Chapter 9: The Flying Immortal

"Back then, I fled the Three Realms," the Lord of All Demons sighed. "The chaos was vast and boundless; I had no idea where to go, so I chose a direction at random and began to roam."

At that time, the Lord of All Demons did not yet have detailed star charts and knew nothing of the existence of the 'Vortex Space Passage.'

"The endless chaos is fraught with danger."

"Fortunately, I was strong enough to survive and cautious enough to turn danger into safety time and again; otherwise, I would have died in the chaos long ago," said the Lord of All Demons, while the other great beings present listened. In the past, the Lord of All Demons had always remained silent about his experiences in the chaos.

"Later, by chance, I discovered a cave dwelling, likely established by some ancient great being," the Lord of All Demons continued. "I even found a great world that could be opened up within the chaos... that would require at least a World God or a Chaos Immortal."

The Dao Ancestors of the Three Realms could generally also open up great worlds.

But they all did so within the bounds of the Three Realms!

These great worlds all relied on the 'World Heart' of the Three Realms. Without the existence of the 'World Heart,' the entire Three Realms would collapse and cease to exist. Great worlds like the Chiming Great World, the Xuanwu Great World, and the Xiefeng Great World could not exist independently. The surging, endless chaos would destroy everything! To safely build a great world within the chaos was extremely difficult. Some exceptionally skilled Ancestral Gods or Ancestral Immortals might manage it, but it was one in ten thousand.

Take Dao Ancestor Fuju, for example. He was the reincarnation of World God Beixiu, with an extremely high level of insight, standing at the pinnacle even among World Gods.

Thus, he could easily open up the 'Moon Under the Pool.'

"Although it was a great world, it was only tens of millions of li in radius, far from enough for us to multiply and survive," said the Lord of All Demons. "During my adventures and explorations, Blood Falcon accompanied me, often risking life and limb. He liked that cave dwelling... and disliked the Three Realms, so he lived there long-term."

"I would also live there for long periods, occasionally sneaking back to the Three Realms to take a look. I spied secretly, and even Nuwa didn't know."

"Finally, Nuwa left the Three Realms... I waited a few more years, then brought you all back to the Three Realms. Those in Nuwa's camp clearly didn't want to fight anymore and agreed to let us in," the Lord of All Demons said with a smile. "Later, as you know, I found Wu Xiao! I obtained the puppet technique and also the method for nurturing insect beasts."

"The puppet technique required a large number of skilled refiners. But nurturing insect beasts didn't; it only required enough time for the beasts to evolve on their own," said the Lord of All Demons. "So I had Blood Falcon help. Over countless eons, Blood Falcon cultivated in that cave dwelling in the chaos and also nurtured insect beasts. When I visited last time, I discovered that Blood Falcon had reached the Leader level."

"I always thought Blood Falcon had great perseverance and determination," Huanmu Master nodded. "Earlier, when I heard that you had died alongside your master while adventuring in the chaos, I regretted it for a long time. Now that I know you're alive, it's truly great news."

"Blood Falcon, congratulations," said Demon Hand Dao Ancestor, looking at Blood Falcon.

She was known as the demon among demons.

Among the geniuses who rose from the mortals of the Wujian Chaos World, the one she admired most was Blood Falcon! Blood Falcon was a true demon, but he was too reclusive and aloof. In the younger generation of the Wujian Sect, Black Robe Divine King and Blood Falcon were evenly matched. Black Robe Divine King studied under Heart Demon Lord, while Blood Falcon studied under the equally reclusive and carefree 'Wind Demon.'

"Damn it," Black Robe Divine King thought bitterly.

Huanmu Master and Demon Hand Dao Ancestor had long stood at the pinnacle, but Blood Falcon had grown step by step alongside him. He had always regarded Blood Falcon as a rival and had surpassed him in every way! Now Blood Falcon had reached the Leader level? This made him very unhappy. Blood Falcon, originally named Shi Falcon, had once had a decent relationship with Black Robe Divine King.

Later, their personalities clashed.

Both were demons! One loved to toy with people's hearts, while the other was extremely reclusive, looking down on the world and caring for nothing.

"Master," said Blood Falcon Demon Ancestor respectfully. "With the great calamity upon us, I have returned. But after this great calamity... I plan to head to the Vortex Space Passage."

Now, the Wujian Sect had also obtained some star charts and knew of the Vortex Space Passage.

"I knew I couldn't keep you," the Lord of All Demons nodded. "Indeed, leaving through the Vortex Space Passage... is the way to enter a broader world."

"Mm," Blood Falcon Demon Ancestor nodded.

Black Robe Divine King felt even more displeased. This always arrogant fool was putting on an air of 'I'm about to enter a broader world,' while he, Black Robe Divine King, aspired to become the leader of the entire Three Realms.

"Shi Falcon," Black Robe Divine King still smiled, a hearty smile. "Congratulations on reaching the Leader level; it adds to our combat strength. But I must warn you, the intelligence you obtained might be a bit outdated... The Nuwa camp now has an extremely formidable great being—the North Sea Sword Immortal Ji Ning. He has been cultivating for less than a thousand years and has already reached the Leader level."

"Oh?" Blood Falcon Demon Ancestor's eyes lit up. "So powerful? Having such an opponent is truly exciting." A faint trace of bloodlight flickered in his eyes.

...

The realm war of the Shennong Great World ended!

The two camps began to deploy their troops. In every great world, every realm, all the armies were gathering and mobilizing...

Since the war of the 'Zhuolu Great World,' the Nuwa camp's momentum had been soaring. In the subsequent large-scale wars, they won more than they lost. The just-concluded war in the Shennong Great World was also a victory!

...

In the Great Yu Human World, the Ten Thousand Clans Hall.

A gathering of mighty cultivators assembled here.

"The Boundless Gate has begun to dispatch forces from various worlds," said the Pure Way Sovereign from his high seat, his voice icy. "Clearly, after repeated defeats, they can no longer hold out. They intend to muster all their strength... for the final struggle over fortune."

All the mighty ones below felt a tightness in their hearts.

Finally, was it coming?

"If they want war, then war it is. We'll crush them, slaughter them," the Thunder God roared, smashing his wine goblet to pieces.

"Even if they ally with the Ancient Ruins, they are still no match for us," said Houyi from his seat above, calmly.

"It's either them or us. There's no choice... All we can do is kill them all," Kuafu bellowed.

Some of the hot-tempered gods and demons present were seething with murderous intent.

A fierce glint flashed in Ji Ning's eyes.

Nothing in the world could ever go exactly as one wished! But no matter—he had mastered the divine ability Star Picking Hand, and his sword arts were far superior to before, enough to unleash a massacre in the war.

"I issue the order," the Pure Way Sovereign declared. "All mighty ones, dispatch every immortal and demon army under your command into the Great Yu Human World, ready for the final battle at any moment."

"Good."

"Good."

"Fight."

Killing intent blazed in the eyes of every mighty one. This was a life-or-death struggle, with life and death cast aside.

They understood that even if they won this battle, a great number of mighty ones would likely perish... Many of the old friends present might not survive this calamity, perhaps even themselves. Since that was the case, they would fight to the death, kill as many as possible! The more they killed, the more of their own could survive.

……

“Follow my orders, assemble at the Crimson Bright Great World at once.” In the Great Xia World, the Xia Emperor issued his command, while above, a vast number of immortals and demons gathered.

“Go.”

The sky above the imperial palace tore open, splitting into a massive passageway, and hordes of immortals and demons passed directly through the passage to the Crimson Bright Great World.

The armies of all worlds under the Crimson Bright Territory began to assemble.

Once fully assembled in the Crimson Bright Great World, they would then proceed to the ‘Human Race’s Great Yu World’.

……

The Three Realms were in turmoil, war imminent.

Yet the mortal mountain village where Ji Ning’s true body resided remained as tranquil as ever.

“They probably don’t know,” Ji Ning, sitting by the shore holding a fishing rod, turned his head to look at the smoke from the village’s cooking fires and sighed softly, “A decisive battle is about to erupt. This battle… might even affect many great worlds.”

The two great factions would fight to the death.

Both sides would exercise restraint, not destroying the Three Realms, but affecting them was certain. Especially when one side saw no hope, they might take the initiative to destroy the Three Realms.

“Water is turbulent; it can carry a boat or capsize it. But if the boat is too big… the water can only bear it…” Ji Ning murmured to himself.

“Hmm?”

Ji Ning was startled, a flash of inspiration striking his mind.

“Boom~~~~~~” The entire sky above Ji Ning surged, and the aura of the Heavenly Dao descended upon the pond beside the small mountain village, causing the villagers to be terrified and bewildered. Facing this fearsome aura of the Heavenly Dao, they involuntarily knelt down. At that moment, they saw the figure of a white-robed youth flying up in the distance.

Ji Ning threw away his fishing rod, laughed heartily, and soared into the sky.

“An immortal!” The villagers knelt and kowtowed repeatedly.