Chapter 29: Meeting the Ancestral God

Even from hundreds of miles away, Ji Ning's incarnation could see the wild dog lying there, its skin so thin it was torn, and he became even more respectful. Last time, his heartforce had felt the power of this seemingly insignificant wild dog, which could even devour the ethereal heartforce directly—far beyond what he could contend with.

"Senior, I am the new看守者 and have a matter to request of you," said Ji Ning's incarnation.

"Sniff sniff." The wild dog lying there twitched its nose, opened its drooping eyelids, revealing dark yellow eyes filled with age, and opened its mouth.

Boom~~~

For a thousand miles around, heaven and earth changed color.

Ji Ning's incarnation, holding the wooden tray, suddenly flew up and toward the mouth, especially the fine wine and delicacies on the tray, which flew even faster.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning's incarnation could not resist at all. "What a formidable divine ability."

When it neared the wild dog's mouth, the fine wine and delicacies shrank directly and flew inside, and even Ji Ning's incarnation was about to fly in.

"Senior, senior!" Ji Ning's incarnation called out.

But the wild dog paid no attention.

Whoosh.

Ji Ning's incarnation clearly felt himself growing smaller, while the wild dog before him rapidly grew larger, as vast as heaven and earth. He was flying straight into the wild dog's mouth. Helpless, he immediately dissolved this incarnation.

Outside the formation.

"Fortunately, I only sent an incarnation, losing just a bit of divine power." Ji Ning stood outside the formation and said, "Senior, I have a matter to request of you."

The wild dog hundreds of miles away still lay there, as if asleep.

"Of course, if Senior has any commands, I will try my best to fulfill them," Ji Ning said.

"Lucky brat, can you release me? Let me out?" Finally, an aged voice sounded in Ji Ning's ear. The distant wild dog opened its drooping eyelids and glanced at Ji Ning.

"This..." Ji Ning quickly asked, "I don't know what I can do to let you leave."

"There are two methods," the aged voice said. "First, an Ancestral God or Ancestral Immortal, carrying the command token of the Nine Directions Lord, activates the token to unlock the prison lock. Then you, as the看守者, take me out of this world prison, and I will be free. Second, a great existence who has reached the 'World level' forcibly destroys this chain."

"World level?" Ji Ning was startled. "What is the World level?"

The wild dog looked at Ji Ning, a trace of disappointment in its eyes, but still said, "That is a level above Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Judging by you, you should be living in a chaos world. You should know that your chaos world... when it was first born, it was created by a very powerful chaos-birthed god."

"Yes," Ji Ning quickly nodded.

"One who can open up a chaos world is an existence at the World level. But such chaos-birthed gods, born at the 'World level,' die from exhaustion after opening the chaos world. They are born to open worlds and cannot live long. Other immortals, if they endure countless hardships to become existences at the 'World level,' will be incredibly powerful—even stronger than the natural-born ones. Such beings can directly destroy this chain, and given time, they could even forcibly destroy this world prison."

Ji Ning understood.

Pangu!

The World level was 'Pangu.' Goddess Nuwa was also at the Pangu god level. No wonder the chaos alien 'Lord of All Things' was so powerful, and the Wujie Chaos World was so formidable. But once Goddess Nuwa broke through to the Pangu god realm, she swept everything, directly slaying the Lord of All Things, forcing the Heart Demon Lord to merge with the Heavenly Dao. The 'Lord of All Demons' was only good at escaping, leading the remnants of the Wujie sect far away, fleeing into the chaos and not daring to return until Goddess Nuwa left the Three Realms.

Once one reached that level, they completely dominated.

The difference between heaven and earth.

"Above Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals is the World level? What level is the Nine Directions Lord?" Ji Ning asked.

"Also the World level," the wild dog said, looking at Ji Ning. "But a very powerful World level. The Nine Directions Chaos Kingdom has three World-level existences, which is why it is so strong. You should know that in a normal chaos world... it is very difficult for anyone to reach the 'World level.'"

Ji Ning nodded.

No one in the Wujie Chaos World had reached it.

On their side, only Goddess Nuwa had reached it. It seemed this level was also extremely fearsome in the endless chaos.

"Among your masters, elders, or the powerful you know, are there any World-level existences?" the wild dog looked at Ji Ning. "Whether a 'World God' on the god path or a 'Chaos Immortal' on the immortal path, as long as they reach the World level, they can forcibly break this prison lock."

"Yes," Ji Ning nodded.

"Really?" The wild dog's eyes blazed with light, full of hope. With its immense power, it could fully judge whether Ji Ning was lying.

"But I cannot see him for now," Ji Ning said, looking at it.

"I can sense you're not lying." The Wild Dog's attitude had clearly improved; earlier he had been indifferent, because in his experience, encountering a 'World-level' existence in the vast chaos was extremely rare. But now that he knew Ji Ning's side had a World-level being behind him and was not an enemy, there was hope for him to get out.

Freedom.

How he yearned for it.

Many of the prisoners locked up here longed for freedom.

"Senior, what exactly is the World-level? That great existence—my master has seen him, but I haven't, so I don't understand. Please enlighten me," Ji Ning said. Bodhi had indeed seen Nuwa, so Ji Ning wasn't lying.

"Your master has seen him?" The Wild Dog's attitude improved further, and he said, "Well, according to the division of cultivation realms, there is the path of gods and demons. Beings born from the chaos generally call themselves gods. Some enemies subconsciously call them demons. This cultivation method was ultimately created based on the bodies of these chaos-born gods and demons, hence it is considered the path of gods and demons."

"Then there is the path of Qi Refining, where mortal beings continuously break through."

"And the ethereal path of the heart."

"These three paths are the three major cultivation routes."

"The path of gods and demons is divided into Mortal, Celestial God, True God, Ancestral God, and World-level. It is said that in the endless chaos, there are beings even more powerful than the Nine Directions Lord, but in my sixteen chaos cycles of life, I have never seen such a great existence."

"The path of Qi Refining is divided into Mortal, Celestial Immortal, True Immortal, Ancestral Immortal, and World-level."

"As for the path of the heart, it is ethereal, and I don't understand it either."

The Wild Dog continued, "The core of Qi Refining is the golden core within the body, the source of boundless power. The World-level requires that within this golden core... all the space of the golden core be destroyed and gathered, returning to chaos, so that a chaotic world appears within the golden core."

Ji Ning was astonished.

The space within the golden core was vast; his treasures were stored there, and his surging magical power was also within. 'Destroy and gather, return to chaos'—to form a chaotic world?

"Then within the body there will be a chaotic world, and naturally every move will be invincible," the Wild Dog said. "You little ones live within a chaotic world, cultivating so-called Daos, which are the rules of the chaotic world's operation. The power of heaven and earth you gather is also the power within the chaotic world, merely borrowing a portion temporarily."

"Once you reach the World-level, you have a chaotic world within your golden core. Although the chaotic world inside the golden core is not as vast as the outside, you are its master, fully in control, and your strength is immeasurable. Destroying an external chaotic world would be easy."

Ji Ning nodded.

Nuwa could indeed destroy the Three Realms.

"Because the golden core within returns to chaos, they are called Chaos Immortals."

"As for the path of gods and demons, it is the continuous strengthening of the divine body. Each leap brings a surge in power. A World-level 'World God' possesses infinite power, with the strength to open up a chaotic world, hence they are called World Gods."

"These two paths are equal in power," the Wild Dog said.

"Equal?" Ji Ning was startled. "Senior, do you mean that Celestial Gods and Celestial Immortals are equal? True Gods and True Immortals? Ancestral Gods and Ancestral Immortals?"

"Of course. Although they are different cultivation paths, their power is indeed equal," the Wild Dog nodded.

Ji Ning was stunned.

How could they be equal?

A True God was clearly comparable to a Dao Ancestor, and a Celestial God was on the same level as a True Immortal.

"The path of Qi Refining was developed through countless explorations, allowing mortal beings to cultivate and improve. There are many methods." The Wild Dog looked at Ji Ning from afar. "When breaking through from mortality, undergoing the heavenly tribulation, and becoming a Celestial Immortal, there are three paths of Qi Refining. Choosing different paths results in different golden cores."

"And you have the worst kind," the Wild Dog shook his head. "Your golden core is extremely weak. Even if you become a True Immortal, I'm afraid those Celestial Gods and powerful Celestial Immortals could match you."

"Yes, yes, yes. I once fought a Celestial Immortal, and we were indeed evenly matched," Ji Ning quickly said.

The Wild Dog shook his head: "Your master could meet a World-level existence, yet you are so weak. It seems your Qi Refining methods are too poor. If there were a Chaos Immortal of the Qi Refining path, it wouldn't be like this... It seems your side was broken through by the path of gods and demons, a World God."

Ji Ning did not deny it.

Nuwa was a Pangu god, indeed on the path of gods and demons.

"The Qi Refining path has three types. Breaking through from mortality to become a Celestial Immortal is a crucial juncture for mortals becoming immortals. The golden core formed at this breakthrough determines future strength," the Wild Dog said. "The worst type is to painstakingly gather the power of heaven and earth oneself and condense the golden core."

"The higher type is to use various rare treasures, then use one's own power as a guide to finally condense the golden core. This is much more powerful."

"The highest type is created by imitating the birth of gods and demons from chaos. Chaos gives birth to gods and demons using chaotic power. To achieve the supreme 'Celestial Immortal golden core,' one uses a vast expanse of heaven and earth as a furnace. This expanse must be vast enough, for example, comparable to the vastness of this world prison. Gathering the boundless power of that expanse of heaven and earth, one then condenses one's own golden core. This results in the highest type of Celestial Immortal golden core, with surging and pure magical power."

"These three types: the first uses the entire vast heaven and earth to refine the golden core. The second seeks external objects to assist in improvement. The third uses a small amount of one's own power."

"Of course, there are gains and losses. The first type uses the endless vast heaven and earth as a furnace. Such a method requires the help of a Chaos Immortal, and when undergoing the tribulation, the power of the heavenly tribulation is even stronger than that of becoming a Celestial God." The Wild Dog looked at Ji Ning. "In the Nine Directions Chaos Country, only a very few core members can achieve the highest type of Celestial Immortal golden core."

"You... it's too late. You've already become a True Immortal. The path is set, and cannot be changed." The Wild Dog shook his head.