Chapter 34: Disguise

"Pfft." Ji Ning pulled out his divine sword, looking at the corpse of Old Man Yuan before him. Old Man Yuan's divine body was comparable to a top-grade innate treasure, so destroying it was no easy task; it would require many full-force attacks from Ji Ning to succeed. However, Ji Ning couldn't be bothered with such trouble. For this sinful alien's corpse, he would directly use the Five Elements Divine Cauldron to grind and obliterate it.

Even the essence of the five elements contained within the corpse, Ji Ning would discard, because he found it filthy! The truth was that Ji Ning's hatred for Old Man Yuan was immense. Too many had died because of him—countless friends, fellow disciples, and even many mighty cultivators. This hatred could not be washed away even by all the water in the four seas.

"Whoosh."

"Whoosh."

Bodhi Patriarch, Maitreya Buddha, Yuding Daoist, Kuafu, and a host of other mighty cultivators flew over. The lords of the Voidgate, including the Myriad Demon Lord and the Blood Vulture Demon Ancestor, also flew over.

"Finally dead." Bodhi Patriarch stared at Old Man Yuan's corpse, saying in a low voice, "This alien is finally dead."

"He is the most terrifying alien we have ever encountered." The Myriad Demon Lord also sighed.

"The tribulation of the Three Realms has finally passed." Amitabha's eyes held compassion and sorrow.

"The tribulation has passed?"

A voice came from afar, "Don't be too happy too soon."

The assembled mighty cultivators of the Three Realms standing before Old Man Yuan's corpse all turned to look. In the distance, the Great Demon Lord Cishan flew over.

"Great Demon Lord Cishan?" The Myriad Demon Lord frowned. "This is his avatar."

Ji Ning and the others also saw that this was merely Cishan's avatar.

"Cishan, what do you mean by that?" The Myriad Demon Lord frowned. "Do you have some intention?"

Killing intent burst from Ji Ning's eyes.

The avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan glanced at Ji Ning and laughed, "The strength of the Northernbright Sword Immortal is, I fear, one in ten thousand among Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals. How would I dare have any intentions?"

"Then why do you say the tribulation hasn't passed?" Ji Ning frowned.

"I didn't say that. I said... don't be too happy too soon." The avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan sighed. "To be honest, you all should thank me. I really pitied you, a bunch of natives of the Three Realms, struggling desperately to protect your home. Moreover, I really dislike that Heart General. So I've come to tell you a few things."

"Heart General?" Ji Ning and the others were puzzled but continued to listen.

"Old Man Yuan had an extraordinary background." The avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan said, "He was one of the nine generals under the fearsome 'Black Lotus God-Emperor' of the 'Da Mo Territory.' The Black Lotus God-Emperor is a World God, and these nine generals are his most trusted subordinates. Each is a top-tier figure among Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals, one in ten thousand. Every one of them is far stronger than the Heart Demon Lord. Old Man Yuan was the 'Heart General' among the nine generals."

Ji Ning and the others frowned as they listened.

Da Mo Territory?

The vast territory relatively close to the Three Realms, reachable by traveling through a vortex passage, was the vast territory ruled by the Da Mo Eternal Kingdom, also known as the 'Da Mo Territory.'

"No matter how powerful he was, he's dead now." Ji Ning said.

"No."

The Great Demon Lord Cishan said, "I came here during the era of the Three Realms, but the Heart General arrived as early as the Primordial Era. Strangely enough, during the era of the Three Realms, when I was still in the Da Mo Territory, I even saw the Heart General from afar."

"During the era of the Three Realms, you saw the Heart General in the Da Mo Territory?" Ji Ning and the others all changed expression.

Old Man Yuan had come in the Primordial Era.

During the era of the Three Realms, there was still a Heart General in the Da Mo Territory?

"Yes." The Great Demon Lord Cishan nodded. "I'm sure you've guessed it. The Heart General cultivated step by step from the mortal world. He has a second true body! His original body has always followed the Black Lotus God-Emperor, and most of what he sent out to fight was just his second true body. I suspect that what died here was only his second true body."

"What."

"He still has his original body?"

"Damn it."

The mighty cultivators of the Three Realms were all furious.

"But why did all the servants he controlled with his soul die?" Ji Ning pointed at the corpses of mighty cultivators floating in the void. When Old Man Yuan died, those servants also died silently. "If he has an original body, the souls of the original body and the second true body are the same, both capable of controlling these servants. When the second true body dies, these servants shouldn't die."

"You're right." The avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan sighed. "According to common sense, when Old Man Yuan died, he should have ordered these servants to attack you, to attack at all costs."

"But... he didn't."

"When he died, with a single thought, all the servants died." The avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan smiled slightly. "Because he didn't want you to guess that he still has an original body."

"He didn't want us to know?" The mighty cultivators of the Three Realms began to understand.

The avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan looked at Ji Ning and sighed, "Northernbright Sword Immortal, you've made the Heart General a bit afraid."

"Afraid?" Ji Ning frowned.

"Yes, a bit afraid of you." The Great Demon Lord Cishan said, "This time, because of Old Man Yuan, the Three Realms suffered too great a sacrifice. I believe every one of you wishes to eat Old Man Yuan's flesh and drink his blood. If you knew he still had an original body, it's very possible you would go to the Da Mo Territory to seek revenge."

"In a single chaosworld, without sufficient guidance, you've managed to cultivate to this level. Especially you, Northernbright Sword Immortal—your strength is already this formidable, and particularly your final sword technique is so high that it's rare to find an opponent among Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Even the Heart General's original body might not be your match. And you've only cultivated for a thousand years. With your potential, you can definitely become a World God! If you go to seek revenge in the future, do you think the Heart General will be afraid?" The avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan laughed. "If you were only as strong as you are now, he wouldn't fear you under the Black Lotus God-Emperor's command. But you grow too fast, and he's afraid. So when he died, he made all his servants' souls annihilate, pretending to have truly died, to deceive you."

Ji Ning nodded.

Yes, even if he had let the servants continue their frenzied counterattack, with Ji Ning's current strength, he could easily destroy them. It was better to disguise.

"Haha, I've said all I needed to say." The avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan laughed. "No need to thank me. Haha, the Heart General, a big shot like him, always looked down on us. It's truly delightful to spoil his plans." With that, his avatar dissipated.

...

At the extremely distant edge of the Three Realms, a dark golden fortress hovered.

Inside the fortress.

"Heart General, humph, you wanted to eliminate a future threat? Too bad, I've stirred it up again." The Great Demon Lord Cishan sneered. Previously, Old Man Yuan's disguise was indeed very good. Ji Ning and the others never imagined that Old Man Yuan still had an original body outside, nor did they know his true identity outside. It would indeed be difficult to seek revenge.

But now, the Great Demon Lord Cishan had told Ji Ning and the others everything.

"Master, you say Ji Ning killed the Heart General?" The Blade Ancestor was shocked. "Is Ji Ning that powerful?"

"Extremely powerful." The Great Demon Lord Cishan recalled the final moment, when Ji Ning's incredibly terrifying sword technique easily broke through Old Man Yuan's palm technique. The terror of the 'Heartsword Style' made the Great Demon Lord Cishan wary.

The Heartsword Style was a technique-focused style.

And Ji Ning was a half-step World God, with terrifyingly strong personal power. Combining these strengths, plus a Dao weapon!

"Among the Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals I've seen over endless ages, he can rank in the top three." The Great Demon Lord Cishan said softly. He said this because the terrifying sword technique Ji Ning displayed at the end was not merely relying on divine abilities and a Dao weapon, which would be crude and vulgar. But the Heartsword Style allowed Ji Ning to perfectly unleash his power.

"That powerful?" The Blade Ancestor was shocked.

No way.

The Great Demon Lord Cishan had lived for so long, seeing over a hundred figures at the level of the nine generals. Yet he said Ji Ning could rank in the top three.

"Let's go. Having witnessed the battle between two such great figures, this trip was worth it." The Great Demon Lord Cishan no longer had any covetous thoughts toward the Three Realms. Then the dark golden fortress left the void and entered the endless chaos, beginning its drift through the boundless chaos once more.

...

After hearing what the avatar of the Great Demon Lord Cishan said, Ji Ning had a feeling that the Great Demon Lord Cishan was probably not lying.

Because earlier, Old Man Yuan had said to the Great Demon Lord Cishan: "Cishan, do you still remember that black lotus?" At that time, the Great Demon Lord Cishan was so frightened he fled, and the 'Black Lotus Secret Art' Old Man Yuan used was indeed very powerful.

"Old Man Yuan? Heart General?" Ji Ning's killing intent rose.

He was going to venture into the endless chaos.

From various inferences, there was an eighty percent chance that Old Man Yuan was the Heart General. Once he went to the Da Mo Territory and investigated carefully, he would probably be able to confirm it. After all, a secret art as powerful as the 'Black Lotus Secret Art' must be very famous, not something anyone could learn.

"Northernbright, can our Voidgate re-enter the Three Realms?" The Myriad Demon Lord spoke up beside him.