Chapter 166: Tearing The Void, Bountiful Harvest
The Great Elder raised his gaze to the sky.
Those incredibly terrifying Heavenly Swords seemed to become sparse and ordinary, not that the Heavenly Swords were truly insignificant, but now he had sufficient foundation in his heart, allowing him to regard the Heavenly Swords as nothing.
Xiang Tianxing desperately controlled the Blood Demon remnant body to leap toward the sky.
All the remaining Blood Mist power erupted at this moment, with the Blood Demon roaring endlessly, ultimately transforming into a blood-colored arc.
“Boom!”
After the earth-shaking roar, the blood-colored arc consumed nearly half of the remaining Heavenly Swords, with waves of aftershocks spreading outward, turning the already ruined Demonic Sect Underground Palace into even more ruins, appearing utterly desolate.
But the remaining Heavenly Swords showed no mercy, still suppressing with astonishing aura.
Golden Light converged in Ning Qi’s eyes as he observed the Blood Bead in the Great Elder’s hand. He pressed step by step, forcing the Great Elder to act. The current extent was just right, but caution was needed. At the same time, he needed to probe deeper into the mysteries of the Blood Bead’s power. Although he had watched for a long time earlier, it was still not enough.
These remaining Heavenly Swords were a test.
Xiang Tianxing was nearly suffocating, placing all his hope on the Great Elder.
The Great Elder’s robes billowed, his silver hair flying.
He hovered in the air, holding the Blood Bead in one hand, as if in worship.
He suddenly roared, the Blood Bead blooming with light. A transcendent power swept out, turning into a long rainbow streak that slashed toward the many Heavenly Swords.
Golden Light blazed in Ning Qi’s eyes as the Illusion Breaking Golden Eye operated at full power, observing this magical power.
“I’ve never seen such wondrous power. Its essence seems no different from Heaven and Earth Power, but the power it unleashes is worlds apart. If forced to compare, it’s like cotton fluff versus steel! Moreover, it has all sorts of mysteries, seemingly able to turn decay into magic!”
“This is… Martial Saint Power?!”
His heart trembled.
As the blood-colored streak swept through, he seemed to hear fearful wails floating and sinking within, with some unwillingly reaching out, trying to struggle, only to be dragged into the depths of the blood river. He seemed to see blood-colored Lotus Flowers rising, mad demons laughing, various anomalies flashing by.
The Heavenly Swords wailed mournfully, encountering such a tough opponent for the first time.
The previously invincible Heavenly Swords were easily severed by the blood-colored streak. Before, the Blood Demon was mercilessly suppressed by the Heavenly Swords, but now the positions reversed. The Heavenly Swords shattered one after another—not from power depletion, but forcibly broken. The difference was huge.
Mad joy surged in Xiang Tianxing’s pupils.
The Great Elder stroked his beard with a smile, all as expected.
The blood-colored streak reversed, dimming only slightly after shattering many Heavenly Swords. The Great Elder’s figure rose step by step. Holding the Blood Bead, he reached level with Ning Qi for the first time. He said calmly:
“Heavenly Sword True Person, you are truly astonishing, a once-in-millennia prodigy, having surpassed the Heavenly Human Realm and approaching Martial Saint. But… you ultimately do not understand true Martial Saint Power! Before such mighty force, no matter how prodigious you are, you must bow!”
He urged the Blood Bead, supplementing the blood-colored streak’s energy, instantly erupting with the same brilliant light as before.
Ning Qi exclaimed in admiration:
“Indeed an inconceivable power! Martial Saint Realm, worthy of being the realm billions of Martial Artists yearn for!”
He did not stint on his praise. Even if what was before him was merely Martial Saint Power catalyzed by a Martial Saint Secret Treasure, it was extraordinary, far beyond what the Heavenly Human Realm could compare to. This made him even more fervent toward the Martial Saint Realm. If he could master such magical power, that might truly be the beginning of longevity.
The Great Elder stared fixedly at Ning Qi:
“You slaughtered many experts of my Sacred Sect. I should extinguish your soul. Considering your arduous cultivation, I give you a chance: open your mind, let me imprint it, and serve me. You may live.”
This was to recover the losses.
In this battle, the Demonic Sect had lost over forty Heavenly Human Realm experts, its foundation greatly diminished.
But enslaving such a peerless prodigy could compensate for most of it, even yielding profit. The deterrence of one Heavenly Sword True Person was enough to rampage through Great Yan, unless Great Yan also used something like the Blood Bead as foundation.
Ning Qi naturally would not agree. After this brief respite, more Heavenly Swords floated and sank beside him. He merely sighed to himself:
“Pity, you are not a Martial Saint.”
This time, he had a rough guess of true Martial Saint combat power.
The Great Elder snorted coldly:
“You won’t shed tears until you see the coffin. Fine, let you witness Martial Saint might again!”
With such power in hand, he was confident, even somewhat arrogant, not minding Ning Qi recovering his power. He wanted to crush with absolute dominance, shattering all pride of this Heavenly Sword True Person before him, making him willingly become a slave!
Heavenly Swords whistled, forming a sword river across the sky.
The Great Elder merely waved, the blood-colored streak like a Heavenly Saber, slashing down with overwhelming aura.
As expected.
All Heavenly Swords shattered.
Even Ning Qi’s face paled slightly. After successive great battles, even with his extraordinary foundation, the consumption was considerable. However, everything was still under control.
After two consecutive strikes, he had roughly seen through the reality of this Blood Bead Secret Treasure.
Whether due to the Secret Treasure’s limit or the Great Elder’s limited manipulation ability, the blood-colored streak’s upper limit was fixed. Though the power to turn decay into magic was mysterious, it was ultimately somewhat rigid. Under the Illusion Breaking Golden Eye, Ning Qi saw the flaws within.
The Great Elder roared with heaven-shaking momentum:
“Surrender quickly, and I spare your life!”
The blood-colored Heavenly Saber slashed down again, brilliantly glowing after Blood Bead energy replenishment. Ning Qi felt some heartache—such wanton use by the Great Elder had consumed much of the Blood Bead’s energy. This was wondrous power that diminished with each use.
He already regarded the Secret Treasure as his own.
Without the slightest hesitation.
Streaks of azure light condensed on Ning Qi’s body, forming a Treasure Armor covering his whole body. By now, the Azure Profound Body Protection Technique had reached perfection, far surpassing the previous Azure Profound Armored Vest. Circles of azure ripples spread out. The blood-colored Heavenly Saber slashed down, actually meeting resistance.
Like chopping into taffy, with power constantly rebounding.
The Great Elder’s expression changed slightly, unsure what Secret Technique this was. He secretly marveled at the Heavenly Sword True Person’s astonishing methods. For a Heavenly Human Realm to have such formidable combat power was unheard of.
This further firmed his resolve to take the Heavenly Sword True Person into his fold.
He urged the Blood Bead with full power.
The blood-colored streak turned into a flood dragon python, seeking to entwine and strangle Ning Qi.
Crisp cracking sounds rang out, the azure light Treasure Armor teetering on collapse.
But Ning Qi remained utterly calm.
Golden Light blazed in his eyes, spotting the flood dragon python’s flaw.
In an instant.
His dantian quivered. The peerless Sword Qi nurtured for two months unsheathed with a clang!
It was the other supreme Secret Technique obtained from Zhuang Chen’s Innate Sword Bone: Innate Divine Sword Qi!
Clang!
Like a Divine Sword’s clear cry, like a True Dragon’s long roar.
What astonishing Sword Qi was this?
Seemingly ordinary, yet wherever it passed left faint terrifying black marks. Though extremely subtle, it instilled horror—that was the manifestation of power, forcibly tearing the Void!
Ning Qi stood with hands behind his back, like a sword immortal in the mortal world.
Under the incredulous gazes of the Great Elder and Xiang Tianxing, the Innate Divine Sword Qi struck the flood dragon python’s ‘vital spot,’ causing its overwhelming aura to plummet suddenly, teetering on collapse. This was Ning Qi’s strongest trump card, striking suddenly now, severing the Great Elder’s connection to the blood-colored streak with one sword.
“Ah!” The Great Elder spat blood skyward, head nearly exploding.
The sudden change made him glare furiously, heart chilling. He exerted all his strength to stabilize his mind and recon dense the streak, but Ning Qi naturally would not miss this prime opportunity.
The Innate Divine Sword Qi pierced through the blood-colored flood dragon python’s body. Though its power was somewhat diminished, it remained invincible. Those faint black marks made one’s scalp tingle.
“Martial Saint! How is that possible? How?!” The Great Elder stared at the space-tearing black marks, as if seeing a ghost.
The Sword Qi flashed and vanished.
The fear on Xiang Tianxing’s face froze, turning into a cloud of Blood Mist.
The Great Elder’s left hand holding the Blood Bead was severed at the root. Sword Qi power suppressed down, sealing him in place. As for the Blood Bead, it leapt into the air, lightly landing in Ning Qi’s hand.
Ning Qi’s faint voice sounded:
“Such a Supreme Treasure in your hands was somewhat wasted.”
He looked at the Martial Saint Secret Treasure oscillating in his hand and the blood-colored streak spinning like a headless fly in the sky, eyes burning with eagerness. It was worth his scheme—this Secret Treasure was finally in his hands.
The Great Elder was furious to the point of heartbreak:
“Even if you obtain the King Yu Bead, it is futile!”
He wanted to provoke Ning Qi with this, but Ning Qi merely smiled faintly.
“King Yu Bead? It seems this thing is indeed connected to the former Great Yu Imperial Family?”
He circulated Heaven and Earth Power, resonating with the King Yu Bead in a special way. Then, the King Yu Bead’s oscillations lessened. Though not fully controlled yet, it at least no longer rejected Ning Qi. Moreover, even the streak oscillating in the sky rolled back, rushing into the King Yu Bead.
The originally dim King Yu Bead instantly turned faint blood-colored.
“Wasting so much of my Martial Saint Power—if you weren’t still useful, I’d really kill you.” Ning Qi snorted coldly.
But the Great Elder was utterly dazed, not responding, as if seeing a ghost.
“How can you use the King Yu Bead? Are you also a descendant of Great Yu? Why then! Why slaughter each other—why not unite to overthrow Great Yan!” His hair disheveled, body covered in blood filth, unable to bear this astonishing blow, he appeared somewhat deranged.
Ning Qi shook his head and landed before him, not explaining.
Watching the Great Elder use the King Yu Bead earlier was not idling—it was to observe the principle. The Illusion Breaking Golden Eye combined with Ning Qi’s comprehension was naturally invincible.
Now.
The dust finally settled.
In the vast Grotto world, only Ning Qi and the Great Elder remained; all others had perished.
Ning Qi exhaled lightly, his taut mind slightly relaxing.
Especially after unleashing the nurtured Innate Divine Sword Qi, his body felt emptily uncomfortable.
This was the most grueling battle since stepping onto the Martial Way. Though not reaching his limit or facing life-death crisis, it exhausted all his trump cards. However, he had thoroughly clarified his own strength.
“A behemoth like the Demonic Sect with such deep foundation is truly not to be underestimated.” Ning Qi sighed inwardly.
Over forty Heavenly Human Realm experts in the lair alone were powerful enough, not to mention the Blood Demon Great Formation and King Yu Bead. Anyone else would have capsized in the gutter. Only Ning Qi’s astonishing methods, defying common sense, allowed him to laugh last.
“Even now, that Demonic Sect Leader has not appeared, so he truly is not in this Myriad Flame Grotto.”
Ning Qi had never relaxed vigilance, secretly perceiving surrounding movements.
But now the dust had settled. If the Demonic Sect Leader were here, he would have acted long ago. Acting after all Demonic Sect experts died held no meaning.
“Where the Demonic Sect Leader is probably lies with this one before me.”
Ning Qi gazed at the Great Elder.
The purpose of this trip was to capture him alive and interrogate about the Saint Pill. After twists and turns, it took great effort, but the goal was achieved.
“You… who exactly are you?” The Great Elder was still immersed in astonishment at Ning Qi activating the King Yu Bead.
But Ning Qi ignored him, casually pointing to seal the Great Elder’s mouth with Gang Qi.
His heart stirred. Resonating the King Yu Bead with Heaven and Earth Power, he could not fully control it freely yet, no time for deep study, but simple uses were no problem.
In an instant.
Blood Mist scattered in the Grotto world surged and gathered.
These were the essence powers left after the previous Blood Demon Monsters were blasted apart—flesh and blood power from over forty Heavenly Human Realm experts. Though much lost, the remnants were still considerable.
Ning Qi condensed them into a Blood Pill, satisfied with storing it.
“Once the Enlightenment Tea Tree fully consumes this Blood Pill, it will surely become even more lush!”
He was in a great mood.
This Blood Pill alone was a huge harvest, worth the trip.
After this, Ning Qi turned his gaze to the Great Elder. Now recovered, the Great Elder realized what was coming. The Ghost Mask had likely fallen this way into the Heavenly Sword True Person’s hands, revealing Headquarters’ intelligence.
Though unsure of the Heavenly Sword True Person’s world-shaking methods, he figured it wouldn’t be easy to endure.
Ning Qi held the King Yu Bead in one hand, releasing the Great Elder’s seal.
“You want to know my identity?” He smiled, his mask shattering away, yet still a Ghost Mask face.
The Great Elder watched the Secret Treasure fall into another’s hands, eyes nearly spewing fire:
“Your strength crowns the world—why hide your head and show your tail? It ill befits your status.”
Ning Qi chuckled lightly:
“Fine, fulfilling your wish.”
The Great Elder’s heart jolted. The King Yu Bead suddenly blazed with light, drawing his attention. Ning Qi’s eyes turned into deep vortices, enveloping him. Without the Heart Questioning Platform here, and with the Great Elder’s Martial Intent Supreme Realm, a surprise attack was necessary, or it would be hard.
Fortunately, the King Yu Bead played a role, shaking the mind.
Ning Qi watched the gradually dazed Great Elder, exhaling lightly.
Next.
Was the interrogation phase.
Extract as much useful intelligence as possible, primarily the Saint Pill matter, then Demonic Sect key intelligence and the King Yu Bead.
In the dim Grotto.
One question, one answer—somewhat eerie.
Unsure how much time passed, reaching the limit.
The Great Elder’s spirit shook, exiting the Soul Seizing state. His head throbbed painfully. The prior King Yu Bead backlash had scattered his Divine Intent, and Ning Qi’s reckless Soul Seizing interrogation made it even more torturous. He slumped on the ground, looking at Ning Qi with madness, face surging with hatred, fear, unwillingness, doubt, and more emotions.
Ning Qi sighed lightly. If possible, he wanted to give this peerless expert some dignity.
From their brief exchange earlier, this Great Elder was indeed a hero, never forgetting his original intent. Easy to say, but how many could achieve it.
Ning Qi waved his hand gently.
The Great Elder was shaken into Blood Mist, then absorbed into the Blood Pill.
The entire Grotto world fell completely silent, leaving only him.
He began pondering the intelligence just obtained.
First, naturally, the Saint Pill matter he cared most about.
“The Demonic Sect does have a Saint Pill Method, but the specific method is known only to successive Sect Masters. It is said this Saint Pill Secret Technique refines essence from many Exotic Beast Inner Cores into a Saint Pill, then uses a Secret Technique to forcibly break into the Martial Saint Realm.”
“But where exactly the Demonic Sect Leader is in Closed-door Cultivation, even the Great Elder does not know. Every year, experts come to Myriad Flame Grotto to take the accumulated Beast Inner Cores. According to the Great Elder, the last time was one month ago, meaning the next pickup is in eleven months.”
Ning Qi felt somewhat helpless.
If the time were short, he could wait here like a mantis stalking the cicada, but eleven months—even a fool would notice Myriad Flame Grotto Headquarters had been raided. The Demonic Sect had many special communication methods, impossible for him to know all in this short time.
“Fine, for now, the Demonic Sect clue must be shelved temporarily, but it’s not without gain. At least I know the Saint Pill refining progress isn’t as fast as imagined. Plus, raiding Demonic Sect Headquarters this time will surely delay them greatly—perhaps at least two or three more years.”
At this thought, Ning Qi’s lips curved slightly.
This time was fully enough for him to reach Heavenly Human Perfection. By then, he could confidently say he matched a Martial Saint.
This Myriad Flame Grotto great battle let him thoroughly understand his strength.
His current regular strength merely approached Martial Saint. When using Innate Divine Sword Qi, he had Martial Saint level lethality.
But after Heavenly Human Perfection, even his regular strength would step into Martial Saint level!
Thus.
At least the Demonic Sect threat was greatly weakened. As for Southern Border, take it slow. Without the Demonic Sect, they would suffer huge impact, threat level dropping. Overall, this raid on Demonic Sect Headquarters was highly effective.
And besides the Saint Pill matter.
From the Great Elder, he learned Demonic Sect hidden intelligence: some treasures and classics at Headquarters, locations of various branches, key secret signals, etc.
Ning Qi’s eyes flickered:
“This information is equally crucial. Though I blocked their lair and killed forty Heavenly Human Realm this time, the Demonic Sect’s remaining experts scattered elsewhere are still numerous. Perhaps… I can do some fishing!”
A bold idea rose in his mind.
Use Demonic Sect communication signals to summon back their Heavenly Human Realm experts, then thunderously slay them. This would save much effort.
“Cleanse them again like this, then inform the Imperial Court of the remaining Demonic Sect Branch locations. Demonic Sect power can be reduced by at least ninety-five percent. Collecting Exotic Beast Inner Cores won’t be easy then, and the Demonic Sect threat basically eliminated.”
But Ning Qi did not act immediately.
He needed to first refine the King Yu Bead.
Earlier, he had asked the Great Elder again about the King Yu Bead’s usage, combining with his insights, roughly understanding this Martial Saint Secret Treasure’s use and purpose.
Heavenly Human Realm could only simply control it with some methods. Only truly stepping into Martial Saint Realm allowed full mastery.
As for uses, the Great Elder knew only two.
One was storage function, with an internal space for dead objects—achievable instantly via Heaven and Earth Power resonance.
The key was the second function: condensing Martial Saint Power, as Ning Qi had seen before!
But this function had harsh requirements.
Ning Qi thought to himself:
“The key lies in those Demonic Sect servants. Actually, they are not random captives. Tracing back, their bloodline origin is the former Great Yu Imperial Family, gradually becoming collateral branches, ultimately like servants. Demonic Sect leaders raise them here as nourishment to activate the King Yu Bead at critical moments.”
“Only because this King Yu Bead was previously bound by bloodline to a Great Yu Martial Saint expert.”
He gazed at the blood-glowing King Yu Bead in his hand, somewhat moved.
Fortunately, the King Yu Bead was now ‘recharged,’ allowing direct use. But once power depleted, he probably could not condense Martial Saint Power again.
“However, using Great Yu Imperial Family bloodline to activate the King Yu Bead is surely not the only method. Now that it’s in my hands, there’s plenty of time to study slowly. If I can derive a method without bloodline medium, that would truly turn this Secret Treasure into my strength!”
“Then, even without Heavenly Human Perfection, I’d have confidence to battle a Martial Saint!”
For this, Ning Qi was confident.
While pondering, he flew above the Underground Palace ruins.
Occasionally waving to overturn debris. Under the prior battle’s shockwaves, most things had turned to powder, but some Precious Materials, treasures, or classics remained intact—some due to tough quality, others protected by various Barriers.
Among them were the Blood Demon Flowers carefully nurtured at the Demonic Sect Dead Fire Abyss Branch—five or six here, most mature.
These were peerless treasures that could swiftly boost even Heavenly Human Realm experts. Back then, Old Demon Lin swallowed one and fled two days and nights despite heavy injuries, ultimately reaching True Martial Mountain where Ning Qi critically wounded him with one sword.
Now, all benefited Ning Qi.
“Devouring these Blood Demon Flowers can greatly shorten the time to condense my Essence Flower.” Ning Qi smiled.
His astonishing Perception constantly explored, treasures flying out: some Divine Weapons and Sharp Tools, some peerless Precious Materials, some Spiritual Medicines, others inherited Secret Techniques. All surviving such a great battle were no ordinary items.
Ning Qi sensed the increasingly abundant space inside the King Yu Bead, mood even more pleasant.
This time, truly a bumper harvest.
