Chapter Thirty-Five: The New Three Realms

The expressions of the mighty ones on Nüwa's side changed. Bodhi, Maitreya Buddha, Yuding Daoist, Kuafu, Sun Wukong, and others all hesitated. They wanted to refuse, but the two camps had just joined forces against Source Elder, and especially Huanmu Master had unhesitatingly sacrificed himself.

Many mighty ones on Nüwa's side had ties with Huanmu. Bodhi, the already fallen Three Pure Ones, Tathagata, and many others had close relationships with 'Huanmu Master.' Now that Huanmu Master was dead, expelling the Gate of Infinity... indeed, it was not good.

But!

They believed that Lord of All Demons was not warlike by nature, but what about the future? What if the Gate of Infinity gave birth to a new leader? Who knew what would happen? The Gate of Infinity remaining in the Three Realms would be a hidden danger, and conflict might erupt again.

"Beiming, what do you think?" Maitreya Buddha spoke. The other mighty ones also looked at Ji Ning.

Ji Ning's strength was undisputedly the first in the Three Realms.

Just like Nüwa in the past, he possessed sweeping power, so naturally he had a greater say in many matters.

"They may re-enter the Three Realms," Ji Ning nodded.

"What?" Bodhi and the others stared at Ji Ning in shock.

Lord of All Demons and his side were overjoyed. If Lord of All Demons alone drifted in the chaos, it would be one thing, but the weaker mighty ones and the many Celestial Immortals and True Immortals... they were too weak in the endless chaos, and the journey was fraught with dangers, far inferior to living in the Three Realms.

"But they must swear a lifeblood oath," Ji Ning said, flipping his hand to produce a jade-green crystal ball.

"Lifeblood oath?"

The mighty ones of both camps looked at the jade-green crystal ball in Ji Ning's hand.

"Is this an Oathstone?" Lord of All Demons asked in surprise.

"Yes," Ji Ning nodded.

"The hidden danger of the Three Realms is thus resolved." Lord of All Demons smiled. In the endless chaos, how did various factions unite? By relying on lifeblood oaths! No matter how loyal the conviction, as time passed, unexpected situations would still arise. Only the binding of a lifeblood oath could truly last.

...

There in the void, before the corpse of Source Elder, the mighty ones of both camps together swore the 'Oath of the Three Realms.'

After each had sworn the lifeblood oath, the atmosphere between the two camps clearly eased.

"Ji Ning," Bodhi pointed at the corpses of mighty ones floating in the void, "We can't leave them floating here forever."

"Yes," Ji Ning nodded.

"I think, Holy Fire." Bodhi turned to look at Holy Fire Dao Ancestor. "Cremate them, let them rest in peace, undisturbed. Lord of All Demons, what do you think?"

"Good," Lord of All Demons nodded lightly.

The corpses of mighty ones were generally not buried, for fear of future desecration or being used to refine treasures. In the past, the Three Realms had dealt with the alien 'Rahou' by dismembering his divine body and even refining it into treasures.

Holy Fire Dao Ancestor nodded and pointed into the distance.

Whoosh~~~

Blazing white flames flew out—the 'Holy Fire' that Holy Fire Dao Ancestor had comprehended, far stronger than his original True Samadhi Fire, though still slightly inferior to Solar Golden Flame, Zhurong Divine Fire, and Undying Ember Fire. But none of these corpses had divine bodies comparable to top-grade innate treasures, so the Holy Fire was sufficient.

One by one, the bodies of immortals and gods burned in the blazing white flames.

Ji Ning, Bodhi, Lord of All Demons, and the others watched silently, their hearts filled with sorrow, for too many friends and brothers had died this time.

"Life and death are a cycle," Bodhi said softly. "Though they are dead, the entire Three Realms will never forget them."

"The three ancient human emperors—Suirenshi, Fuxishi, Shennongshi..." Lord of All Demons nodded. "Tathagata, the Three Pure Ones..."

"Huanmu, Jueming, Gonggong, Moshou..."

"They will become legends, sung by humanity, by the Daoist and Buddhist schools, by our Gate of Infinity, by countless beings for generations."

Ji Ning nodded gently.

They were the ancestors, the pioneers who opened the heavens.

No matter what became of humanity, even if the chaos world of the Three Realms shattered and evolved into another chaos world... even after ten or a hundred chaos cycles, as long as humanity existed, they would never forget the three most ancient leaders who led their rise in their most humble times—the Three Emperors of humanity!

"Though dead, they live forever." Ji Ning had truly fought alongside them, and so his heart ached and he was reluctant to let go.

"If in the future..."

"After a hundred chaos cycles, a thousand chaos cycles... after an endless span of time, if I can reach an extremely high peak on the path of cultivation, and can revive all these dead, I will definitely revive them all, so that everyone can gather again, chat, and drink together." Ji Ning silently hoped in his heart.

He had gone out to find the Heavenly Firmament Palace because of his lifeblood oath, but he himself also yearned to go further.

Perhaps he could bring back to life beings whose truesouls had been extinguished, leaving no regrets. All those who had died could live again. But Ji Ning understood that such a great divine power would certainly be an extremely difficult path. So he had resolved to walk on, no matter how long or how hard.

...

After this battle,

the Three Realms suffered immense losses among mighty ones, Celestial Immortals, and True Immortals, and its vitality was greatly damaged. Even the Heavenly Court was shattered.

Thus...

Ji Ning and the other mighty ones reestablished the Heavenly Court! Rebuilt the Underworld! And rebuilt the Six Paths of Reincarnation! The Six Paths were built mainly by Ji Ning, with Bodhi assisting, because the Six Paths involved time and space. Although Ji Ning's divine power was unrivaled in the Three Realms and his dharma power was also the purest, he still needed Bodhi's help. It took over three years to rebuild the Six Paths of Reincarnation, and the Three Realms returned to normal.

"From now on, when selecting disciples for cultivation, be more cautious."

"The Dao must not be lightly transmitted."

This catastrophe had killed a sea of Celestial Immortals and True Immortals, lightening the burden on the Three Realms. But if the Three Realms continued such frenzied large-scale cultivation, many more Celestial Immortals and True Immortals would be born in the future. So the scale had to be reduced—cultivation must not be so easy; more dangerous trials must be established.

After the mighty ones of the Three Realms issued their orders, the entire Three Realms began to change. From then on, all major cultivation sects were located in high mountains and dangerous places. Cultivation clans rarely accepted new members. To cultivate became ten or a hundred times harder than before. Only those with greater perseverance and stronger will could enter the gates of immortality.

...

Three hundred years had passed since the catastrophe.

"The Three Realms have changed."

A Daoist-robed elder and a white-robed youth stood side by side on a cloud, looking down at the earth.

The Daoist-robed elder sighed: "The atmosphere of the Three Realms is more peaceful. Because cultivation is harder, cultivators rarely meddle in the struggles of mortals below. At most, Zifu cultivators mix in... With fewer cultivators, there is less competition for heavenly treasures, and conflicts among cultivators are much rarer than before."

"Yes," Ji Ning nodded.

The entire Three Realms had turned a new page.

"Are you really leaving the Three Realms?" Bodhi looked at Ji Ning.

"I must leave," Ji Ning nodded. "I have no choice."

Bodhi understood that Ji Ning had his reasons: "What about the Three Realms? Your daughter?"

Ji Ning said: "I will open a residence in the chaos very close to the Three Realms. My second true body will live there permanently, able to guard the Three Realms for a long time. My true body will leave through the vortex passage, first heading to the 'Da Mo Domain.' In any case, that Heartforce General is also a scourge; if I have the chance, I will eliminate him."

"Yes." Bodhi showed a hint of joy.

At Ji Ning's level, going out to explore was normal. In the past, Nüwa, being born a Primalgod, had no second true body. Ji Ning had cultivated step by step from a mortal, so although he went out, only his true body left; his second true body remained here.

"How does your second true body compare in strength to your true body?" Bodhi asked.

"With the second true body, even an opponent at the level of Source Elder is no threat," Ji Ning said.

The second true body was slightly weaker than the true body, but it was still a top-tier Ancestral Immortal, especially when executing the 'Heartsword Style,' it could fight at the peak of Primalgod战力.

"Yes." Bodhi suddenly looked down and laughed, "Look what your daughter is doing."

Ji Ning looked down, his gaze piercing through the void, and saw Mingyue teasing a scholar. Mingyue, mischievous and clever, pretended to be an ordinary young lady of a noble family, accompanied by a maid, deliberately flirting with the mortal scholar.

Ji Ning smiled.

To let his daughter live freely in the Three Realms, happily and carefree—Ji Ning was content. The alternative, where his daughter had to hide in the Xieyue Major World and even risk wandering in the chaos after defeat, was what Ji Ning did not want to see.

"As long as she lives well, that is enough." Ji Ning smiled slightly.

(End of this volume)