Chapter 261: Sudden Change
Five Elements Peak.
After the True Disciple ranking, quite a few more True Disciples came to join, but the selection was even stricter than before.
Ning Qi entrusted all these matters to Qin Minghao and Wang Ye to handle.
Meanwhile, Ning Qi himself was in his closed-door cultivation place, meticulously studying the gains from this battle.
In front of Ning Qi floated an ancient Daoist Sword, which appeared extremely plain just by looking at its surface.
It showed not the slightest sharpness like other Spiritual Swords, nor the various attributes of the Purple Green Twin Swords.
Yet this low-grade Spiritual Sword contained the most fundamental and essential charm that a Spiritual Sword should have: the Sword Rule Imprint.
The Sword Rule Imprint on it was incredibly dense, fully more than twice that of the Wind Thunder Twin Swords and the Golden Sun Sword and such Spiritual Swords. This sword was forged solely for Sword Dao. When Ning Qi obtained it, even his calm state of mind like an ancient well rippled with slight joy.
With this Daoist Sword, he believed he could soon extract enough Origin of Sword Rules to allow his main body to step into the Rule Realm.
Subsequently.
Another jade-colored pill bottle appeared in front of Ning Qi, and a round pill rolled out from the bottle mouth, perfectly natural and rotating like a jade bead. It was precisely the previously rewarded Void Dao Purple Gold Pill.
This pill was one used by Void Dao Realm experts, faintly seeming to have clouds of qi spraying and contracting on it, like human breathing, stirring the airflow.
This type of pill not only possessed spirituality but also contained faint Power of Rules within, aiding in enlightenment.
Ning Qi’s spiritual sense focused on the Void Dao Purple Gold Pill. This pill, only the size of a marble, appeared in his consciousness like a miniature nebula.
He began to seriously comprehend it.
From aspects like materials, structure, and proportions, Ning Qi spent considerable time and directly reverse-engineered the pill formula for refining the Void Dao Purple Gold Pill.
The pill formula he comprehended had even stronger medicinal effects than the original, and he even prepared several versions.
In the future, he could refine pills of corresponding medicinal effects using this pill formula and place them in the merit exchange for True Martial World beings.
During this period, Ning Qi emerged from seclusion once.
He received a message from Sect Leader Jiang Baichuan via telepathic communication that the Profound True Secret Realm would definitely open within ten years, so they, the Top Ten True Disciples, must not go out during this time to avoid missing it.
Ning Qi himself had no intention of going out anyway.
Next, he handled some matters on Five Elements Peak and then entered closed-door cultivation again.
……
Time flies in seclusion without years; in the mountains, hundreds of flowers bloomed and withered several times, and in the blink of an eye, nine years passed.
Ning Qi awoke from seclusion, his eyes seeming to contain the opening of heaven and earth, then all anomalies faded.
His thoughts clear, he let out a long sigh, his Primordial Spirit Power sweeping over, illuminating the minute changes on Five Elements Peak.
A smile appeared at the corner of Ning Qi’s mouth, and then he began to take stock of the gains over these nine years.
During this time, Ning Qi swallowed one Void Dao Purple Gold Pill, its medicinal power like the birth of a nebula, releasing within his body.
The surging medicinal power washed over his body and Primordial Soul again and again, inside and out, virtual and real.
Unlike the pills from his Purple Mansion Nascent Soul Realm days, Ning Qi even felt his spiritual sense had shed a layer of obstructive veil on perception, making his sensing of the outside world clearer.
This was not only manifested on the reincarnated body but also on the main body in True Martial World, and even on the consciousness connecting the two realms. Ning Qi felt it was several degrees clearer.
What followed was that Ning Qi found his spiritual sense could more easily capture the deeply hidden Power of Rules within the world.
Day by day passed, and this reincarnated body in Mountain Sea Realm had already gained some comprehension of the Power of Rules.
It was like smoothing out the path forward in the Forest of Rules, able to open a road into the Forest of Rules at any time, allowing Ning Qi to step into Void Dao Realm.
Of course.
The Void Dao Purple Gold Pill could only be said to have some effect; what truly played the decisive role was still Ning Qi’s comprehension. Otherwise, with the merit of this pill, Boundless Sword Sect would have had Great Powers everywhere long ago.
However, for the upcoming Profound True Secret Realm, Ning Qi chose to temporarily suppress his strength and did not break through. He was not in a hurry for this moment; anyway, he could summon main body power at any time, and breaking through to Void Dao Realm would only be a bit more convenient, without raising his strength upper limit.
Everything was to serve the main body.
Meanwhile, Five Elements Peak’s strength climbed once more over these nine years, with all disciples refreshed in essence, qi, and spirit.
Aside from the new joiners, the strength progress of each True Disciple was terrifyingly great.
Especially Qin Minghao and Wang Ye; their strength was probably only below Ning Qi’s, and they even had hope of competing with Ye Chen and Jiang Qingxue.
If there was another True Disciple ranking, Five Elements Peak would likely occupy at least half the spots, and this was even with Ning Qi in seclusion for so long without guiding his junior brothers and sisters.
……
Within True Martial World.
Over nine years, True Martial World’s development continued rolling forward like a wheel, charging ahead.
Thanks to Realm Lord Ning Qi’s glory, True Martial World’s Heavenly Dao was constant now, with order between immortals and mortals, and everything well-regulated.
Though it was not yet a Spirit Realm or a world with rules, True Martial World had advantages other worlds lacked.
No other world had True Martial World’s high degree of unity, stability, and peace, nor the boldness of a Realm Lord passing down the Immortal Path to all beings and opening the Enlightenment Realm Tree to assist them.
All beings in True Martial World were aware of the Realm Lord’s existence, and as long as they strove forward, there was a clear and feasible path.
The million Mountain Sea Realm cultivators previously slain by Ning Qi’s trap had their spiritual energy fed back into True Martial World, giving its development a second bloom.
Many beings seized this opportunity, twisting into a single rope and constantly climbing upward.
Besides the explosive growth in cultivator numbers, the number at Mana Realm reached tens of millions, Purple Mansion Realm cultivators reached hundreds of thousands, and it was still growing at an astonishing speed. This was far from True Martial World’s limit.
With the Enlightenment Realm Tree, the spiritual energy True Martial Realm cultivators expended in many actions came from the Sea of Realms, allowing True Martial World to support far more cultivators than worlds of similar scale.
And the True Martial Immortal Sect, representing the Realm Lord’s will, under the time acceleration of True Martial Hall, had already produced Nascent Soul Realm experts, including Luo Wentian. Though he somewhat yearned for Mountain Sea Realm’s scenery, he still chose to sit in True Martial World to prevent trouble.
In today’s True Martial World, the outer region for reincarnation was no longer a secret.
Many cultivators diligently cultivated just waiting for the opportunity to arrive. They knew True Martial World’s development was like dandelion seeds scattering, with a bright future and boundless vast territory.
How could those who deeply understood this not cultivate desperately and seize this once-in-a-hundred-lifetimes opportunity?
Thus, the imprints of those million Mountain Sea Realm cultivators had all been used up by Ning Qi within nine years, successively placed into Mountain Sea Realm.
But this time, all were chosen in major domains with Immortal Sects stationed, such as Fuyao Region, not far from Northern Xuan Region and Southern True Domain.
Not only was Ning Qi himself envisioning the future, but all the reincarnated True Martial cultivators were anticipating the day when the organizations they True Martial cultivators had secretly formed in various domains would erupt in power and overturn all forces.
Then True Martial World would be simply invincible!
Just thinking about it was thrilling. Reincarnated in these realms, no one knew they had early connections behind them, and an even larger organization.
Meanwhile, in Mountain Sea Realm over these ten years, a few reincarnators had also begun stepping into Nascent Soul Realm.
True Person Bai Shan, Li Yanwu, Tianshan Snow Woman, and others were among them.
And they had also contributed several low-grade Spiritual Treasures to Ning Qi.
Among them were two Spiritual Swords, directly bringing the number of Spiritual Swords in Ning Qi’s hands to six.
As long as a dozen more came, he could definitely condense enough Origin of Sword Rules, thereby allowing his main body to step into Rule Realm.
After taking stock, Ning Qi reopened his eyes.
Zheng!
A sword hum resounded throughout the entire sect in Boundless Sword Sect.
Sect Leader Jiang Baichuan’s voice appeared in everyone’s ears.
“Top Ten True Disciples, quickly come to the Central Plaza. The Profound True Secret Realm is about to appear!”
In an instant, figures rose into the sky from the peaks of the Top Ten True Disciples, heading to the Central Plaza.
The three figures from Five Elements Peak were particularly eye-catching!
At the center, Ning Qi in snow-white robes had an extraordinary demeanor.
Behind him followed Eighth True Disciple Qin Minghao and Sixth True Disciple Wang Ye.
The two lagged half a step behind, clearly willingly so, to highlight Ning Qi’s weight in their hearts.
Numerous True Disciples from various peaks looked up at the three, their eyes shining brightly.
Now many years had passed; with the growth speed on Five Elements Peak, who knew how terrifying the three’s strength had become?
Unfortunately, they had no qualification to join this Profound True Secret Realm trip and could only learn a bit through the gains after everyone’s return.
Central Plaza.
The Top Ten True Disciples arrived almost simultaneously.
Sect Leader Jiang Baichuan stood at the front. Besides him, Vice Sect Master Cang Wanhe was also there, and three Elders had long been waiting.
Ning Qi glanced over; two were old acquaintances.
One was Grand Elder True Person Ziyang and Ye Qingtian; the other stood with Jiang Qingxue, a Jiang Family Great Power named Jiang Ruhai.
Once everyone was in position, Jiang Baichuan spoke:
“Everyone, you are the finest Dao seeds passed down like a torch in my Boundless Sword Sect. I hope on this trip you can consider the sect’s overall situation, fully cooperate, and win the best results for my Boundless Sword Sect in the Profound True Secret Realm.”
“Yes!”
The congregation responded in unison.
Jiang Baichuan’s gaze lingered especially on Ye Qingtian for a moment before saying: “Alright, this time these three Elders will escort you there. Depart!”
Jiang Family Great Power Jiang Ruhai sacrificed a cyan Treasure Boat, which enlarged on the plaza.
Everyone boarded one by one, then the Treasure Boat rose, turning into a streak of cyan spiritual light and flying out of Boundless Sword Sect.
The thirteen stood on the Treasure Boat, without the slightest bump.
Outside the Treasure Boat, a spiritual energy barrier naturally blocked the oncoming gales and turbulence.
This type of Treasure Boat was often used to carry many people across long distances, able to mark spatial coordinates. As long as supplied with enough Spirit Stones, it could automatically head to the destination, extremely effortless.
The ten True Disciples each stood in intimate small groups, while the three Elders stood at the front.
The thirteen all glanced at each other. After ten years unseen, though all were sect members, as cultivators, they naturally wanted to gauge each other’s situations.
Soon, almost everyone’s gazes fell on Qin Minghao and Wang Ye.
The two were not as returned-to-purity as Ning Qi; even without deliberately exposing their cultivation, they revealed sharpness, with their charm naturally evident.
The other seven True Disciples’ eyes couldn’t help but stun for a moment, and even the three Elders’ expressions shifted slightly.
Good grief, all from Boundless Sword Sect, what made Five Elements Peak so different?
The mana fluctuations on Qin Minghao and Wang Ye, and the precipitated cultivation Dao Rhyme, why did they feel so astonishing?
Second True Disciple Jiang Qingxue and Third True Disciple Ye Chen, along with Fourth and Fifth True Disciples—the four felt this most intensely!
At their realm, under normal circumstances, Primordial Spirit spiritual sense perception was enough to discern a person’s strength level, and the closer ones had an especially strange intuition.
Jiang Qingxue’s beautiful eyes blinked, her lashes fluttering.
If not for her possession of an incomplete mid-grade Spiritual Treasure, Jiang Qingxue even felt she might have been surpassed by those two.
Her gaze finally shifted from the two to Ning Qi.
She knew their changes were all because of Ning Qi!
And over these ten years, Ye Chen’s personality had changed greatly.
No longer the casual and free-spirited First True Disciple of before, he had become much more low-key and silent.
His gaze quickly swept over Qin Minghao, lingered one second on Wang Ye, two seconds on Ning Qi, then immediately withdrew.
A faint malice flashed in his eyes, caught by Wang Ye, who knew him well.
Wang Ye worried inwardly and secretly sent a telepathic message to Ning Qi:
“Senior Brother Ning, on this Profound True Secret Realm trip, I’m afraid the Ye Family won’t let it rest easily. I just saw malice in Ye Chen’s eyes. Based on my understanding of him, he’s definitely plotting something.”
Ning Qi’s expression was calm as he replied: “You’ve done well to notice.”
That bit of malice that Wang Ye could perceive—how could he not know?
Forget a mere Ye Family of Boundless Sword Sect; as True Martial World’s Realm Lord, after reincarnating here, he had long prepared to handle all dangers.
The Ye Family?
If they made no move, it would be better for them!
Seeing Ning Qi calm, Wang Ye said no more, knowing Senior Brother Ning surely had everything in hand.
The cyan Treasure Boat streaked across the sky, leaving Boundless Sword Sect’s sphere of influence, passing over countless small sects and schools along the way, proceeding smoothly.
True Person Ziyang was easygoing; as a moderate in the sect, if they passed notable areas en route, he would proactively introduce them to the True Disciples.
Right now, the cyan boat was passing a certain territory, and only True Person Ziyang’s voice was heard, narrating leisurely.
“This place is called Three Gates Wasteland, aptly named. Once, three sects similar to our Boundless Sword Sect established themselves here.”
“However, after these three sects were founded, they were all wiped out a decade later. No one knows what happened; it’s still an unsolved case to this day!”
The True Disciples on the Treasure Boat immediately took interest, involuntarily directing their gazes and spiritual senses downward.
The territory below was vast, with mountains, seas, and plains all present, and faint ruins still visible.
But the entire ground presented a eerie black, like it had been scorched.
Jiang Qingxue responded: “Elder Ziyang, have Great Powers investigated?”
Elder Ziyang stroked his beard and smiled: “Naturally, and not a few. But those who investigated all said it was Earth Fiend Evil Fire, and aside from that, nothing particularly special…”
Just as True Person Ziyang was introducing Three Gates Wasteland Realm, drawing everyone’s attention and gazes downward.
Suddenly, a change arose abruptly!
Fully six late Void Dao Realm experts tore through the void, appearing in two columns to the left and right of the cyan Treasure Boat, all striking together.
In an instant, the sky above boomed like cannon fire; the cyan Treasure Boat was instantly torn in half, and everyone detached from it, floating in the air.
“You brats have guts, daring to sneak attack my Boundless Sword Sect?”
The three Elders—Elder Ziyang and the others—roared in fury.
In this chaos, Ye Qingtian was the first to use Power of Rules, instantly enveloping nearby Ye Chen, Ning Qi, and Qin Minghao.
“Scatter and flee!”
He shouted, and before the echo faded, his figure had already fled far in one direction.
Of the six late Void Dao Realm experts besieging Boundless Sword Sect, two immediately split off to pursue Ye Qingtian.
Seeing this, True Person Ziyang’s expression changed drastically.
How could Ye Qingtian take Ning Qi and Qin Minghao away together?
He was a Ye Family Elder and had conflicts with Ning Qi before; he couldn’t have been too panicked not to know who he took.
True Person Ziyang’s heart sank sharply, faintly realizing this enemy attack was not so simple.
He wanted to stop Ye Qingtian, but the other four Great Powers were already charging at him and Jiang Ruhai!
There were also six True Disciple disciples behind them; they could only protect these disciples while fighting and retreating.
Wang Ye saw Ning Qi and Qin Minghao taken away by that old ghost Ye Qingtian, his pupils contracting sharply. He instinctively worried for Ning Qi’s safety, but then exhaled long, relaxing—he recalled Ning Qi’s calm demeanor on the Treasure Boat earlier.
“And when Senior Brother Ning was taken by Old Ghost Ye just now, he showed no panic at all. Could Senior Brother Ning have prepared for this?”
Wang Ye’s heart jumped; over these ten years of following, he had developed near-blind adoration for Ning Qi.
First, handle the present.
The other four Great Powers were already attacking!
