Chapter 22: The Peak of the Three Realms

But none of them noticed that a pitiable man, who had suffered countless setbacks and blows in their eyes, had already stood at the peak of the Three Realms.

Yes.

The peak of the Three Realms!

The pinnacle of all cultivators in the entire Three Realms!

At that position stood Buddha Tathagata, the Three Pure Ones, the Human Sovereign Suirenshi, Fuxi, Shennong, and the extraordinary great god Houyi. And now, another figure had joined that peak... the seemingly ordinary figure of a white-robed youth!

The Northern Bright Sword Immortal, Ji Ning!

"The heavens have changed," Guiling Holy Mother murmured to herself.

"Yes, they have changed. The Three Realms now have another supreme power," Yuding Daoist said softly. "And he has cultivated for less than a thousand years—truly a legend, even more legendary than Houyi."

The seven Dao Ancestors of the Daoist sect present all felt a daze.

They had witnessed a legend.

Having cultivated for less than a thousand years, he had risen from a mortal to the peak of the Three Realms! Standing at the very summit of all cultivators, he was now on par with the Three Pure Ones, Buddha Tathagata, and the three Human Sovereigns.

"Let's go." Ji Ning looked at them and said urgently, "Buddha Tathagata is in danger. We must immediately go support Fuxi and find a way to rescue Buddha Tathagata. I'll first take you into my cave-heaven treasure."

"Alright." Yuding Daoist and the others responded involuntarily. Facing a leader-level figure, they naturally placed themselves in the role of followers.

Ji Ning nodded.

With a wave of his hand, he took Yuding Daoist and the others into his cave-heaven treasure, then transformed into a black electric serpent and swiftly headed toward Fuxi's location.

...

Inside the formation.

The hideous, thick green-skinned Liutong Imperial Sovereign urgently transmitted, "Master, great master, disaster, disaster."

"Hmm?" The Great Demon Cishi and the Blade Sovereign were jointly besieging Buddha Tathagata. Hearing this, the Great Demon Cishi turned his head and glanced.

"All dead, all dead." Liutong Imperial Sovereign said urgently, "Only I, because I was born with two bodies, lost one life and still have one left. Youji, Dongjiao, Foshi, and the True Gods and Dao Ancestors they led are all dead."

"Impossible. Fuxi is entangled by Tieya and the others, and Tathagata is here with me... who could have killed them?" The Great Demon Cishi was displeased.

The place where he had trapped Tathagata was also a dangerous location in the Golden River World.

To get here from outside, one had to enter the Golden River World and fly slowly for a long time. The True Gods and Dao Ancestors from the Nuwa camp in the Three Realms would take a long time to arrive. The fastest support would be the Northern Bright team and Yuding Daoist's team, which were originally very close. The strongest among them were only near leader-level.

It was utterly impossible for them to kill the four Imperial Sovereigns and the group of True Gods and Dao Ancestors they led.

"It was Northern Bright." Liutong Imperial Sovereign said urgently, "It was the Northern Bright Sword Immortal. His strength was terrifying. Our combined formation was too fragile before him. His palm easily pierced through it, and with two great palms, he killed eight of us at once. Youji and the other eight also died, surely at Ji Ning's hands."

"What?!" The Great Demon Cishi's face changed drastically.

He was no fool and immediately realized what this meant.

"Another one with Patriarch-level strength?" The Great Demon Cishi frowned. "These natives lack proper cultivation methods. This Ji Ning has probably only cultivated to True God. Yet as a mere True God, he can display strength comparable to a Patriarch. He has cultivated for less than a thousand years. Even in the endless chaos, such prodigies are rare. Now we have trouble—another one like this has appeared."

"Alright, I understand." The Great Demon Cishi barked.

"Yes, yes, yes." Liutong Imperial Sovereign quickly withdrew.

The Great Demon Cishi waved his hand, and Wuxiao Celestial Immortal appeared beside him.

"Great Demon, have you killed Tathagata?" Wuxiao Celestial Immortal asked hastily.

"Let me tell you some very bad news." The Great Demon Cishi said, "The Northern Bright Sword Immortal, Ji Ning, now has Patriarch-level strength."

"You... what did you say?" Wuxiao Celestial Immortal was stunned.

"Didn't you hear?" The Great Demon Cishi roared angrily. "That Ji Ning, the one you toyed with time and again, has Patriarch-level strength. In the terms of the Three Realms, that means leader-level strength! You idiots of the Gate of Infinity—don't you know that some prodigies should be given as few setbacks as possible? Some prodigies sink under setbacks, but others become more terrifying the more they are thwarted. A bunch of fools... fools! This Ji Ning has cultivated for less than a thousand years. If you had left him alone, ignored him, let him live peacefully with his wife and enjoy a happy life, how could he have grown so fast? Now that he has reached our level, with another great power like this... I don't care who wins or loses between the Gate of Infinity and the Nuwa camp, but you've ruined my plans. This bone is getting harder and harder to chew. You of the Gate of Infinity are truly fools, idiots, fools, idiots!"

Wuxiao Celestial Immortal muttered, "Ji Ning? Leader-level?"

"You're not lying to me?" Wuxiao Celestial Immortal pressed.

It must be understood that when strength is equal, even a straw can break a camel's back.

Now, with the sudden appearance of a leader-level figure, the impact on the overall situation was enormous. It was more than ten times more important than the outcome of the war in the Great World of Zhuolu.

"Would I lie to you?" The Great Demon Cishi sneered. "Of the four Imperial Sovereigns under my command, all are dead except Liutong Imperial Sovereign, who survived because he was born with two bodies. They were killed by Ji Ning."

"Let the Gate of Infinity think of a solution quickly." The Great Demon Cishi waved his hand and withdrew Wuxiao Celestial Immortal, who was still in disbelief.

Having withdrawn Wuxiao Celestial Immortal,

The Great Demon Cishi turned his gaze to the distant Buddha Tathagata.

Buddha Tathagata was going all out against the golden-armored one-armed man. The two were evenly matched. The golden-armored one-armed man's blade light was world-destroying, but Buddha Tathagata's defense was watertight.

"Northern Bright has become a leader?" Buddha Tathagata laughed. "Haha, truly heaven helps our side."

"What heaven? A chaos world is merely the evolution of a world heart. Heaven? Foolish natives." The Great Demon Cishi sneered. "Never mind. Although a new leader-level has appeared, he has just reached this level and must be very inexperienced. As long as I destroy your Shakyamuni true body... it will be enough to offset the threat Ji Ning poses."

With that, the Great Demon Cishi attacked again.

Buddha Tathagata, who had barely been able to hold out against the golden-armored one-armed man, now began to waver. He used every divine power and means he had to withstand the joint assault of the two alien Patriarchs.

"I must go all out to hold on, but this consumes my divine power too quickly. I've already used half... it seems I really will die here. But Ji Ning's breakthrough is a joyful event." Buddha Tathagata remained very calm.

...

While the Great Demon Cishi was berating Wuxiao Celestial Immortal, Ji Ning, riding the nine-horned electric serpent, had already arrived at Fuxi's location.

"Hmm?" Ji Ning stopped and looked down.

In the distance, a huge hemispherical dome covered an area of millions of miles. Inside the seal, Fuxi and the others could be faintly seen battling three burly golden-armored figures.

Ji Ning extended his hand, and a Northern Bright sword appeared in it.

Swoosh.

He then dove down, turning into a streak of light that shot toward the sealing formation. With a single sword thrust, "Boom!" The sealing formation trembled and was pierced. Ji Ning charged inside, and the hole in the formation closed up again.

Inside the formation.

Fuxi, leading three great human powers, was attacking furiously, but the three burly golden-armored men had layers of watery light flowing over their bodies, blocking all attacks. Even if wounds occasionally appeared, they healed quickly like water.

"Northern Bright?" Fuxi and the other three showed joy at Ji Ning's appearance.

"Be careful." Fuxi himself warned, "These three aliens have a special fusion technique. Though they appear as three, they are now like one person. And they cannot be killed."

Ji Ning looked.

He immediately understood.

"Water Cliff Clan?" Ji Ning thought to himself. The teachings of World God Beishou had given him extensive knowledge of the endless chaos. He recognized at a glance that these three aliens were of the Water Cliff Clan, known for their tenacity and even called 'undying bodies.' Though only True Gods, they could entangle Fuxi and the others.

"Kuafu and the others have arrived, right?" Fuxi said quickly, "Have your team help us, entangle these three aliens so I can break the formation. Tathagata's situation is dire; if we take too long, he may not hold out. Remember... just try to entangle them; they are very hard to kill."

"They've arrived. Leave these three to me." Ji Ning waved his hand, and a crowd appeared beside him—not only Kuafu and the others but also Yuding Daoist and his group.

"Yuding is here too?" Fuxi broke into a smile. "Good. With your two teams working together, you can certainly hold off these three aliens."