Chapter 9: Convergence

"Hahaha... Come on, come on, you two go, leave this puppet to me." The Seven Luminaries Heaven God Silver Moon, as if possessed, went alone to hold off a purple-light puppet. These purple-light puppets were also first brought out by the No-Return Sect this time, and they were few in number, each stronger than a Dao Ancestor puppet.

A single Seven Luminaries Heaven God could not withstand it, but at this moment, the Seven Luminaries Heaven God Silver Moon faced it alone like a madman.

In the sky, black dragons charged at Silver Moon, while Silver Moon was entangled with the puppet, even the puppet was caught in the crossfire—there was no helping it.

"Bang."

The Seven Luminaries Heaven God Silver Moon finally dispersed.

The ferocious puppet was about to begin slaughter, but then a towering, handsome white-robed man appeared—it was the Heaven God Silver Moon. The white-robed handsome man directly transformed into a being a hundred thousand zhang tall, each palm ten thousand zhang in size. He reached out with both hands and simultaneously grabbed two nearby ferocious purple-light puppets.

"Hahaha..." The white-robed handsome man laughed loudly, holding the two puppets tightly.

Though the two puppets fought back fiercely and could still fly and run, being firmly grasped by Silver Moon, their speed was greatly reduced, and they could no longer chase the others of the Nuwa camp. Such puppets were rare, and two were delayed at once.

"Send two more, trap him in a treasure and suppress him." The Demon Hand Dao Ancestor on the wall of No-Return City frowned and immediately sent a voice transmission to give orders.

"I cultivated the Ninth Level of the Eight-Nine Mystic Art to kill and kill on the battlefield." The white-robed handsome man let the enemy attack wildly. The Seven Luminaries Heaven God was just a formation, but his Heaven God body had now reached the Ninth Level of the Eight-Nine Mystic Art, indestructible!

...

"Senior Brother Silver Moon." Ji Ning watched the maddened Silver Moon on the battlefield. Because Silver Moon participated in wars again and again with such frenzy, Master Bodhi had bestowed a large number of Great Luo Immortal Pills, allowing Silver Moon to complete the Ninth Level of the Eight-Nine Mystic Art. At that time, Bodhi had said to Silver Moon: "Cultivating the Mystic Art only gives you greater vitality; if you seek death, no one can save you."

On the battlefield, the Heaven God Silver Moon saw two puppets closing in from afar. Suddenly, his divine body split into three, fleeing in three directions.

"Silver Moon, you've done enough. Try to escape back." Xuan Yuan transmitted.

Silver Moon had affected four puppets at once, lightening the burden on many of their Seven Luminaries Heaven Gods.

...

After a moment.

The Nuwa camp's army had fully retreated, leaving only the No-Return Sect's army outside shouting provocations.

"That Silver Moon Heaven God deserves to die." The Demon Hand Dao Ancestor's eyes held murderous intent.

Silver Moon Heaven God's sudden outburst had indeed affected the battlefield situation. Otherwise, with luck, the Nuwa camp's army might have collapsed. Even if it didn't collapse, their losses would certainly have been greater than now.

"His divine body is so powerful—he must have cultivated the Ninth Level of the Eight-Nine Mystic Art," said the Black Robe Divine King. "He used his body recklessly to block us, which indeed hindered our offensive. But, Uncle-Master, this Silver Moon Heaven God split into many avatars fleeing in all directions, and many of his avatars were destroyed by us. He must be severely weakened; perhaps he won't recover to his peak within a thousand years."

"Perhaps," the Demon Hand Dao Ancestor nodded, then revealed a cold smile. "Xuan Yuan only killed a few of my men in previous engagements. This time, I made him feel the pain."

"This time, they lost nearly six hundred Heaven Gods and True Immortals, over five hundred. They were lucky; next time, they won't be so fortunate," said the Black Robe Divine King with confidence.

"Keep observing at all times."

The Demon Hand Dao Ancestor instructed. "Also, ask your master to help—we must clearly see the movements of the Nuwa camp."

"Yes." The Black Robe Divine King nodded with a smile.

...

Nuwa camp.

Inside the floating city.

The atmosphere was oppressive. Only Heaven Gods and True Immortals could walk freely within the city; Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals had to stay in their respective camps to facilitate rapid troop assembly.

"Senior Brother Silver Moon, you were too reckless. You almost died just now." Ji Ning looked at the weakened Silver Moon Heaven God beside him. The destroyed avatars had contained parts of Silver Moon's soul; this time, most of his soul had been destroyed. Though his Dao heart was strong enough to keep him conscious and prevent his soul from scattering, he was close to it.

Silver Moon Heaven God was very close to soul scattering. After he fled back, Bodhi gave him a divine pill to stabilize his soul. Now, Silver Moon's strength was barely comparable to an ordinary Celestial Immortal.

"If I hadn't gone mad, even more Heaven Gods and True Immortals would have died," Silver Moon said softly. "Dying in battle is my best归宿. If I can let more friends live... it's worth it."

"Junior Brother Silver Moon, Junior Brother Bei Ming." A voice came from afar.

Ji Ning and Silver Moon looked over.

A golden-robed, golden-haired Senior Brother Golden Crow walked over.

"Senior Brother Golden Crow." Both Ji Ning and Silver Moon called out.

"Silver Moon, you really made a great contribution this time. The Yellow Emperor Xuan Yuan just said that if you hadn't erupted, the situation would have been worse," said Senior Brother Golden Crow.

"Senior Brother Golden Crow, you led the Zhou Tian Star Formation to cover the rear and even saved hundreds of Heaven Gods from Pan Gu Ji Min. You made the greatest contribution," Silver Moon said. This was true: Pan Gu Ji Min had to leave last to resist the 'Emissary of All Things,' and Golden Crow Heaven God, with his 'Sun Golden Rainbow' divine ability, indeed led the army to escape beyond the No-Return Sect's pursuit.

"No need to talk about contributions. This was a defeat, and a disastrous one at that," Golden Crow shook his head.

"Yes, too disastrous," Silver Moon nodded. "Many of my close friends died in battle."

"Mm." Ji Ning also felt heavy.

Nearly six hundred Heaven Gods and True Immortals had died!

Heavens!

Consider that the realm of the Five Emperors' 'Zhuan Xu Emperor' had barely over six hundred Heaven Gods and True Immortals. So many died in one battle. That meant one out of every five who participated had died. How many friends, how many fellow disciples had perished?

Bodhi's disciples were skilled, and with some luck this time, they all survived. But most had been on the brink of death, and even Silver Moon Heaven God, with his Ninth Level Eight-Nine Mystic Art, had nearly died there.

They survived this time.

What about next time?

...

The entire city was filled with pain and resentment. The heavy casualties were mainly due to the destruction of one Ten Thousand Immortal Extermination Formation and one Zhou Tian Star Formation. Ji Ning had traveled the Three Realms for six hundred years, visiting every major world and making friends like 'Luo Shui True Immortal.'

But this time, among the over five hundred Heaven Gods and True Immortals who died, one hundred and twenty-nine had drunk with Ji Ning, laughed and talked with him, even sparred.

Ji Ning felt deep sorrow.

"Master."

Ji Ning went alone to see Bodhi.

"Mm?" Bodhi sat cross-legged, looking at Ji Ning.

"Let me join the battle," Ji Ning pleaded. "The Luo Hou Gods I command should be comparable to those purple-light puppets. With my eighteen avatars, that's eighteen purple-light puppets."

Bodhi shook his head with a sigh: "I understand your feelings, but the key now is not those purple-light puppets, but the Emissary of All Things! No matter how much low-level power there is, without proper coordination, it cannot counter high-level power. The Emissary of All Things is too strong; even the Pan Gu Creation Formation is at a disadvantage. It can hold for a short time, but in the long run, it will be destroyed."

"Tell me," Bodhi looked at Ji Ning. "Can a hundred Seven Luminaries Heaven Gods deal with the Emissary of All Things?"

Ji Ning shook his head.

Just as a thousand Heaven Gods and True Immortals rushing together would only be slaughtered by a Dao Ancestor, unless they combined into a formation!

"The Emissary of All Things has the strength of a top-tier Dao Ancestor," Bodhi said. "Your Luo Hou Gods are far from that, and their bodies are merely condensed divine power—once broken, they collapse."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

"We have ways to deal with the other puppets and formations. The trouble now is the Emissary of All Things. If we can't solve that, we can't win this war." Bodhi's expression shifted. "Go now. Many great powers are arriving; I need to go as well."

"Yes." Ji Ning respectfully withdrew from Bodhi's dwelling.

Outside, Ji Ning looked up into the distance. High above, one great power after another descended, their auras immense. They all landed directly at Xuan Yuan's palace.

"With the Emissary of All Things appearing, we're in big trouble. Even the Pan Gu Creation Formation can't hold it off," said a graceful woman ahead of Ji Ning, also looking up—Senior Sister Feng Xiao. "The Pan Gu Creation Formation was left by Nuwa; its power is formidable, but it needs a Dao Ancestor as its core to unleash sufficient might."

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

"Who can deal with the Emissary of All Things?" Senior Sister Feng Xiao shook her head. "The great powers are gathering one after another; they must be discussing this. The fact that so many great powers are forced to convene shows how troublesome the Emissary of All Things is."

Ji Ning also felt immense pressure.

So many friends had died in battle. Were they going to lose?

Suddenly, Ji Ning's body trembled.

"Humm~~~"

A surge of memories came from afar, flooding into Ji Ning's mind.

...

On a fiery star in the endless chaos.

Whoosh.

Space twisted, and a white-robed youth appeared.

"The exit was here? Quite hidden. Six hundred years, and finally out." The white-robed youth suddenly froze.

From the distant chaotic void came a flood of memories.

Memory convergence!

Because of entering the Moon Under the Abyss, the two avatars had been completely isolated from the outside world, their memories unable to connect. Now, upon leaving the Moon Under the Abyss, the memories of these two avatars and the other avatars began a frenzied collision and convergence.

One part was the six hundred years of memories from the Moon Under the Abyss, comprehending the many sword techniques and methods of 'North Rest World God,' honing Ji Ning's swordsmanship to what could be called the best in the Three Realms.

The other part was the memories of traveling the Three Realms, observing the Three Realms and comprehending the heart, as well as the memories of the fierce battle in the 'World Prison.'

The two sets of memories began to merge and collide.

Different insights into swordsmanship.

Different insights into the heart.

Constantly colliding, merging...