Chapter 5 The Demon Hand Patriarch

Under Patriarch Bodhi, Silvermoon Celestial was the most frenzied in the war against the Gate of Nothingness.

Ji Ning did not understand at first, but later learned that Senior Apprentice Brother Silvermoon once had a Dao companion. She died in the ancient war of destruction, and Silvermoon seemed to lose his soul. Later, the Lord of All Demons brought the remnants of the Gate of Nothingness back to the Three Realms, and the Nuwa camp could do nothing against the Lord of All Demons.

Thus they coexisted peacefully, allowing the Gate of Nothingness to dwell in the Three Realms.

But Silvermoon Celestial made his move. He began a mad slaughter, killing members of the Gate of Nothingness, even some Celestial Immortals. Nearly twenty Celestial Gods and True Immortals died at his hands! In his frenzy, he mistakenly killed many weaklings. Silvermoon was utterly berserk, enraging the True Gods and Patriarchs of the Gate of Nothingness. At that time, the Gate of Nothingness wanted to settle down in the Three Realms, and out of consideration that Silvermoon was Bodhi's disciple, they did not kill him but instead negotiated with the mighty figures of the Nuwa camp.

In the end, under his master's strict orders, Silvermoon returned to Mount Fangcun and quietly guarded the Immortal Palace.

His mad slaughter also brought him the torment of karmic fire.

Yet he chatted and laughed as usual, spending his days leisurely in the Immortal Palace. But who knew that the anger and hatred in his heart had never dissipated? As this calamity approached, he saw that Ji Ning was also frenzied and was willing to kill together with him. But unexpectedly, Ji Ning suddenly stopped killing, so he naturally went out alone. He did not blame Ji Ning; he understood that if it were for his Dao companion, he would probably have made the same choice as Ji Ning.

"Mm." Bodhi nodded. "Who else?"

"I will."

"I'll go too."

"It's been a long time since I fought."

One after another, the senior apprentice brothers and sisters spoke up. Among the disciples present, only Ji Ning and Red Snow Celestial had not spoken. Ji Ning hesitated, then said, "Master, let me go. This realm war is different from before."

"You need not go." Bodhi shook his head. "At this level of war, your presence or absence makes little difference."

Ji Ning was taken aback.

It was true.

What Master said was correct. A formation of merely two or three hundred Celestial Gods and True Immortals could rival a true Patriarch! His own Rahu God, compared to that, was probably somewhat weaker. And this time, their side was deploying two to three thousand Celestial Gods and True Immortals. Some ancient formations could even kill an ordinary Patriarch who entered them. Whether he went or not indeed made little difference.

At this level of war, collective strength mattered more.

"Red Snow, what about you?" Bodhi looked at Red Snow Celestial. Red Snow had once followed Sanxiao Daoist and was famous for his prowess in battle.

"I won't go." Red Snow shook his head. "Disciple has recently had some insights and is at a critical juncture."

"Oh?" Bodhi's eyes lit up. He did not think Red Snow was lying.

Ji Ning was not surprised. Ever since he had given Red Snow a bottle of 'Chaos Nectar,' allowing Red Snow to cultivate the second layer of the Eighteen Fiendgods of Taowu, Red Snow Celestial had inexplicably gone into seclusion. This time, it was only because Bodhi had summoned them that Ji Ning sent a message; otherwise, he would not have disturbed Red Snow.

"In that case, cultivate well. If you can break through to become a Patriarch before the final battle, that would be wonderful." Bodhi smiled. He also knew that Ji Ning had given a bottle of Chaos Nectar to Red Snow Celestial. Before giving it, Ji Ning had mentioned it to Master Bodhi. To Bodhi, one bottle of Chaos Nectar was too little.

For a True God or Patriarch, at least a hundred bottles of Chaos Nectar were needed to cultivate the second layer of the Eighteen Fiendgods of Taowu.

Just one bottle? It was only useful for Celestial Gods and True Immortals.

...

Two days later, Bodhi led his disciples to the 'Zhuolu Great World' in the 'Yellow Emperor's Realm.' Zhuolu Great World was also the great world where Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan resided.

Inside the imperial palace of Zhuolu Great World.

Bodhi and Xuanyuan sat down. Ji Ning and the other disciples stood to one side. Ji Ning carefully observed this legendary figure who had once defeated Shennong to seize the world. In terms of appearance, Xuanyuan was a standard handsome man, and his gaze made one feel as if bathed in a spring breeze, unconsciously evoking goodwill.

It must be noted that Xuanyuan was only a top-tier Patriarch at the time. Although Shennong had no heart for leading troops, he was still on the same level as the leaders of the Daoist and Buddhist sects. That the war could be won showed Xuanyuan's brilliance in command.

Across the Three Realms, when it came to leading troops, Xuanyuan probably ranked first.

"Except for Ji Ning, all my disciples will join the battle." Bodhi said with a smile.

"Ah."

Xuanyuan was overjoyed and quickly said, "This is wonderful. I was just worrying about this. The more powerful the formation, the higher the requirements for its core. The three great clan-protecting formations left by Nuwa before she departed should ideally be led by a Patriarch. But now that Patriarchs cannot intervene, they must be led by Celestial Gods and True Immortals. The stronger the Celestial God or True Immortal, the better. I was just worrying about not having enough powerful Celestial Gods and True Immortals. Bodhi, your help comes at the perfect time."

"This war is different from the past. The previous realm wars were all small-scale; this one will be much larger." Bodhi said solemnly. "After this realm war, there will be other large-scale wars one after another. Your Yellow Emperor Realm's war is the leading one, and it must be fought beautifully, dealing a heavy blow to the Boundless Gate."

"Mm." Xuanyuan also nodded. "One step ahead leads to steps ahead. This time is indeed important."

A thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant's nest!

This war was a critical one. Once lost, the subsequent battles would be difficult to fight.

…

Time passed.

Besides Bodhi bringing celestial gods and true immortals, other great beings in the Three Realms also sent a group of celestial gods and true immortals to support, and even many celestial gods and true immortals came individually. Within a single month, the number of celestial gods and true immortals gathered in the Zhuolu Great World reached two thousand eight hundred. Each of them learned some basic methods of powerful formations.

The nine celestial gods and true immortals at the forefront of the Three Realms, such as Jinwu and Fengxiao, who were absolutely loyal, were able to learn the core methods of some ancient formations.

Suddenly one day.

"Rumble~~~"

The entire Zhuolu Great World trembled. Ji Ning walked out of his residence, looked up into the distance, his eyes burning with candlelight, and clearly saw the sky tens of millions of miles away split open. A city radiating endless blood light flew in from the rift in the sky, its aura sweeping across the entire Zhuolu Great World.

The city was ten thousand miles in circumference, slowly descending, then hovering in midair.

Above the city, blood light surged into the sky.

"It's Demon Hand Dao Ancestor." Bodhi, Xuanyuan, and Suirenshi stood side by side, looking into the distance. Bodhi frowned and said.

"Demon Hand has come, and it's her true body." Suirenshi also frowned. Suirenshi was only an incarnation here, while Bodhi and Xuanyuan were both true bodies.

The Lord of Ten Thousand Demons was the most mysterious and elusive figure in the Boundless Gate, whose escape ability even Goddess Nuwa could not overcome.

The Lord of Huanmu was someone the Nuwa camp was unwilling to make an enemy of, a being proficient in countless methods.

Demon Hand Dao Ancestor was the most 'crazy' one in the Boundless Gate, with astonishingly powerful strength. Her madness—during the ancient cataclysm war, she once fought alone against Goddess Nuwa for a long time, and once crazily fought alone against the two leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, before being severely wounded by Sanqing Daoist's 'Immortal Slaying Sword Formation'.

She was a madwoman, not even caring for her own life when fighting.

But no one dared to deny her strength. Even in the ancient cataclysm war, only Goddess Nuwa and the Heart Demon Lord could be said to be absolutely stronger than her.

"It seems the Boundless Gate really wants to win this war." Bodhi said. "They sent Demon Hand to take command."

"We want to win, and of course they want to win too." Xuanyuan said. "In the end, victory or defeat is decided on the battlefield."

"Are we almost ready?" Suirenshi asked.

"Mm." Xuanyuan nodded.

…

The Zhuolu Great World was tense and alert.

Two cities, one surrounded by blood light, the other by golden light, both hovered in midair, tens of thousands of miles apart, facing each other from afar.

The armies within were gathering, war could break out at any moment.

"This war will be the largest before the final decisive battle for the fate of the world." Silvermoon Celestial God and Ji Ning stood on the city wall, looking at the Boundless City radiating blood light in the distance. "This time, our side has nearly three thousand celestial gods and true immortals. In the later realms of top-tier Dao Ancestors, there are generally only a few hundred, close to a thousand."

"With so many celestial gods and true immortals, and countless celestial immortals and scattered immortals." Ji Ning sighed softly.

He felt some regret in his heart.

Regret that he couldn't participate in the battle.

Endure it.

After all, even if he participated, in a war of such scale, his participation or not would have little impact. He just didn't know... how long his two avatars would stay in the Moon Underwater Pool.