Chapter Thirty-Two: The Oath of Destiny

Ji Ning sighed inwardly. If you killed someone, you could claim their belongings. Clearly, the Underwater Abyss didn't care about the gods killing each other. Perhaps this slaughter was just a more brutal form of training and selection. After all, the sea demons of the Underwater Abyss had already killed thousands of gods. This showed that the elimination process of the Underwater Abyss was inherently cruel.

Ji Ning followed the silver-haired man as they walked on the fifth island, the Moonfall Island.

Moonfall Island exuded an ancient, unsettling aura.

The other four islands were ordinary, but this one felt different to Ji Ning... as if it contained an inconceivably great power that could annihilate him in an instant.

Ji Ning thought to himself, "Why did the great power of the Underwater Abyss go to such lengths to select gods? To temper us and send us out? Unlikely. There must be an important purpose. Now, we're going to the last place, and after that, we can leave. It seems this final place will reveal everything."

A moment later.

Ji Ning and the silver-haired man followed the mountain path to the summit, where a temple built from seemingly ordinary rocks stood.

"This is the Moonfall Temple," said the silver-haired man, pointing at the ancient temple, which looked ordinary, even shabby, made of piled rocks. Though it appeared dilapidated, it seemed to be the core hub of the entire Moonfall Island.

In front of the temple stood a golden stone stele.

"Summon all the two hundred-plus gods you brought with you," the silver-haired man instructed.

"Alright," Ji Ning nodded. With a thought, a large group of figures appeared around him—the two hundred-plus gods. Sin God, Throat-Sealing God, the seven Dragon Gods, and the others all looked around curiously, and many showed expressions of surprise.

"This isn't the Thousand Star Island."

"It's a new island."

"This must be the fifth island. We're going to leave, we can leave!"

The gods were almost instantly excited. They also noticed Ji Ning and the silver-haired man.

"Northmo, this is the fifth island, right?" As one god spoke, the others looked over.

Ji Ning nodded with a smile. "This is the fifth island, Moonfall Island."

"Haha!"

"Northmo, if you ever need anything, just say the word. Even if it costs me my life, I won't hesitate."

"Northmo, great kindness needs no words of thanks."

The gods were all emotional, some even shedding tears. To them, this was almost a second chance at life. They were all gods... if they owed a debt of gratitude, they would remember it. If Ji Ning ever asked for their help and they refused, it would affect their Dao-heart. Only a rare few great demons could owe such a huge debt without any impact on their Dao-heart.

"Enough," the silver-haired man said calmly.

Boom~~~

An invisible force radiated from the temple, like an invisible giant hand that slammed down on the two hundred-plus gods. With a loud crash, the entire group was pressed to the ground, but Ji Ning was not suppressed.

Ji Ning stared in shock at the scene. The two hundred-plus gods were terrified. It was too frightening—over two hundred gods, instantly pressed to the ground without any resistance. And it wasn't a purely physical force; if it were, the gods would have been driven into the ground like nails, leaving deep holes.

But now, all two hundred-plus gods were lying on the ground... clearly, they had been utterly powerless, like mortals, in that instant.

"Truly formidable. The great power who created the Underwater Abyss has methods beyond my imagination," Ji Ning thought.

"You two hundred-plus gods only have a chance to leave because you followed this Northmo," the silver-haired man said calmly. "Now, one by one, place your hand on that golden stone stele."

"Yes." "Yes." "Yes." ...

The two hundred-plus gods, who had been ecstatic moments before, now all became cautious and dared not act recklessly, fearing for their lives.

Sin God was the first to step forward and place his hand on the golden stone stele. The moment his hand touched it, his body stiffened, and he became motionless. This sight worried all the gods, and Ji Ning was also concerned, but what could he do? The mere force emanating from the temple earlier could easily annihilate them.

The silver-haired man glanced at Ji Ning, sensing his worry, and said calmly, "Don't worry, they're fine."

Sin God kept his hand on the stele for about ten breaths before coming to his senses. He withdrew his hand and looked at the golden stone stele with an expression of disbelief.

"Withdraw," the silver-haired man barked.

The Sinful Celestial awakened and quickly retreated.

"Next," the silver-haired man ordered.

Though uneasy, the other celestials had no choice but to step forward. The Sinful Celestial also said, "It's fine, no danger." This slightly calmed the celestials present.

Each celestial placed a hand on the stone tablet and remained motionless for ten breaths before regaining clarity.

This continued for a long time...

Over two hundred celestials had all touched the golden stone tablet.

"Gather them up," the silver-haired man said to Ji Ning. Hearing this, the Sinful Celestial and the others breathed a sigh of relief. Ji Ning waved his hand and collected the over two hundred celestials into his immortal mansion.

"Beiming, you go too. Place your hand on the golden stone tablet," the silver-haired man said.

Ji Ning walked over and gently placed his hand on the golden stone tablet.

Boom!

A formless energy surged into his soul-sea.

"I, by my life, swear..." Ji Ning's soul involuntarily began to utter the oath. Though his soul was beyond his control, he clearly understood what was happening.

This was a lifeblood oath!

Lifeblood oaths were very complex; one could not simply swear one at will. In the Three Realms... no mighty figure could issue a lifeblood oath on their own. Generally, only Chaos Immortals or World Gods could actively swear such an oath. Otherwise, one had to rely on external objects.

For instance, in the Nine Directions Chaosworld, some top-tier sects possessed treasures like the 'golden stone tablet' that compelled disciples to involuntarily swear lifeblood oaths.

Once a lifeblood oath was sworn... it was absolutely impossible to leak information.

When Ji Ning performed soul-scouring, he found that the memory bubbles containing certain divine abilities were heavily sealed with complex prohibitions, impossible to penetrate. Forcibly breaking them would only shatter the memory bubbles.

A lifeblood oath could not be violated!

...

Ji Ning regained clarity, looked at the golden stone tablet, and murmured, "No wonder the Buddha Jueming only spoke of the special properties of certain treasures but remained completely silent about the Moonwater Swamp. So it was because of the lifeblood oath."

The lifeblood oath had strict restrictions on what could not be divulged.

As for treasures like the Iceheart Leaf... they were not unique to the Moonwater Swamp; they existed outside as well, so they could be introduced.

"After you leave, though you cannot speak of many matters in the Moonwater Swamp, you can encourage more celestials to enter," the silver-haired man said.

"Encourage more celestials to enter?" Ji Ning shook his head inwardly.

How could that be?

The death rate in the Moonwater Swamp was far too high. This kind of trial was too terrifying, though the results were excellent. Ji Ning had indeed made it through, but he had no confidence that other celestials could do the same. Moreover, with the calamity of the Three Realms descending, hundreds of celestials and true immortals forming a formation could rival a Dao Ancestor. At a time of calamity, he could not lure celestials in.

"Alright, enter the temple," the silver-haired man said with a smile. "After you come out of the temple, I will send you out of the Moonwater Swamp."

"Mm." Ji Ning walked over.

The temple was ancient and dilapidated, but the aura it had just emitted made Ji Ning realize it was not as simple as it appeared.

He stepped over the threshold.

"Hm?" Inside the temple, Ji Ning swept his gaze around. The temple was extremely sparse—empty, with nothing at all. Only stone pillars and stone walls, no decorations. The temple was only a few hundred zhang in length and width, and everything was clearly visible.

"Hum~~~"

Suddenly, the entire temple was bathed in a hazy deep cyan light. Every stone emitted deep cyan light, and countless rays of light coiled around Ji Ning. Soon, a cocoon radiating deep cyan light appeared in the temple.

Outside the temple, the silver-haired man watched silently, a faint smile on his face. He murmured to himself, "I hope you don't disappoint the master."