Chapter 44: Apex of World Gods

As he neared the battlefield and saw the black lotuses blooming and shattering endlessly, Ji Ning felt a chill in his heart.

"Senior Void You." Ji Ning quickly flew toward Void Immortal.

"Troubling you, young friend."

Void Immortal glanced at Ji Ning with a smile, then strained to control the circling cloth strips. Though they seemed ordinary, they kept the black lotuses from breaking through at all—mainly because Mistrock Planet Lord charged at the forefront, cutting down more than half the black lotuses before they could even draw near.

"I just watch here?" Ji Ning flew to Void Immortal's side, puzzled. The others—Mistrock Planet Lord, Blackmist World God, Goldcloud World God, and Tianqiang Immortal—were all launching fierce attacks.

"You just watch here," Void Immortal transmitted. "Don't be fooled by my current defense—this is nearly my limit. If Black Lotus God-Emperor grows stronger, I won't hold out. And in close combat, I, a Chaos Immortal, am far inferior."

Ji Ning nodded.

Chaos Immortals are inherently weaker than World Gods, as World Gods typically also train in divine body cultivation, excelling in every aspect.

"Ji Ning, just protect Void You," Mistrock Planet Lord's voice echoed in Ji Ning's mind.

"Yes." Ji Ning understood.

And so Ji Ning watched 'leisurely.'

Void Immortal was giving his all.

Mistrock Planet Lord, Blackmist World God, Goldcloud World God, and Tianqiang Immortal were also fighting desperately.

Black Lotus God-Emperor's eyes blazed with killing intent, showing no mercy.

"It seems Black Lotus God-Emperor is the strongest," Ji Ning thought. "Mistrock Planet Lord is slightly weaker. Next comes Void Immortal! After him, Blackmist World God. Goldcloud World God and Tianqiang Immortal are even weaker."

Ji Ning clearly saw the gaps in strength among World-level experts.

Just as Ji Ning was watching leisurely—

Black Lotus God-Emperor, clearly frustrated with the situation, roared: "Third move of the Black Lotus Forbidden Art—Black Lotus Realm!"

Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Countless black lotuses, which had been falling from the sky and rising from the ground, now appeared in every inch of space within a million li—including around Void Immortal and Ji Ning, where tiny black lotuses began to emerge.

"Not good."

"Careful."

Everyone's expression changed.

Void Immortal willed it, and a massive black shadow enveloped him and Ji Ning. Within the hundred-zhang range of the shadow, all the black lotuses shattered.

Blackmist World God and Goldcloud World God were relatively at ease; as World Gods, they could withstand occasional attacks.

"Careful." Mistrock Planet Lord diverted some attention to protect Tianqiang Immortal.

"All of you will die."

Black Lotus God-Emperor stood coldly on the huge, slowly rotating nine-petal lotus, while the countless black lotuses everywhere—sky and earth—madly attacked the World-level experts.

Void Immortal manipulated the shadow, which blocked everything within its area.

Boom, boom, boom. Countless tiny black lotuses charged at the shadow, exploding on impact, surging forward wave after wave.

"Young friend Beiming." Void Immortal's face changed. "I'll use my treasures to block these lotuses as best I can, but if I fail, you help defend. Try to keep them from hitting my 'Shadow God-Idol' too much."

As he transmitted to Ji Ning, Void Immortal immediately activated the cloth treasure.

The cloth strips spun in circles, part of them diverting to surround Void Immortal, blocking over ninety percent of the charging lotuses. But some lotuses were born on the spot, and those closest still charged at the massive shadow.

"Leave it to me." Ji Ning's body flickered, expanding to a hundred zhang tall. Holding the divine sword Ziguang Qiong, the sword extended beyond the shadow's protection. With a twist of his sword-light, he blocked most of the area around him.

The sword-light formed a black hole, constantly weakening the power of the black lotuses.

At this moment, the terror of the 'Heartsword Style' was evident. Ji Ning's perfect control over the sword, especially his Brightmoon sword-art's 'Mind-Heart Style' which excelled at deflecting force, meant only ten percent of the black lotuses' power struck him directly. That ten percent, weakened by his world power and distributed among his thousand-plus Ancestor avatars, was negligible.

"Whew." Void Immortal breathed a sigh of relief.

With Ji Ning blocking most of the lotuses, he was much more relaxed.

Ji Ning and Void Immortal were relatively at ease, mainly because Void Immortal relied on his cloth treasure and Shadow God-Idol, with Ji Ning's help to tide over the crisis.

"This Black Lotus God-Emperor is too powerful, taking on several World-level experts and still gaining the upper hand." Ji Ning peered through the gaps in the spinning cloth at the distant Black Lotus God-Emperor.

"Black Lotus."

Mistrock Planet Lord roared.

His handsome face turned ashen gray, and his hands also turned ashen gray, making him look like a statue. At the same time, his aura surged. The six divine swords in his six hands turned into even more dazzling rivers of stars. The same sword technique, but its power increased tenfold.

Boom, boom, boom, boom—

Countless black lotuses shattered. The sword-light easily broke through the countless tiny black lotuses, directly reaching Black Lotus God-Emperor and striking the huge nine-petal black lotus.

Boom, boom, boom—The slowly rotating nine-petal black lotus, struck by the terrifying sword-light, began to tremble and shake.

"Is this your Mistrock Star's 'Mistrock Annihilation Chapter'?" Black Lotus God-Emperor was startled.

"Die!" Mistrock Planet Lord's skin had turned rock-like, and his momentum grew even more violent, causing cracks to appear in the nine-petal black lotus.

...

"Mistrock Annihilation Chapter." Ji Ning was secretly shocked. "And the third level."

The third level of the Mistrock Annihilation Chapter turns the entire body into mistrock, greatly boosting power. The body becomes comparable to a Dao treasure. But divine power drains quickly during this burst, and once exhausted, one truly turns into a statue. So this divine ability is only used in the direst of circumstances.

Now, without using this secret art, they were all at a disadvantage. Mistrock Planet Lord was clearly anxious.

"This counts as true Perfection," Void Immortal said in admiration. "The Planet Lord's cultivation time is short, but with this divine ability, he has reached the Perfection level."

"Perfection?" Ji Ning was puzzled.

Now Black Lotus God-Emperor was being completely suppressed; no tiny black lotuses appeared around them, showing he was too busy to manage.

"Mm." Void Immortal nodded with a smile. "World-level experts can be roughly divided into several levels based on strength."

"The first level is those who have just broken through to the World level. At that stage, they are the most inexperienced and weak—the threshold of the World level."

"The second level is ordinary World-level. Every World-level expert can reach this after some time."

"The third level is top-tier World-level. Blackmist, with his attack-oriented sword dao and World God divine body, falls into this category. I'm actually also at this level... but I have more tricks, so I'm slightly stronger."

"The fourth level is World-level Perfection. Mistrock Planet Lord and Black Lotus God-Emperor are both at this level."

Ji Ning nodded. "Is there a higher level?"

"Yes. If they had an Eternal Divine Weapon, they would be called Apex World Gods." Void Immortal said. "This is a common classification for World-level experts across the endless territories. As for why it's divided this way, you'll understand once you become a World-level expert."

Ji Ning nodded.

Not being a World-level expert himself, he naturally didn't fully grasp the mysteries of World-level cultivation.

According to Void Immortal's classification... Northrest World God should be considered an Apex World God. The dead servant he saw in the lakeside courtyard at the Suifeng Ruins should also be an Apex World God.

"Is there anything above Apex World God?" Ji Ning asked curiously.

"Yes."

Void Immortal nodded. "There are World Gods so terrifying you can't understand why they're so powerful. Some have pushed the power of Eternal Divine Weapons to the extreme; others follow paths of cultivation that are incomprehensible—perhaps from some bizarre, heaven-defying inheritance. But those are legends. I've traveled through many territories, and I've only seen one such terrifying existence. At least in our Damo Territory, there are none. So Apex World God is already remarkable."

Ji Ning nodded inwardly. No wonder Northrest World God was so formidable—but he still fell.