar Change, with various insights surging into his mind.
“What magical power! This is the world’s Origin Power? Even more wondrous than the power during the initial Spiritual Energy Revival, easily enabling one to step into realms previously unimaginable.”
Ning Qi sensed the Five Elements Qi in his Five Viscera fusing, undergoing Metamorphosis. This process required no extra effort from him; everything happened naturally.
From the True Martial Inheritance, Ning Qi had long known how to cultivate the next realm, Purple Mansion Realm.
Five Energies Returning to the Origin, condense a Divine Ability Embryo, then use the Divine Ability to open the Purple Mansion.
The Five Energies Returning to the Origin process was already extremely difficult, let alone condensing a Divine Ability Embryo. But now, under the boost of Origin Power, Ning Qi only needed to provide an Idea, and the Divine Ability Embryo began nurturing in that direction.
Even though Ning Qi planned to follow his own deduced Realm Lord Cultivation System, he couldn’t help but marvel at this moment.
In the distance.
One by one, Martial Saints had already begun breaking through.
Because lower-realm Martial Saints broke through more easily, as long as they had sufficient Five Elements Qi.
At this moment.
He finally understood the profound meaning behind the Martial Saints’ painstaking million-year plan.
Through Spiritual Energy Revival and World Will Baptism, they could rapidly produce a large number of high-end combat power. When the Mountain Sea Realm invaded later, with another temporary boost from the World Will, they would have a chance of victory.
As thoughts turned.
Breakthrough fluctuations filled the surroundings.
While Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint and the others were slower; they wanted to use this power to step from Half-step Divine Ability Realm into the true Divine Ability Realm, which required more time.
Ning Qi slightly perceived, leaving a portion of his consciousness, then immersed himself in deducing the Realm Lord Realm.
It had to be said.
Under this dense infusion of Origin Power, he could almost unrestrainedly glimpse the mysteries of the World Will, even preemptively imprinting a hidden Mark within it, preparing for the upcoming fusion.
This was an unexpected delight; for Ning Qi, it was even more joyous than breaking through to Divine Ability Realm.
Time slowly passed.
Everything was progressing well.
All Saints achieved great breakthroughs, and the several Supreme Experts had reached critical moments.
But at that moment.
A sudden change occurred!
The Black Blood Demon Lord, who had been closing his eyes to strive for breakthrough, suddenly opened his eyes, filled with a fierce grin. Without a word, the Black Blood Demon Banner appeared in his hand. With a wave, beams of Black Blood Demon Chains laced with corrosive aura shot out from the Demon Banner, burning with black Flame.
The target, straight at the World Will!
“Buzz!”
The World Will seemed to sense the crisis and suddenly burst with radiance, but it was too late. The prolonged baptism had temporarily weakened it. Those Demon Chains shot forth like lightning, the next moment forming a cage to trap the World Will within.
All Saints horror-strickenly opened their eyes, witnessing this scene.
They had no time to think.
Everything happened too suddenly.
But one person had always been on guard.
Ning Qi also opened his eyes:
“Seeking death!”
His gaze was cold. He had kept a portion of his consciousness monitoring the others, so the moment Black Blood Demon Lord acted, he reacted. He already regarded the World Will as his possession, merely using this chance to weaken its power for easier future fusion, and also to bait this Traitor.
Unexpectedly, he really couldn’t hold back.
Silver-white Sword Light flashed past.
True Martial Sword differentiated into Myriad Daos Sword Qi, slashing toward those Black Blood Demon Chains.
Black Blood Demon Lord fiercely glared at Ning Qi, his eyes full of undisguised Killing Intent:
“Bastard, this Demon Lord has tolerated you for a long time!”
In an instant.
Terrifying Aura erupted. Black Blood Demon Lord didn’t conceal his power at all. The Demon Banner danced, black clouds rolled, turning the originally serene Void fierce. Those terrifying auras swept toward the surroundings.
One by one, black Skeletons roared out, their howls soul-seizing.
Drops of black blood converged into rain, pouring down in torrents toward Ning Qi.
Divine Ability Embryo, Black Blood Divine Rain!
The power Black Blood Demon Lord displayed now was far stronger than at Heavenly Peak Mountain before.
All Saints withdrew from their comprehension states, looking on in shock.
“This is… Mountain Sea Realm’s power!”
In the scenes Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint had just shown, there were these black Skeleton powers, and now they appeared on Black Blood Demon Lord.
Combined with Black Blood Demon Lord’s sudden outburst.
The Answer was obvious.
“Black Blood Demon Lord, why betray us!” The Martial Saints’ eyes nearly split with rage. Old Black Tortoise couldn’t help but roar, green Spiritual Light condensing on him.
Black Blood Demon Lord chuckled:
“Betray? It’s merely knowing the times makes a hero! You fools, you don’t really think these preparations can resist a Spirit Realm’s power, do you?”
“I’ll tell you, before was just the Mountain Sea Realm’s first time unprepared, caught off guard by the World Will. Now with preparation, do you think you can win? Ridiculous!”
He grinned fiercely at All Saints.
Blood rain blotted out the sky.
Half indiscriminate Attack, half brushing toward the World Will.
Ning Qi’s gaze was calm. He pointed, and five Sword Qis soared skyward.
Five Elements Divine Sword Qi!
The Sword Qi’s Sharpness was unmatched, infused with profound mysteries, echoing each other in endless cycle, Power boundless. Not a Supernatural Power, yet surpassing it. The five heaven-piercing Sword Qis were invincible, forcibly cleaving open the Black Blood Divine Rain.
Black Blood Demon Lord’s eyes shrank. He chuckled:
“Heavenly Sword, with your Talent, are you really willing to perish with the Martial World? Why not join me to destroy this World Will, summon the Mountain Sea Realm army. With this Merit, we can not only join Mountain Sea Realm but enjoy endless Resources!”
Ning Qi remained silent.
South Sea Divine Nun scolded first:
“Black Blood Demon Lord, I truly misjudged you. I thought you had returned from the wrong path, but old habits die hard. You deserve to die!”
“Fellow Daoists, join me in aiding Tian Jian Fellow Daoist to slay this traitor!”
The several Supreme Experts awoke one after another. They had been on the verge of breakthrough but now had to forcibly interrupt.
Old Black Tortoise’s palm condensed green light, forming a green Ancient Mountain suppressing toward Black Blood Demon Lord.
South Sea Divine Nun’s Jade Bottle glowed, condensing a compassionate Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva, exuding sacred Aura.
The two Supreme Experts attacked together, their Aura terrifying.
But the next instant.
Everyone was stunned.
The Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva suddenly turned direction, countless hands carrying overwhelming Power densely slapping toward Old Black Tortoise. Even though Old Black Tortoise had been warned by Ning Qi to watch South Sea Divine Nun, the suddenness still caught him off guard. Hastily, he could only manifest his true body’s turtle shell for defense.
“South Sea Divine Nun, what are you doing!” Gui Changqing roared in fury.
South Sea Divine Nun smiled gently:
“This Seat suddenly feels the Demon Lord has a point.”
Her smile unusually carried a hint of coquettishness.
All Saints felt a chill run through them.
Things had gotten serious.
