Chapter 223: World Will
South Sea Divine Nun saw Ning Qi smiling lightly at her, and she also revealed an extremely bright smile. Under the faint white light blessing on her body, she appeared even more with a bit of sacred aura, as if inviolable.
This scene fell into the eyes of the others.
They secretly sighed in their hearts. As expected of the South Sea Divine Nun, whose charm was number one in the world. Even a peerless heavenly talent like Heavenly Sword Martial Saint favored her.
Black Blood Demon Lord’s face was even blacker than the bottom of a pot.
He snorted heavily and sat back down.
Today, he had completely lost face, and there was no chance to get it back in the short term. Everyone knew that the grudge between Heavenly Sword Martial Saint and Black Blood Demon Lord was now thoroughly settled. If not for the external enemy of Mountain Sea Realm, they would probably already be fighting to the death.
If both restrained themselves like this, it was merely because they felt the other still had great use.
The numerous Martial Saints saw through it like a mirror.
But they were also extremely astonished.
After today’s battle.
The supreme experts of the Martial World were no longer just five, but had become six.
Looking at Ning Qi, who had been calm and composed from start to finish, reverence appeared in their eyes. No matter what conflict there was between Ning Qi and Black Blood Demon Lord, that was a matter between supreme experts. For them, these two were unattainable existences.
The interlude ended.
The congregation sat back down.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint asked again:
“Fellow experts, do you now have any other thoughts regarding Heavenly Sword Martial Saint’s seat?”
All Saints shook their heads in unison:
“With Heavenly Sword Martial Saint, it is the fortune of our Martial World!”
What a joke. The several supreme experts had reached a consensus—what could they say? They said it was divided by cultivation, but in reality, it was still by whose fist was bigger.
Black Blood Demon Lord snorted coldly, but in the end, he did not say any mood-spoiling words.
Instead, Wang Quan and Demonic Sect Leader behind him both lowered their heads, not daring to speak. They had never expected that this former Heavenly Sword True Person would be so ferocious.
The dust settled.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint said with a smile:
“Since there are no objections, then it’s decided. These few days, everyone stay at Heavenly Peak Mountain. Five days later, we head to High Heavens and cross the Thunder Forbidden Zone!”
All Saints were boiling with excitement.
Ten thousand years of planning—wasn’t it all for this moment?
At that time.
Everyone could surpass their own limits and advance further. The lower the cultivation, the greater the improvement obtained.
Ning Qi was also expectant.
However, after calculating, he found that perfecting Realm Lord Realm within five days might not make it in time; he might need a few more days.
“Never mind, first focus fully on handling the matter at hand.”
…
Late at night.
Heavenly Peak Mountain was still brightly lit. For Martial Saints, not sleeping for a few days was simple. With so many Martial Saints gathered for once, many hoped to exchange some Martial Way cultivation experiences with each other, or trade some treasures they could use.
After Ning Qi strolled around a bit, he returned to continue deducing Realm Lord Realm.
To him, most of the things from All Saints were not attractive enough.
In the hall.
Streams of spiritual insight emerged in Ning Qi’s mind, perfecting Realm Lord Realm.
“To step into Realm Lord Realm, the first difficulty is comprehending Myriad Daos, then condensing them into one, so as to completely synchronize oneself with the small world consciousness.”
This hurdle was very, very difficult, but for Ning Qi, it was simple. When previously deducing Myriad Dao Nirvana Origin Method, he had actually perfected this process once. Nirvana Origin Fire was, to some extent, the product of the essence of Myriad Daos united.
“The second hurdle is fusing with world will. This one has more details to deliberate. After all, world will does not possess complete wisdom, but it can instinctively perceive danger; otherwise, it wouldn’t awaken to resist the Mountain Sea Realm invasion.”
“Fortunately, my fusion with world will is harmless to the Martial World itself, so the resistance will be smaller. Even so, it still requires supreme strength.”
“As for the final hurdle, after fusing with world will, refine the world into Purple Mansion, which can condense world power stronger than mana, and even form natal divine abilities one after another. Others have only one natal divine ability, but I have thousands of divine abilities added.”
Ning Qi continuously pondered the details.
Creating a new realm was not an easy matter.
Fortunately, with True Martial Ancestor’s supreme method and the Immortal Path cultivation system as foundation, it saved Ning Qi a lot of time.
Suddenly.
His expression shifted, and he opened his eyes.
A voice of admiration sounded outside the hall:
“As expected of Heavenly Sword Martial Saint. Little Sister admires you.”
Ning Qi’s expression was somewhat odd.
Little Sister?
You, an old hag who’s lived for tens of thousands of years, calling yourself Little Sister in front of a youth in his teens?
He said indifferently:
“Divine Nun is too polite. It’s just some insignificant little tricks. I wonder what brings Divine Nun to visit late at night?”
The hall door opened.
South Sea Divine Nun’s elegant and pure figure appeared. She held the alms bowl, her demeanor sacred. However, the gaze she directed at Ning Qi carried a hint of unusual brilliance.
“Little Sister saw Fellow Daoist’s divine might today and was filled with admiration, so she came specially to pay a visit. Please do not take today’s matter to heart.” She spoke softly, with a natural lingering charm that made one unconsciously lower their guard.
But Ning Qi’s heart was calm and unwavering.
“Divine Nun jests. Compared to the various Fellow Daoists, I still have a long way to go.”
South Sea Divine Nun’s eyes dimmed slightly:
“It seems Heavenly Sword Fellow Daoist is not very welcoming of me. It feels like there’s some misunderstanding toward me.”
Ning Qi shook his head:
“Divine Nun misunderstands. It’s just that this one happened to encounter a cultivation problem that was about to be solved, and I didn’t want to interrupt.”
South Sea Divine Nun’s face showed admiration:
“So that’s how it is. No wonder Fellow Daoist’s strength is so astonishing. This heart toward the Dao is something Little Sister truly admires and feels inferior to.”
She paused and continued:
“Then Little Sister will make a long story short. I came today to remind Fellow Daoist of one thing: that Black Blood Demon Lord has likely already secretly sided with Mountain Sea Realm!”
Though her voice was very low, the content she spoke was earth-shattering.
Ning Qi’s eyes sharpened.
“Divine Nun, what do you mean by this? Although I had a conflict with Black Blood Demon Lord, with the external enemy before us now, I do not wish to slander someone’s innocence without cause.”
South Sea Divine Nun sighed:
“Fellow Daoist does not know, but that Black Blood Demon Lord was an evildoer in the ancient era. He wantonly slaughtered mortals, using their souls and blood to forge the Black Blood Demon Banner. If not for the Martial World needing manpower back then, everyone would have joined hands to suppress him!”
“Later during the Great Decisive Battle, he nearly deserted on the battlefield. Though after world will manifested power, he bravely killed many from Mountain Sea Realm, his prior behavior left a thorn in our hearts.”
“Today during his battle with Fellow Daoist, I observed from the shadows. Black Blood Demon Lord seemed extremely battered by Fellow Daoist, but he did not go all out at all, as if hiding something.”
“Now with Mountain Sea Realm’s invasion imminent, we naturally unite as one, not wishing our homeland to be destroyed. But others may not think that way. Some selfish people probably already want to betray the Martial World to claim merit and exchange for a slim chance of survival!”
She spoke each word with utmost sincerity.
Ning Qi’s heart stirred.
South Sea Divine Nun was indeed right about one point.
During the daytime battle, Ning Qi had certainly not used his full strength, but he had indeed perceived that Black Blood Demon Lord had not used his full strength either.
Ning Qi stared fixedly at South Sea Divine Nun, faint golden light rising in his eyes, but South Sea Divine Nun was open and aboveboard.
“Fellow Daoist, just keep today’s matter to yourself. Stay vigilant, and best not mention it to the other few. To be honest, I don’t even know how many people in the Martial World now can be trusted.”
She sighed faintly, then departed.
But there was faintly desolation and despair in her eyes.
Ning Qi calmly watched her back.
“Interesting.”
He smiled.
How much truth there was in South Sea Divine Nun’s words, he really couldn’t judge.
However.
There was one thing South Sea Divine Nun did not know: his relationship with Old Black Tortoise was extraordinary, completely worthy of mutual trust. With a thought, Ning Qi immediately summoned Old Black Tortoise via the True Martial Hall mark.
“Hall Master, what are your orders?” Ever since Ning Qi succeeded as Hall Master of True Martial Hall, Old Black Tortoise had been very respectful, even insisting that Ning Qi not call him Senior, despite Ning Qi telling him it was unnecessary. Over time, Ning Qi just let him be.
Ning Qi had also learned Old Black Tortoise’s name.
Gui Changqing.
“Changqing, what kind of person is South Sea Divine Nun?” he asked, then recounted in full how South Sea Divine Nun had suddenly visited earlier.
Gui Changqing frowned:
“What she said is true. Black Blood Demon Lord has always been arrogant and overbearing, and his actions are demonic. If not for this special period, he would have been attacked by all long ago. But whether he has defected to Mountain Sea Realm cannot be concluded.”
“As for South Sea Divine Nun, her reputation outside is extremely good. Though she lives in seclusion overseas, every time she appears in the world, she does good deeds with compassion for the world. It’s normal for her to come remind Hall Master.”
“However… it feels somewhat strange.”
Ning Qi nodded slowly:
“It seems awakening world will won’t be that simple this time.”
“Here’s the plan: Changqing, pay extra attention to South Sea Divine Nun. I’ll keep a closer eye on Black Blood Demon Lord, to avoid any disruptions from them. Best to resolve all the traitors this time.”
“Yes, Hall Master!”
The two discussed some details.
In the end, they decided that no amount of caution was too much.
…
Time passed slowly.
Apart from South Sea Divine Nun’s visit on the first day, in the following days, no one else came except familiar people like White Mountain Old Daoist, which left Ning Qi quite idle.
His deduction of Realm Lord Realm went extremely smoothly.
Unfortunately.
It was still one final step short.
And today.
Was the day everyone headed to High Heavens.
Ning Qi could clearly perceive that the world seemed to have undergone a subtle change. If forced to compare, it was as if it had previously been somewhat lifeless, but now it was more vibrant.
All Saints gathered again in the void above Heavenly Peak Mountain.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint’s expression was slightly excited:
“Fellow experts, world will has already begun to revive. Today is our best chance to awaken world will!”
All Saints were also extremely excited.
Especially the New Saints, who yearned for it even more. They had never seen what world will was like before, only learning approximately from the Ancient Saints in these few days what power world will possessed.
“Go!”
As the words fell.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint took the lead, charging toward the void above.
The several supreme experts followed closely behind.
All Saints erupted with spiritual power, heading skyward.
The scene was spectacular. The hundred saints’ spiritual power shone in five colors of light, not concealing their auras at all. From afar, it looked like a colorful spiritual power heavenly bridge had been built above Heavenly Peak Mountain.
Continuing upward.
They soon reached the Thunder Forbidden Zone. Some were seeing this scene for the first time and couldn’t help feeling horrified. They hadn’t expected there to be such a powerful forbidden zone above the world.
Ning Qi was already familiar with the way, his heart undisturbed.
As early as Heavenly Human Realm, he had set foot here, even cultivating with the thunder here. Back then, these many thunders were extremely terrifying in his heart, but now, they were a breeze.
With All Saints gathered now, spiritual power formed a field. Many thunders were even extinguished halfway through their charge.
For the Martial Saints, most of the thunders in this Thunder Forbidden Zone were not to be feared.
All Saints stepped into the forbidden zone.
So many intruders seemed to enrage the thunder, making it much more violent than when Ning Qi had seen it before, but it was useless.
All the way to the final layer of barrier.
Blood-colored Thunder!
“Rumble!”
Terrifying rumbling echoed in every Martial Saint’s ears. At this moment, even Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint and the others looked grave. They saw that the blood-colored thunders interwove, forming a thunder heavenly curtain that completely blocked the path ahead.
Streaks of blood-colored thunder emanated terrifying auras, with various anomalies manifesting within—sometimes turning into blood-colored Thunder Dragons, sometimes a Thunder Ancient Mountain appearing.
This was still after world will’s preliminary revival had weakened the blood-colored thunder’s power; otherwise, they wouldn’t dare set foot here at all.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint looked at the several supreme experts:
“Fellow experts, shall each of us protect some Fellow Daoists?”
The few nodded.
Then.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint took action first. He tossed his cane, which instantly turned into a heaven-piercing giant pillar. Then, the giant saber was unsheathed, Heaven-Slaying Saber Intent overbearingly peerless, forcibly extinguishing the surrounding blood-colored thunders. Ning Qi saw that atop the Heaven-Slaying Saber Intent, there was a power contained but not released.
“Divine Ability Embryo?” Ning Qi murmured in his heart.
Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint shouted lowly:
“Follow me!”
Heaven-piercing saber light swept up twenty Martial Saints and took the lead away.
Next was Great Yan Martial Saint. A red seal appeared in his hand, domineering and majestic. In an instant, endless flames surged out, forming a fire lotus. He also swept up twenty Martial Saints and followed closely behind Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint.
Old Black Tortoise smiled faintly.
He manifested his true body, but not as terrifying as thousands of zhang, shrinking to dozens of zhang. Thick green light shone on his turtle shell. Twenty Martial Saints were protected under him as he swam lightly through the blood-colored thunder sea.
Black Blood Demon Lord snorted coldly. The Black Blood Demon Banner appeared in his hand. The demon banner grew against the storm, black clouds rolling. He also swept up twenty Martial Saints and departed.
South Sea Divine Nun smiled lightly at Ning Qi, then the White Jade Bottle in her hand emitted soft holy light, condensing a Thousand-Hand Bodhisattva. The Bodhisattva’s twenty hands held up twenty Martial Saints in front of its chest and advanced against the blood-colored thunder.
The several supreme experts each displayed their supernatural powers, leaving All Saints astonished.
Golden light surged in Ning Qi’s eyes as he nodded inwardly.
Now, only he remained.
He smiled lightly and waved his hand. True Martial Sword instantly expanded to dozens of zhang, peerless sharpness emanating. Streaks of thunder were extinguished beyond the sword edge.
“You all follow me.”
The remaining Martial Saints respectfully jumped onto True Martial Sword. The congregation turned into sword light and charged ahead.
The blood-colored thunder was like an abyss, like a sea. That terrifying power forced even the various supreme experts to cope carefully. All Saints were terrified, fearing a single mistake would drop them into the thunder sea— with their cultivation, they would certainly perish without a corpse.
Ning Qi was quite relaxed, but he also maintained a pace not much different from the others.
This relieved the few secretly observing.
Soon.
The blood-colored thunder sea was nearing its top.
A vast, majestic, grand aura came head-on. Reverence instinctively surged in every Martial Saint’s heart.
With a thought from Ning Qi, he felt slightly excited.
“That… is world will?”
Only to see, after passing through the blood-colored thunder, a brand-new space appeared before everyone. At the highest point there, an indescribable existence quietly stood, as if it had been so since ancient times.
