Chapter 210: Mountains And Seas Realm
Even if the number of Martial Saint level experts back then was not as great as now, there must have been at least thirty percent, after all, it was the afterglow of the ancient glory.
And a hundredfold number, what does that mean?
Several thousand Martial Saints!
Even more!
Ning Qi’s expression turned solemn.
Even if it was just several thousand First Realm Martial Saints, it would be enough to destroy this world dozens of times over. The destructive power of Martial Saints is far greater than that of the Heavenly Human Realm, not to mention that these invaders definitely had more than just First Realm Martial Saints; there were likely no small number of Fifth Realm Martial Saints.
Based on such a comparison.
There would be no chance of victory at all.
By normal logic, this world should have been destroyed long ago.
But since it still exists intact now, that means some unexpectedly powerful force got involved.
“What happened next?” Ning Qi asked softly.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint stood up, gazing up at the firmament, and took a deep breath:
“You’ve probably guessed it. Under normal circumstances, we were no match for them. In fact, that was the case. We were routed all the way, with experts falling one after another, and everyone despaired.”
These words lightly brushed over the tragedy of an entire era.
“But at the critical moment, the World Will awakened!” There was a fiery light in his eyes.
“This change was something even the invaders hadn’t anticipated. According to them, the will of a lower world like ours is extremely difficult to awaken. Perhaps it was the efforts of generations of ancient sages in the past that paid off. Our world was already on the edge of promotion, and under these extreme circumstances, it actually awakened!”
“The power of the World Will is beyond doubt. When it empowered the Martial Saints of our world, their strength surged, invaders were easily slain one after another, victory was in sight, and the World Will even destroyed the connecting World Channel in one stroke, erasing all the Martial Saint Beacon marks that had formed before.”
“But it wasn’t without cost.”
“The newly awakened World Will was not stable. After this battle, the World Will nearly collapsed, and it was only through the combined efforts of everyone that it was made to fall into slumber.”
In these short words.
Ning Qi seemed to see an epic saga of resistance, in which there must have been many heart-stirring stories.
He sighed lightly in his heart.
Obviously.
The invasion was not over.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint continued:
“The crisis was only temporarily averted. We already knew that there were peepers intending to invade our world, and their strength was far greater than ours! The power of the World Will was already strong enough, but let me tell you, among the experts who appeared beyond the world’s celestial canopy that day, there were no lack of those even stronger than the World Will!”
“If not for some kind of restriction, I’m afraid any one of them could have destroyed us. According to them, we are a lower world, while they are from an upper world.”
This feeling was very despairing.
Ning Qi felt immense pressure.
His comprehension was extraordinary. As long as he was given enough time, he had confidence he wouldn’t lose to anyone, but the problem was that there might not be that much time now.
Just combining the simultaneous appearance of the ancient saints and the Spiritual Energy Revival, he knew that time might already be running short.
At this moment.
He also vaguely understood why the Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint had always tried his utmost to avoid infighting among Martial Saints. They would be the main force in resisting the invaders in the future.
But Ning Qi did not regret it.
He had killed them, and such people might sell him out someday.
He didn’t speak, just waiting for the Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint to continue. What did this have to do with the Pact of the Saints.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint clasped his hands behind his back, and from his hollow gaze seemed to shoot out beams of dazzling light:
“Indeed, they are very strong, but it’s absolutely impossible for us to just sit and wait for death!”
“We don’t know when the invaders will come again, but we have to prepare in advance. After this battle, we’re not completely ignorant of them; we have some understanding.”
“This so-called upper world is named Mountain Sea Realm. Back then, the experts above Martial Saints who broke through the realm and ascended went to that realm, and in their mouths, we are called World Number Jiazi This name is disgusting; Martial World is our original name.”
He snorted coldly, venting his dissatisfaction, then continued:
“After that battle, all the remaining Martial Saints sat down to pool their wisdom and carefully consider how to cope with the next invasion.”
“We’ve grasped several key pieces of information. First, Mountain Sea Realm is the upper world of our Martial World. In theory, as long as our cultivation reaches the Divine Ability Realm above Martial Saint, we can break through the realm and ascend, but they face natural restrictions when trying to descend.”
“So they deployed Life Poison. One purpose was to restrict the growth of strength in our Martial World, but the more important purpose was to form Dao Beacons. Life Poison takes root in the spiritual energy of Martial World, and imperceptibly forms anchor points one after another.”
“But these anchor points are not obvious. However, if people of our Martial World step into the Martial Saint Realm and refine spiritual energy into their bodies, fusing Life Poison with flesh and soul, these anchor points will change into Dao Beacons. Once there are enough Dao Beacons, people of Mountain Sea Realm can graft World Channels!”
“Therefore, our first step is to buy time.”
Ning Qi’s face showed sudden realization:
“So, you all joined hands to erase the Martial Saint Method, precisely to prevent people from stepping into the Martial Saint Realm and forming Dao Beacons.”
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint nodded:
“Not completely erased. If there are stunningly talented individuals, they would still be given the Martial Saint Method and the opportunity to become Martial Saints. This requires a balance. We need to maintain sufficient Martial Saint combat power while also preventing too many Martial Saints, avoiding Mountain Sea Realm from invading immediately.”
Ning Qi sighed lightly.
Obviously, the later it got, the fewer opportunities there would be, and it might even prevent later people from achieving Martial Saint.
This might be somewhat unfair to later generations, with narrower paths upward, but in the face of world crisis, there was no time to worry about that.
Soon, he seized on a blind spot.
“Then what’s with the current Spiritual Energy Revival? Why did the heaven and earth spiritual energy turn into that previous state?”
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint said:
“This involves another decision, namely the Pact of the Saints.”
“Erasing the Martial Saint Method to avoid too many Dao Beacons can only buy time. According to our calculations, as long as Life Poison exists, even if no more Martial Saints are born, the World Channel will eventually be rebuilt over time.”
“We know that the great war will inevitably come again one day!”
“And the reason we won last time was entirely due to the World Will. Now the World Will has fallen into slumber, and we don’t know when it will awaken, so the focus is on that.”
“After constant discussion and deduction, we finally settled on a decision.”
“That is—to strip away the Spiritual Energy, hide it deep within the world, and ultimately erupt it!”
At this point.
A trace of pride appeared on the Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint’s face. Such a heaven-shaking plan had exhausted the efforts of generations.
Ning Qi’s gaze focused.
Previously, White Mountain Old Daoist had said that the Spiritual Energy was hidden by human hands; it turned out to be a collective decision by the Martial Saints.
“What does this have to do with awakening the World Will?” Ning Qi had actually already guessed some of it.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint smiled:
“You must have used a bow and arrow before. The moment the bowstring’s power erupts the most is when it is pulled the tightest. By stripping and hiding the Spiritual Energy, and then erupting it after long ages, that impact will reach its maximum. The World Will will thoroughly awaken, and may even be stronger than at its peak!”
Ning Qi nodded.
In his heart, he felt that comparing it to a spring might be more apt. He was somewhat astonished; one truly couldn’t underestimate the wisdom of the world. Such an ingenious idea was extraordinary.
“This was a massive project. Generations hid the Spiritual Energy until several thousand years ago when it was finally completely successful. During this process, it manifested as spiritual energy concentrations getting lower and lower, eventually completely turning into the heaven and earth power you know, and some even called this period the End of the Law Era.”
“This plan killed three birds with one stone.”
“First, hiding the Spiritual Energy can be used to restore the World Will.”
“Second, after Spiritual Energy is hidden, it can suppress Life Poison to a certain extent.”
“Third, it coordinates with our previous plan to erase the Martial Saint Method. When spiritual energy is completely gone, even with the Martial Saint Method, one cannot step into Martial Saint.”
“And correspondingly, we old guys from the old era used various means to cling to life, and during this time, some perished while others of stunning talent joined.”
“Until the present world, when we collectively revived.”
“This is the Pact of the Saints!”
His words fell.
Seeker’s Courtyard was silent.
Waves rose in Ning Qi’s heart. He had to admit that once all the truth surfaced, he too was greatly impacted.
He had previously guessed there would be external enemies, but he hadn’t expected them to be this powerful.
“So, the World Will is about to awaken soon?” Ning Qi asked.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint nodded:
“That’s right. After the Spiritual Energy Revival, in a short time, once the deep spiritual energy completely stabilizes, the World Will will thoroughly awaken. At that time, it will also be a tremendous opportunity for us.”
Ning Qi’s heart tightened. Something that even the Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint called an opportunity was likely related to that mysterious and unfathomable Divine Ability Realm.
“In a short time, we will convene the Martial Saint Assembly and explain the situation to the newly promoted Martial Saints. No matter what, we have a common enemy.”
“Mountain Sea Realm!”
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint gazed into the distance, as if trying to see beyond the horizon.
Ning Qi fell silent.
“Is Mountain Sea Realm’s World Channel about to open again?”
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint said softly:
“That’s right. Even though we’ve tried our best to control the number of Martial Saint Beacons, after so much time of Life Poison erosion, the World Channel will inevitably connect again. So controlling the number of Martial Saints has no meaning anymore. This time, all Heavenly Human Perfection martial artists during the Spiritual Energy Revival were given the Martial Saint Method.”
“Prepare to meet the battle.”
Ning Qi said:
“How much longer?”
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint shook his head:
“Perhaps ten years, perhaps five years, perhaps the next moment—who knows?”
He was somewhat carefree.
Seeing Ning Qi’s expression somewhat solemn, he smiled again:
“Don’t worry. If there are no accidents, holding out until the World Will awakens should be no problem.”
Ning Qi let out a long breath.
He didn’t know what feeling was in his heart.
He sought longevity and long sight.
But in Martial World, he had never found hope, even ascension rumors were ambiguous. Now he finally knew ascension was real, and there was an upper world with even longer-lived greater experts.
But his mood was somewhat complex.
This upper world… was the enemy.
It was still too early to consider longevity and long sight. The most important thing now was to survive the upcoming crisis. A sense of urgency rose in his heart.
Ning Qi said:
“Since I now understand the causes and effects, I will take responsibility for Chiyang Martial Saint and Purple Moon Martial Saint.”
He was not an unreasonable person.
Chiyang Martial Saint and Purple Moon Martial Saint were indeed the main force in resisting the invaders. Since he had killed them, he wouldn’t pretend nothing happened. At this moment, everyone was people on the same boat, one prospers all prosper, one suffers all suffer.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint waved his hand with a sigh:
“I already know the fault is not yours; I’m just a bit regretful. The earlier incident was just to see little friend’s current strength. Please don’t take offense, little friend.”
Ning Qi shook his head.
He had known from the start that the Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint actually harbored no hostility, otherwise he wouldn’t have told him so much.
The two sat in silence, quietly sipping tea.
A moment later.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint leisurely stood up:
“Thank you for the Enlightenment Tea today, little friend. I have one item to give you.”
With that.
He pointed with his finger, and a mass of light emitting a thick aura flew out from his bosom.
Ning Qi looked and saw it was a palm-sized stone, dark yellow throughout with natural patterns. His eyes lit up as he sensed dense Earth Qi from it.
“This is an Earth Vein Essence Stone; it might be of some help to you, little friend.” The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint chuckled.
He had to admit.
Ning Qi was very tempted.
He was now only short of Earth Qi to step into Fifth Realm Martial Saint. Although he would need to put in hard effort to refine it himself, with this Earth Vein Essence Stone, he could save a lot of work. He felt a bit regretful; if he had gotten this treasure on the day of Spiritual Energy Revival, he might have stepped into Fifth Realm Martial Saint in one go.
But now, it was also like timely rain.
He didn’t stand on ceremony and thanked him:
“In that case, I will shamelessly accept it. Thank you, Senior Heaven-Slaying.”
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint waved his hand with a smile:
“Consider it compensation for my visit and strike today.”
He could see Ning Qi’s heaven-defying potential. It was just a pity that the other hadn’t emerged earlier; otherwise, Martial World might have produced an unprecedented expert. But even now, Ning Qi’s strength had surpassed most ancient saints and stood at the peak of Martial World.
He didn’t mind helping Ning Qi.
This was also helping himself.
With that said.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint glanced at the Enlightenment Tea Tree again and departed through the air.
Ning Qi looked at the Earth Vein Essence Stone in his hand, slightly lost in thought.
The Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint’s visit this time was truly somewhat beyond his expectations.
“Mountain Sea Realm, huh…”
He murmured to himself, gripping the Earth Vein Essence Stone in his hand even tighter.
He felt he needed to hurry and step into Fifth Realm Martial Saint or even stronger.
Ning Qi had never had the habit of pinning his hopes on others, not even the World Will could make him feel at ease.
“Perhaps, I need to go to True Martial Hall quickly.”
He wanted to hear what Old Black Tortoise had to say. What the Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint said alone might not be entirely accurate; there might be some information even he didn’t know.
