Chapter Twenty-One: Secret Discussion

They had won.

This crucial war would normally have lasted several years or even longer, but Ji Ning had become the variable.

In truth, both sides were more or less aware of each other's trump cards. The Nuwa camp also knew that the other side had the 'Emissaries of All Things,' so even if the Non-Descent Sect dispatched them, the Nuwa camp had ways to hold on; at worst, they would be at a disadvantage and face greater difficulties. But Ji Ning's sudden emergence caught the Non-Descent Sect completely off guard.

Ji Ning's abrupt appearance, displaying terrifying power, instantly stunned the Non-Descent Sect's army.

This led to a massive rout.

Thus, this key battle, tied to the struggle for the fate of the Three Realms, ended in just a few short months.

...

In the Zhuolu Grand World, within the imperial palace.

Yellow Emperor Xuanyuan held a victory banquet, hosting many great powers and the participating Celestial Immortals and True Immortals. Although Ji Ning attended the banquet, he left early and returned.

He sat inside a pavilion.

Snowflakes drifted down. Ji Ning sat alone, before him a jug of wine and a single wine cup.

He drank silently, the wine burning hot as it went down his throat.

"Senior apprentice-sister, according to what World God Northrest said, the endless Chaos holds infinite possibilities," Ji Ning's gaze grew distant. "Even within the 'Heavenly Cloud Palace' where World God Northrest resided, there are beings stronger than him. In the endless Chaos, there are those whose power far surpasses World God Northrest's..."

"The World level is not the end."

"Reaching the World level allows one to find one's true spirit from the River of Fate."

"Your true spirit has been extinguished. A World-level cultivator cannot save you. But if I can one day transcend the World level and go further, perhaps I can save you." Ji Ning silently vowed.

World God Northrest had regarded Ji Ning as his successor.

He had left behind many techniques, information about the distribution of powers in the Chaos, and various common knowledge.

Thus, Ji Ning knew well... that the most precious divine sword 'Ziguang Qiong' left by World God Northrest was far beyond what World Gods or Chaos Immortals could forge. Ji Ning understood that in the endless Chaos, there were beings stronger than World Gods and Chaos Immortals. Previously, Ji Ning had no great ambition; he felt that as long as he weathered the tribulation and could live a peaceful life in the Three Realms, that would be fine. Even if he had to go to the Heavenly Cloud Palace to deliver a message due to his 'lifeblood oath,' that was a distant matter.

But now.

Ji Ning had ambition.

He wanted to go further, to climb higher!

"Once the tribulation is over, I will leave my second incarnation to take care of our daughter. Then, as my lifeblood oath demands, I will step into the endless Chaos and head to the Heavenly Cloud Palace. I will climb higher peaks, go further... As long as this path of cultivation has no end, there is hope of saving you." Ji Ning said silently.

"Junior apprentice-brother." A voice sounded.

Ji Ning turned to look. At the entrance to the courtyard walked a man—it was Senior Apprentice-Brother Silvermoon.

Silvermoon looked at Ji Ning, sensing his faint loneliness. He sighed inwardly. Back when his own Dao companion had died, he too had been like Ji Ning. It had taken a long time to suppress those emotions and laugh and talk freely again. But no matter what, they were only buried at the bottom of his heart, never forgotten. When an opportunity arose, they would erupt again.

Seeing Ji Ning, he felt he was looking at his past self.

"Senior apprentice-brother." Ji Ning responded.

Silvermoon walked over and sat across from Ji Ning, looking at the single wine cup on the table. "Just one cup?"

"Since senior apprentice-brother is here, of course there will be more." Ji Ning flicked his sleeve, and another wine cup appeared on the table. He picked up the jug and poured wine for his senior apprentice-brother.

"Ah."

Silvermoon first tasted it, then tilted his head back and drank it all.

"The wine is quite strong." Silvermoon laughed. "I came to see you because I was worried you might sink into despair or be completely consumed by hatred. But now I see you are still calm."

"Of course I am calm. I still have my daughter Mingyue, Uncle Bai, Xiao Qing, and the others, and my father and mother." Ji Ning said calmly. Though his father and mother had passed away, if he could reach the World level, he could retrieve their true spirits from the River of Fate.

"Yes, there are still many things in this world worth cherishing." Silvermoon nodded, then his eyes flashed with killing intent. "But the Non-Descent Sect truly stops at nothing, launching large-scale assassinations. How many Celestial Immortals, True Immortals, and Dao Ancestors have lost their loved ones? They should not involve the families!"

"Mm." Ji Ning's eyes also held barely concealed killing intent.

Thinking of the God King standing on the city wall of Non-Descent City, crushing his senior apprentice-sister's soul and causing her true spirit to scatter, Ji Ning's hatred surged.

He had to kill him.

Kill this God King!

...

In the Myriad Demon Realm.

On that solitary peak, the Myriad Demon Lord and the Heartforce Demon Lord were meeting. Wu Xiao stood respectfully nearby, not daring to speak.

"What a miserable loss." The gray-robed figure spoke softly, seeming to carry a hint of a smile. "What a pity, what a pity."

"Wasn't this tribulation something you insisted on stirring up?" The Myriad Demon Lord said calmly.

"Windfiend, you are wrong. It's not that I insisted on stirring it up, but that if we didn't act, we would only face annihilation." The gray-robed figure laughed. "So we had to go to war. If the Nuwa camp is wiped out, we can survive."

"Where exactly is the source of the tribulation?" The Myriad Demon Lord frowned.

"I don't know that either. After all, I am part of the Heavenly Dao, but the Heavenly Dao is not entirely me." The gray-robed figure shook his head. "Regardless, I still hope the Non-Descent Sect wins. Although I have now merged with the Heavenly Dao... in the past, I was the king of the Non-Descent Chaosworld. I truly do not want all of the Non-Descent Sect to die, or for you to flee the Three Realms with a few remnants. In the end, I hope the beings living on this land of the Three Realms are the creatures of our Non-Descent Chaosworld."

The Myriad Demon Lord looked at him.

The gray-robed figure continued: "The struggle for fate, the war in the Zhuolu Grand World, was a key battle. Unfortunately, we lost, lost to an unforeseen variable. He is not a Dao Ancestor, not a True God, and his heartforce and swordforce haven't even reached the fifth level, yet he can still unleash all the power of the Luohu Formation. Now he has also obtained the Emissary of All Things. He has become the greatest obstacle to our Non-Descent Sect's victory in the struggle for fate."

"He is indeed the greatest obstacle." The Myriad Demon Lord nodded. "Do you have a way to deal with him? With his strength, his true body commands the Luohu Formation, and his second incarnation commands the Emissary of All Things. Even if we send three or five Emissaries of All Things, we might not be able to do anything to him. But don't forget, the Nuwa camp's own army is also very powerful. Without the Emissaries of All Things, we simply cannot contend with the Nuwa camp."

"Ji Ning is the sharpest fang of the Nuwa camp." The gray-robed figure smiled calmly. "So the best way is to pull out this fang."

"Pull out this fang?" The Myriad Demon Lord was startled.

"Yes." The gray-robed figure nodded.

"How?" The Myriad Demon Lord's expression changed. He vaguely guessed the Heartforce Demon Lord's idea.

"Have True Gods and Dao Ancestors directly intervene and kill Ji Ning." The gray-robed figure said.

The Myriad Demon Lord immediately frowned. It was just as he had guessed. He said with dissatisfaction: "The reason True Gods and Dao Ancestors from both our side and the Nuwa camp are unwilling to launch a final decisive battle and instead first engage in the struggle for fate is that our strengths are very close. If a decisive battle truly breaks out, the casualties would be horrific. If True Gods and Dao Ancestors act, the Nuwa camp will be enraged and likely act as well. That could very well trigger the final decisive battle directly."

"Perhaps it will trigger it, perhaps it won't." The gray-robed figure said calmly. "In the struggle for fate, with Ji Ning as a variable, we have even less hope of winning. So we might as well go straight to a decisive battle."

"Moreover..."

"So-called unspoken rules are meant to be broken. True Gods and Dao Ancestors cannot act? At a true life-or-death juncture, why care about so much? Just kill Ji Ning first! If the Nuwa camp goes mad, then we fight a decisive battle. If the Nuwa camp, without prior preparation and holding the upper hand in the struggle for fate, is unwilling to launch a final battle, so much the better."

"So if we truly kill Ji Ning and trigger a decisive battle, we are the prepared side. If we don't trigger it, even better. In any case, no outcome can be worse than this." The gray-robed figure said calmly.

The Myriad Demon Lord was lost in thought.

"If we let things continue, we will definitely lose the struggle for fate." The gray-robed figure said calmly.

The Myriad Demon Lord pondered for a long time.

The gray-robed figure watched him. After all, he had merged with the Heavenly Dao. The one who truly held influence and decision-making power over the entire Non-Descent Sect was still the Myriad Demon Lord! To break the tacit rules of the two camps and have True Gods and Dao Ancestors kill Ji Ning, the Myriad Demon Lord had to make the decision.

"Yes, no matter what the outcome, it can't be worse. I have always been unwilling to see the day of the final decisive battle. But it's unavoidable." The Myriad Demon Lord nodded. "In that case, let's start by offering Ji Ning as a sacrifice to the flag."

The gray-robed figure smiled.