Chapter 43: Slaying the Heart General

Black lotuses bloomed everywhere, each with a unique beauty.

But Void Abyss Immortal, Tianqiang Immortal, and Golden Cloud World God could not appreciate this beauty. Void Abyss Immortal even sent a voice transmission to the hundred Ancestral Gods protecting them, shouting, "Withdraw at once! Do not get involved."

"Yes." The hundred Ancestral Gods sensed danger and dared not show off.

"Go."

Void Abyss Immortal waved his hand, and a roll of translucent cloth flew out. Once airborne, it instantly covered the sky, and countless divine patterns on it activated, emitting a faint white light that suppressed the endless black lotuses. The lotuses resisted, but the cloth's radiance was unyielding.

"I've long heard that Void Abyss Immortal of Mistrock Star has unfathomable methods. I didn't expect you to block the first form of my Black Lotus Forbidden Art," Black Lotus God Emperor said calmly, his killing intent from his days of roaming territories gradually emerging.

"He blocked it!" Golden Cloud World God and Tianqiang Immortal rejoiced.

Both had felt a sense of panic earlier, sensing that if they were enveloped by the countless black lotuses, death would be the only outcome.

"Brother Tianqiang, Brother Golden Cloud, Black Lotus God Emperor is too strong. He forced me to use my most precious treasure," Void Abyss Immortal transmitted. "I'm going all out. Follow my orders; the three of us can hold out for a while. The Star Lord will arrive soon. Once we join forces with him and the others, we won't fear Black Lotus God Emperor."

"Mm." Tianqiang Immortal and Golden Cloud World God now had great faith in Void Abyss Immortal. Though they had always known his strength was unfathomable, they hadn't known exactly how strong he was.

But now, the countless black lotuses that had chilled them were blocked.

"Hahaha..." Black Lotus God Emperor laughed. "Now try the second form of my Black Lotus Forbidden Art—'Lotus Prison.'"

His voice echoed through the void, ringing in the ears of Void Abyss Immortal and the others.

Whoosh~~~

Black lotuses descended from the sky, countless in number, resonating with the suppressed lotuses below.

"Star Lord, come quickly!" Void Abyss Immortal's face changed drastically. With a thought, the cloth suppressed not only the lower lotuses but also blocked the upper ones, forming a barrier on all sides.

...

Mistrock Star Lord knew time was critical, so he struck with two swift sword blows, killing the six weakest Ancestral Gods in the Small Thousand Ancestral God Formation.

"Let's go, Uncle, Ji Ning. We need to hurry." Mistrock Star Lord broke the formation and waved his hand, sending dozens of sword beams to kill nearby Ancestral Gods.

"Good." Blackmist World God responded.

"Star Lord, I'll join you after I kill the Heart General," Ji Ning said, not following immediately. Instead, he pursued the fleeing Heart General at top speed.

Mistrock Star Lord glanced at Ji Ning. When Ji Ning joined Mistrock Army, he had stated his goal was to kill the Heart General. "Fine. Finish him quickly and come join us." Ji Ning was now a key combatant; the other six formation cores were only as strong as ordinary World Gods.

But Ji Ning rivaled Blackmist World God, a sword expert, making him a top-tier World God.

"Yes." Ji Ning acknowledged.

Swoosh.

Ji Ning's speed exceeded the Heavenly Dao's limit as he madly chased the Heart General.

"How could this happen? How?" The Heart General fled in panic, but under Mistrock Star's starlight, he was painfully slow. Ji Ning had already caught up.

"Ji Ning, Ji Ning, spare me!"

The Heart General began to beg. After Mistrock Star Lord's slaughter, many Ancestral Gods had died, and the Small Thousand Ancestral God Formation had collapsed, greatly weakening the Heart General.

"I once gave you a Heart Sutra!" the Heart General transmitted urgently. Back in the Three Realms, he had disguised himself as Source Elder, playing the role perfectly—nurturing juniors, risking his life for friends. Over the long ages, the Nuwa camp had never suspected Source Elder.

In fact, Patriarch Bodhi and Source Elder had been extremely close friends!

He had casually given Ji Ning a Heart Sutra, a crude manual on heartforce techniques, as part of his habitual act of playing the kindly old man.

"Die."

Ji Ning had arrived, his eyes filled with killing intent.

The Heart General panicked.

"I've already told a slave of mine about the Three Realms. If I die, bound by his life oath, he will immediately spread the news. Then adventurers from the Damo Territory will flock to the Three Realms!" the Heart General threatened. "They'll come endlessly, and your Three Realms will be doomed."

"Pfft."

A sword flashed. Though the Heart General wore armor of the Chaos Treasure level, it couldn't withstand Ji Ning's full-powered strike. He was cut in half, and the terrifying power of the Violetjade Divine Sword swept through his body, annihilating his divine power and true spirit.

Back in the Three Realms, Ji Ning's full-force strike could pierce top-grade Innate Numinous Treasures.

Now, empowered by blueflower mist energy and world force, wielding a perfect Eternal Divine Weapon, and with higher sword mastery, his sword could destroy ordinary Chaos Treasures. If the Heart General had worn top-grade Chaos armor, Ji Ning's sword couldn't cut it, but the impact would still shatter him to dust.

"I..." The Heart General's eyes held true despair and unwillingness.

"Whoosh."

His two halves shattered like porcelain. The Violetjade Divine Sword's power, even in a sweep, was enough to collapse his divine body.

"The Heart General... is finally dead."

After killing the Heart General, Ji Ning's mind went blank for a moment.

He seemed to see his senior apprentice-brother Houyi, whose true spirit had dissipated, and the great beings of the Three Realms who had turned into massive suns.

"This scourge is eliminated. Fellow Daoists, seniors... rest in peace." Ji Ning's emotions were complex.

Joy?

At this moment, Ji Ning felt no joy.

Only melancholy.

Only relief.

The Heart General's death marked the true end of that catastrophe.

"Even in death, you threaten me?" Ji Ning glanced at the Heart General's shattered body, its divine power and true spirit utterly annihilated, devoid of any life. "Even if you told your slave about the Three Realms, so what? To reach the Three Realms, one must pass through the vortex passage. How many adventurers dare to try?"

"And even if they do, so what?"

"My second true body, having also merged the Nine Chaos Seals to produce blueflower mist energy, is at the World-level. Those adventurers would die in droves." Ji Ning didn't think any World-level cultivators would risk the journey.

Besides...

He himself would become a World God, and with the mysterious Blueflower Space, he would be far stronger than ordinary World Gods.

"I wonder how Lord Three Purities obtained these Nine Chaos Seals back then." The thought crossed Ji Ning's mind.

"Boom~~~"

A violent fluctuation came from afar.

Ji Ning turned to look. The black clouds had dispersed, so he could see clearly. Under the omnipresent starlight of Mistrock Star, Void Abyss Immortal, Tianqiang Immortal, Golden Cloud World God, Mistrock Star Lord, and Blackmist World God were all fighting Black Lotus God Emperor with all their might.

Mistrock Star Lord and Black Lotus God Emperor were the most dazzling.

"Kill!" Each sword strike was like a brilliant galaxy, severing black lotuses. Mistrock Star Lord alone destroyed over half the lotuses, his might rivaling the combined power of Void Abyss Immortal and the other four.

Black Lotus God Emperor stood at the center, a giant nine-petal black lotus slowly rotating beneath his feet. Even now, he was on the offensive, while the five World-level cultivators were on the defensive.

"Ji Ning, come quickly! Help Void Abyss and protect him!" Mistrock Star Lord urged after Ji Ning killed the Heart General.

"Yes." Ji Ning turned into a streak of light, instantly breaking the Heavenly Dao's speed limit, and charged toward the most dangerous part of the battlefield.