Chapter 3: The Art of Begging

But Ji Ning did not stop at all. With a whoosh, he fled to hundreds of thousands of li away, simultaneously releasing his heartforce to see which great power it was.

"No need to panic." A gentle laugh rang out.

While fleeing, Ji Ning's heartforce also observed the newcomer. The newcomer was a white-bearded Daoist in a Daoist robe, with an immortal air.

"Him?" Ji Ning was secretly alarmed. "I knew that by using the Nine-Angled Electric Serpent escape art, I would attract the attention of some great powers. I'm not afraid of the Undying Demon side, but there's trouble on my own side. The first to step forward is Lord Yuqiu, truly worthy of being called 'without desires or demands'—shameless enough."

Among the True Gods and Dao Ancestors, there were also evil demons and treacherous villains.

Lord Yuqiu was the most typical example.

His greed and treachery had long been famous throughout the Three Realms, and he was called 'without desires or demands' by the Three Realms—clearly everyone was mocking him. But being a True God or Dao Ancestor, his Dao-heart could not be swayed by mere mockery. He still acted as he pleased. This time, when Ji Ning used the Nine-Angled Electric Serpent escape art, most of the great powers of the Nuwa camp were tempted, and some evil demons were especially covetous. But because all parties were watching, and Ji Ning was after all from their own camp, everyone hesitated—after all, being the first to stick one's neck out was not easy.

Lord Yuqiu became that first bird.

"Greetings, Senior Yuqiu." Ji Ning said respectfully.

"No need to be polite, no need to be polite. I have some friendship with your master Bodhi, and with your other master, Three Lives, I am a sworn brother." Lord Yuqiu said with a smile.

Ji Ning was speechless.

Bodhi looked down on Lord Yuqiu; the number of times they had met could probably be counted on one hand. Well, that could barely be considered 'some friendship.' But Three Lives, because he had contended for supremacy in the ancient times, naturally had dealings with other great powers, and treated Lord Yuqiu with ordinary courtesy. Such courtesy... was twisted by Lord Yuqiu into being 'sworn brothers.'

"I heard that Three Lives had a successor, and I was happy for him. Alas." Lord Yuqiu sighed. "It's a pity that in that battle back then, Brother Three Lives died in battle, leaving me deeply grieved."

"But it's good that he has a disciple like you." Lord Yuqiu nodded with a smile. "I just saw you using an escape art that controls the Nine-Angled Electric Serpent. Now that the great calamity is upon us, if a few more great powers on our side could learn this escape art, our chances of survival in this calamity would be much greater. Ji Ning, could you let me take a look at this escape art?"

Ji Ning had long been instructed by his master Bodhi, so he quickly said, "Senior, this escape art was obtained by my master Bodhi by chance. Although he passed it on to me, he strictly forbade me from passing it on. I cannot disobey my master's orders. If you truly want this escape art, you can go and ask my master."

Lord Yuqiu frowned slightly.

Go to Bodhi?

What status did Bodhi have? He was nearly comparable to the Human Sovereigns and the leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist sects, and his control over time and space was number one in the Three Realms. If Bodhi wanted to hide from someone, who could find him?

"It's just an escape art." Lord Yuqiu's face darkened. "And it concerns many great powers on our side, concerns the great calamity. Is Bodhi going to be so stingy?"

Whoosh!

Another pressure descended, and lightning flickered in the void. The familiar aura had arrived.

Ji Ning's heart stirred. This familiar aura... it was the one he had visited before: the Thunder God Heavenly Lord. The void tore open, and a burly man in dark armor walked out, his eyes full of lightning. As he strode forward, the entire void made Ji Ning feel suffocated. If Lord Yuqiu was merely an ordinary Dao Ancestor in strength, the Thunder God Heavenly Lord was at the top-tier Dao Ancestor level.

"Thunder God." Lord Yuqiu smiled.

The Thunder God Heavenly Lord nodded rarely, giving Lord Yuqiu some face, since this time he was on Lord Yuqiu's side.

"Ji Ning." The Thunder God Heavenly Lord still had a cold face. "What Lord Yuqiu said is correct. This matter concerns the life and death of countless beings on our side in the great calamity. Hand over this escape art technique quickly."

"My master ordered..."

Ji Ning had just begun when the Thunder God Heavenly Lord frowned and barked, "If your master ordered you not to, and you have no right to decide, then let your master come! You are his disciple; you must have a way to contact him. Contact your master now and have him come here." Bodhi had indeed given Ji Ning a token, but other great powers, except for a few who were close to Bodhi, could not see him just because they wanted to.

Whoosh.

A vortex appeared in the void, and an old man in a Daoist robe walked out.

Bodhi had been watching all along. He knew that some great power would surely jump out. When Lord Yuqiu appeared, he was calm. But when the Thunder God Heavenly Lord appeared... Bodhi knew there was trouble. Because Lord Yuqiu was weak and did not dare offend him too much. But the Thunder God Heavenly Lord was extremely violent and stubborn; he would not even give face to the leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist sects. Moreover, the Thunder God was the best in the Three Realms at controlling lightning, so he would definitely covet the 'Nine-Angled Electric Serpent escape art.'

"Thunder God." Bodhi appeared.

"Greetings, Bodhi." Lord Yuqiu quickly said with a smile.

Thunder God looked at Bodhi and said in a low voice, "Bodhi, this escape art technique... I think it's better to hand it over."

"Hmph." Bodhi usually smiled calmly, but now he said coldly, "This escape art technique was obtained by me through hard work. I can teach it to whomever I wish. What, are you going to force me? Are you saying that now all great powers must contribute their own techniques? I didn't know that."

Thunder God was choked. Great powers' ultimate techniques that roamed the Three Realms were generally not passed on. For example, Lord Sanqing's 'Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation' would certainly not be passed on. In fact, even if it were, others would not have the four Primordial Chaos-level divine swords needed to cultivate it.

But although they could not cultivate it, if others fully knew the method of the 'Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation,' it would be much easier to deal with.

Bodhi's 'Ultimate Technique of Time and Space' had only been taught to Red Snow alone.

...

Other great powers would not say anything, nor would they covet Bodhi's ultimate technique or Lord Sanqing's Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation too much... because great powers each had their own path of immortality and would not divert to other paths. Their desire for other top techniques was not too great. But Ji Ning's Nine-Angled Electric Serpent escape art was different.

It was a divine ability; anyone who learned it could use it!

"This divine ability is of great help to the great powers on our side." The Thunder God Heavenly Lord said angrily. "It concerns the survival of countless beings on our side. Shouldn't it be handed over?"

"It's not that I won't hand it over. Of course I care about this great calamity, so I have already offered this technique." Bodhi suddenly sighed. "The Buddhist sect, the Daoist sect, and the Human Imperial Clan have all obtained this technique. Fuxi, Shennong, Suiren, and the two leaders of the Buddhist and Daoist sects have all obtained it. But so far, no great power has mastered it."

"What!"

Lord Yuqiu, the Thunder God Heavenly Lord, and even the other great powers whose minds had descended here were shocked.

At this moment, many great powers were watching. Most of the great powers of the Nuwa camp had descended with their minds, covering this area! They might appear at any time. As for the great powers of the Undying Demon camp, they also wanted very much to investigate, but Bodhi, Lord Sanqing, and the others had long joined forces to completely seal off the area with their minds.

Those on their own side were allowed in; those on the enemy side were completely blocked out.

"Such a heaven-defying divine ability, if great powers could easily learn it, then our side would surely win." Bodhi shook his head and sighed. "Tell me, would such a divine ability be so easy to learn?"

The Thunder God Heavenly Lord said in a low voice, "Why not pass it on to all the great powers on our side? Perhaps one of us could master it."

"No rush."

Bodhi shook his head. "You know how formidable the spies of the Undying Demon are. Over the years, we have discovered quite a few spies from the Undying Demon, and even among the great powers, one spy has been exposed. It's possible... that there are still spies among the great powers. We must be careful and cautious. Otherwise, if a spy obtains this technique, it will fall into the hands of the Undying Demon side. If a top great power on their side learns it, that would be disastrous."

Thunder God was choked. The Undying Demon was adept at planting spies. Some hidden Heavenly Gods or True Immortals would not be discovered until they acted. Some Heavenly Gods or True Immortals like the Greenwood Sword Immortal would only be discovered by the Nuwa camp when they 'did something' at a critical moment.

Suddenly—

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

One after another, figures materialized. Some were tall and burly, some were calm and ethereal, some exuded murderous intent, some were icy cold. One by one, avatars of True Gods and Dao Ancestors condensed. With this batch of True Gods and Dao Ancestors appearing, more and more True Gods and Dao Ancestors descended their avatars, clearly wanting to discuss the matter.

From Bodhi's words, they understood that the top existences—Suiren, Lord Sanqing, and the others—were still hesitant, worried about spies among them.

"My heavens." Ji Ning felt breathless.

Seeing so many True Gods and Dao Ancestors at once... such an opportunity was rare.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Five of the most powerful auras descended.

Shennong, Fuxi, Suiren, the Buddha Tathagata, and Lord Sanqing—they also only descended avatars.

"Eighty-two True Gods and Dao Ancestors." Ji Ning was secretly startled. "But not all have come. My senior and second senior brothers haven't come."

"I think Bodhi is right." The headless god 'Xingtian' spoke from afar. "This divine ability was discovered by Daoist Bodhi. Whether to offer it is entirely voluntary. He has already offered it for the sake of our many great powers. The three Human Sovereigns and the two leaders of the Buddhist and Daoist sects naturally cannot be spies. As for the other great powers, we must be cautious. Such a divine ability must be very difficult to cultivate. Don't let it happen that none of our great powers master it, but the technique is passed to the Undying Demon by a spy, and someone on their side masters it. That would be a nightmare."

"Indeed, we shouldn't rush." Lu Dongbin also spoke.

Surprisingly, many great powers agreed with Bodhi, mainly because the five leaders were with Bodhi, and their influence was immense.

The Thunder God Heavenly Lord grew anxious.

Although the great powers present were covetous, many followed the five leaders, and their own chances of successfully mastering it were very slim. The Nine-Angled Electric Serpent was not easy to tame. But the Thunder God Heavenly Lord considered himself the most likely to succeed.

"I was born from chaos, one of the eighty-one True Gods of that era." The Thunder God Heavenly Lord could not help but speak, his voice rumbling through the void. "Naturally, I have no reason to become a spy for the Undying Demon. And throughout the Three Realms, when it comes to controlling lightning, I am number one. I am extremely familiar with the Nine-Angled Electric Serpent, and my chances of mastering this divine ability are great. Three Human Sovereigns, Tathagata, Sanqing—do you think I, Thunder God, am not worthy to learn?"

...