Chapter 16: The Qixuan Realm

"Lu Wu, Feng Ji, give up, both of you. I will take you into my cave-heaven treasure." Kua Fu shouted.

"No."

Although Lu Wu, the True God, had always been honest and simple, at this moment he was very resolute. "Kua Fu, you know very well how terrifying the Earth Cry Mountain is. We can only hold on with the help of the formation. Once I enter the cave-heaven treasure, I can indeed survive temporarily. But without the formation's assistance, you won't last long."

"My divine body, every bit of flesh and blood is made of divine power. Although I have no divine power inside me, my divine body can still transform into divine power and continue to sustain us." Lu Wu, the True God, said in a low voice.

"Hold on." Feng Ji, the Dao Ancestor, also nodded, a cold look in his eyes. "Kua Fu, don't be soft-hearted. At this moment, none of us six can retreat! This expedition to the ancient ruins... is actually the vanguard battle of the final decisive war. In war, people will die. When it's my turn, I won't retreat either."

Kua Fu, Xi Huang, Xing Tian, and Kong Xiu beside them all had complex expressions.

But they understood that this was indeed the best choice for the overall situation. The divine bodies of Lu Wu, the True God, and Feng Ji, the True God, contained vast amounts of divine power, enough to continue holding on. Of course, the price of holding on was that Feng Ji, the Dao Ancestor, and Lu Wu, the True God, could be killed by the invisible attacks at any moment!

"Hold on." Kua Fu growled.

"Protect Lu Wu and Feng Ji." Xing Tian even roared, turning to look at Ji Ning. "Ji Ning, try to help Feng Ji and Lu Wu as much as possible."

Xing Tian had always had a good impression of Ji Ning before. Earlier on the journey, Ji Ning had rarely acted, which was tolerable. But now, trapped in the Earth Cry Mountain and facing death, Ji Ning was safe inside the formation yet had never made a move! This made Xing Tian feel a growing dissatisfaction.

"Whoosh."

Ji Ning suddenly moved.

In an instant, he took a step and actually dashed out of the formation's range. In his hand, a sword thrust out, and on the tip of the sword appeared a dazzling seven-colored sword light.

Kua Fu, Xing Tian, and the other six True Gods were instantly stunned.

Ji Ning actually left the formation? Kua Fu and the others were about to shout.

He actually drew his sword? Why?

Seven-colored sword light? That, that is...

Ji Ning suddenly stepped out of the formation and thrust his sword. This scene left the six True Gods dumbfounded.

"Clang!" A booming sound.

The tip of Ji Ning's sword seemed to hit something, and an extremely violent collision occurred, causing ripples in the surrounding space.

"Come here." Ji Ning's sword technique shifted, becoming like a black hole, producing a startling suction force, firmly entangling the invisible strange object.

The sword light lingered, completely binding the invisible object. The object finally revealed its form. Within Ji Ning's sword light appeared a special material object resembling a horn, black all over with faint purple patterns. One end was sharp, the other blunt.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning reached out and grabbed the object.

"Qixuan Sinking Stone?" Ji Ning thought to himself. While roaming the Chaos, one must be familiar with many strange objects. The teachings passed down by Beixiu World God contained extensive records, and Ji Ning recognized this object at a glance. "It's actually a Qixuan Sinking Stone. This is a precious refining material, but in the Three Realms, no one can refine it."

The Qixuan Sinking Stone was extremely tough. Even without any refinement, its toughness alone could rival a Chaos Treasure.

This was an extremely precious refining material.

"When I go to the endless Chaos in the future to find the Heavenly Cang Palace, it might be useful." Ji Ning flipped his hand and put the object into his cave-heaven treasure.

Ji Ning turned his head.

He saw the six True Gods beside him all looking somewhat dazed. Xi Huang seemed about to say something but didn't know how to begin.

"Ji Ning." It was the most straightforward Kua Fu who spoke. "You've reached the fifth level of sword force?"

"Yes." Ji Ning nodded.

"Why didn't you say so before?" Kua Fu said.

"There was no danger before. You, Kua Fu, could easily handle it. There was never a need for me to act." Ji Ning smiled.

Xing Tian beside him also quickly said, "Ji Ning, have you already seen through the illusion of this Earth Cry Mountain?"

Only by seeing through the illusion could one walk out.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

Lu Wu and Feng Ji also relaxed, though prepared for death, it was better to live.

"Follow me." Ji Ning said.

"Follow Ji Ning." Kuafu quickly added. "Listen to Ji Ning."

"Mm."

The six True Gods followed Ji Ning, who walked with a sword in hand.

"Another one." Ji Ning swung his sword again, the sword art ethereal, instantly colliding with an incoming invisible oddity. His sword art transformed into a black hole, entangling the invisible oddity.

"This Diming Mountain should be the 'Qixuan Realm'." Ji Ning reached out and grabbed a piece of Qixuan Sinking Stone, examined it, and stored it in his cave-heaven treasure. "I'm afraid few in the Three Realms know more about this Diming Mountain than I do."

The endless chaos was filled with infinite dangers, as recorded by Northrest World God. Traveling through chaos, foolishly entering deadly places, was suicide, beyond saving.

The Qixuan Realm was just one of the perilous places recorded by Northrest World God.

From various clues, Ji Ning deduced that Diming Mountain was a type of Qixuan Realm.

"Ji Ning, how long until we get out?" Xi looked at Ji Ning with different eyes. The fifth level of sword force, surpassing the limits of the Dao—these two alone made Ji Ning nearly at the leader level! Even in offense, he was more terrifying than Kuafu!

"Don't worry." Ji Ning said. "Diming Mountain is almost a world of its own. Without perceiving its true nature, there's no way out. The so-called perception of truth... isn't truly seeing the real scene. Even I can barely sense those oddity attacks and judge directions through them."

"Judge directions through oddities?" Feng Ji, Kong Xiu, Lu Wu, and the others were puzzled.

"Mm." Ji Ning nodded.

"The oddities attacking us are bred within Diming Mountain, erupting from its depths with terrifying power." Ji Ning said. "The closer we are to the core, the stronger the oddities. The farther we are, the weaker they become."

"I've heard that from Lord Sanqing." Xi nodded. "But that's just a rough direction, and Diming Mountain's dangers aren't limited to those invisible oddities."

"Right... I've heard of an incredibly powerful suction that can pull in great cultivators." Kong Xiu added.

Ji Ning nodded: "Indeed."

The Qixuan Realm mostly erupts, but it also sucks in. Each time it sucks, the closer you are, the stronger the pull. Once sucked in, even Ancestral Gods or Ancestral Immortals would almost certainly die, unless they had exceptional means to survive. If one could safely reach the depths, they could obtain large amounts of 'Qixuan Sinking Stones', precious refining materials formed through repeated eruptions and suctions.

What erupted and attacked Ji Ning and the others were just a tiny fraction of the Qixuan Sinking Stones deep within Diming Mountain.

"So we must hurry. Now it's erupting; if it starts sucking, it'll be more dangerous." Ji Ning was confident. Only the core of Diming Mountain posed a threat to him; ordinary areas couldn't, as he was already at the leader level.

After walking only a short while.

Ji Ning had been walking quickly. Suddenly, they all felt their vision brighten, shifting from the jungle illusion to vast,连绵 mountains. In the distance, mountains were collapsing, and three figures radiating endless golden light were wildly swinging their Buddha palms, each palm seemingly destroying heaven and earth, annihilating the mountains.

"It's Tathagata." Kuafu rejoiced.

"Tathagata!" Xingtian shouted loudly.

Ji Ning also smiled: "We're out."

"Is this Tathagata's Dharma body?" Ji Ning looked at Tathagata's three Dharma bodies, especially the original Shakyamuni Dharma body. "He's only a True God and third-class Ancestral Immortal, yet his Dao comprehension is so high that he can exert Ancestral God-level power."

In the distance, the Buddha Tathagata also noticed the seven tiny figures.

"Excellent."

Tathagata finally smiled, and his other two Dharma bodies merged into the original. Then the other three Buddhas behind him flew over.

Tathagata and the other three Buddhas flew over, while Kuafu, Ji Ning, and the other seven rode clouds to meet them.

"You got out on your own." Tathagata smiled. "How did you manage?"

"It was Beiming." Kong Xiu, among Ji Ning's group, spoke up.

"Beiming?" Tathagata looked at Ji Ning, surprised.

Kuafu added: "Yes, Ji Ning's strength is formidable; I'm afraid I might not be his match. Sanqing was trapped inside for over three thousand years, but Ji Ning led us out in such a short time. Haha, I wonder what Sanqing's face will look like when he finds out."

At that moment, Kong Xiu also relayed everything that had happened to the many powerful beings of the Nuwa camp in the Three Realms who were concerned and worried.