The Retreat and the Reckoning

“Withdraw!” the Godking sent a direct mental message to Daofather Ink Bamboo.

“Withdraw just like that? Without a Daofather Puppet to cover our retreat, our losses will be catastrophic. More than half of us will likely die. Can't you use Yu Wei to threaten Ji Ning? If he just eases up a little, the Daofather Puppet can break free and help cover the rear,” Daofather Ink Bamboo sent back in a rush. Once a full retreat and rout began, the Seamless Gate army wouldn't be able to fight with full force against the Crimsonbright Realmverse forces, and they would be slaughtered! This time was different from the last. Although the losses during the last rout hadn't been small, the power gap between the two sides hadn't been so vast.

This time, the disparity was truly enormous.

“There’s no other way,” the Godking sent back. “Withdraw. The sooner we pull back, the more of us might survive.”

“Fine.” Daofather Ink Bamboo’s expression was ugly.

“Withdraw!”

Daofather Ink Bamboo’s voice instantly rang out across the entire Seamless Gate army.

“Retreat.”

“Hurry and retreat.”

Already fighting with immense difficulty, and with signs of a rout already appearing in some areas, the entire Seamless Gate army finally turned and began a massive, chaotic retreat, surging back like a tide.

“It’s over.” The three Devouring Mountain Demon Gods also transformed into streaks of light, fleeing as fast as lightning.

The three of them could escape relatively easily.

“And they didn’t even leave the Daofather Puppet to cover the army’s retreat.” The three Demon Gods were the fastest, quickly escaping all the way back into the Seamless City. Turning around to watch the slaughter unfolding behind them, they couldn’t help but sigh and shake their heads.

“A massacre.”

“I wonder how many will manage to survive.”

The three Demon Gods could only watch from the walls of the Seamless City, not daring to get involved again.

They had run fast, so they could escape. If they were to be completely surrounded by the Crimsonbright Realmverse army, even they would lose their lives!

“That Ji Ning’s Karmic Punishment Deity is far too strong.” The three Demon Gods looked into the distance. The Karmic Punishment Deity Ji Ning was completely on par with the Daofather Puppet, Evergreen Sword Immortal, thoroughly holding him in check.

“With Ji Ning tying up the Daofather Puppet, the Seven Radiance Empyrean God is now utterly invincible.”

“A massacre. A true massacre.”

The three Demon Gods shook their heads.

Even they found the sight before them heartbreaking.

It was too brutal.

“No!”

“Save me.”

“Help!”

The panicked Seamless Gate army fled in disarray, but could they actually escape? Some turned to flee and were immediately killed. Others managed to run a short distance before being surrounded and slaughtered. As for the Heavenly God Puppets, facing such a complete disadvantage, some were overwhelmed and defeated, while others were directly suppressed and sealed away.

Run, run, run.

The Seamless Gate army fled for their very lives.

“We were told the Daofather Puppet was invincible, and now it gets completely suppressed by a single Karmic Punishment Deity. That’s what’s killed us.”

“That Evergreen Sword Immortal is useless.”

“Evergreen is the one who doomed us.”

“Ah!”

Many of the Celestial Immortals and True Immortals being slaughtered were filled with a righteous fury. Even amidst the mighty army, only a very few could escape. Most were surrounded and killed. The Crimsonbright Realmverse army was, after all, focused primarily on hunting down these Celestial Immortals and True Immortals.

…

The Western Pure Lands, Heaven Realm.

The Buddha sat high above, gazing through the endless void to witness the battle in the Grand Xia world.

“We have won.” The Buddha revealed a faint smile.

“This Ji Ning is truly remarkable. Patriarch Subhuti’s disciples are always so formidable.” Amitabha also nodded. “Ji Ning’s rate of growth is in no way inferior to that monkey from so long ago.”

“That monkey was different. He was born from the multicolored stone that Mother Nuwa used to mend the heavens, the very essence of heaven and earth. After taking Bodhi as his master, he quickly became a True God. But his temperament was hard to change… It took our Buddhist school many years of suppressing and tempering him before he slowly came to understand. Only after a long period of hiding and cultivation did he truly undergo a metamorphosis and reach the Elder God level.” The Buddha nodded.

In the ancient past, there had been many infamous, monstrous prodigies.

Those like Erlang Shen, Yang Jian, and the Handsome Monkey King, Sun Wukong… although they were not born at the beginning of creation and instead came into being in the ancient era, they were all incredibly gifted. After experiencing the great destruction of the ancient era and reaching the present day, many of them had already reached the Elder God or Daofather realm. Of course, the vast majority of that batch of prodigies had not broken through. After all, looking at the entire Three Realms, the number of true major powers could be counted on one hand.

…

The Eastern Dao Palace, Heaven Realm.

“This Ji Ning… it seems his Heartforce has reached the fourth level.” Lord of the Dao, Three Purities, nodded in approval.

“Indeed. Without the fourth level of Heartforce, the power of his controlled Karmic Punishment Deity couldn’t possibly be this strong.”

“Truly remarkable. Having reached the fourth level of Heartforce, he also comprehends the Heartforce Soul Technique. Amongst all Celestial and True Immortals, when it comes to commanding grand formations like the Karmic Punishment Formation, Ji Ning is unquestionably number one.”

The major powers below in the Dao Palace all nodded.

If at first they thought Ji Ning had only reached the third level of Heartforce, after witnessing that battle, none of the major powers were fools.

The third level of Heartforce, no matter how powerful, simply couldn’t be this strong.

But the fourth level of Heartforce…

Even without an army of immortals and fiends, Ji Ning was already on par with the pinnacle of Pure Yang True Immortals, comparable to a few of the other top-tier divine archers. With the army and the Heartforce Soul Technique added, his power was undoubtedly at the Daofather or Elder God level!

…

Outside a thatched cottage in the primordial chaos.

The Divine Farmer and Patriarch Subhuti also watched the battle in the Grand Xia world through infinite obstacles.

“Bodhi, you have taught an excellent disciple. Our side has gained another great general.” The Divine Farmer laughed in praise.

“The master teaches, but the cultivation is one’s own. He has achieved such success… I can only claim to have guided him a little. That he could reach the fourth level of Heartforce in such a short time, I truly never imagined. I always believed his talent in the sword art was greater than his talent in Heartforce,” said Subhuti. “So I actually hoped he would focus more on the sword. After all, cultivating Sword Force to a very high level is in no way inferior to Heartforce.”

“I can only say that your disciple will make great achievements in both Sword Force and Heartforce.” The Divine Farmer laughed.

…

While the major powers of the Nuwa Camp celebrated gaining a formidable new general, the Seamless Gate Camp was, of course, furious.

They had lost this Realm War!

And the Nuwa Camp had gained a fierce warrior like Ji Ning. A single Ji Ning was probably a greater threat than the three Devouring Mountain Demon Gods combined. It seemed that within the Seamless Gate Camp, only those truly fearsome Celestial and True Immortal existences who had suppressed the most important domains in the Three Realms for generations could compare to Ji Ning.

As for a Celestial or True Immortal absolutely stronger than Ji Ning… there really wasn’t one!

Of course, there had been some in history.

The strongest Celestial Immortal in history, Houyi, when he was still a Celestial Immortal, had single-handedly killed a Daofather! Even the current Ji Ning, leading an army of a million immortals, would still be hard-pressed to avoid defeat if he faced a true Elder God or Daofather. So, he was still far inferior to the legendary Houyi. However, in the present-day Three Realms, there was no such monstrous prodigy.

“We actually lost. We used a Daofather Puppet and still lost.” In the All-Demon Realm, the Wuxiao Celestial Immortal stared at the mirror before him, which was displaying the war scenes from the Grand Xia world.

“My Daofather Puppet could not even defeat a Ji Ning? He has only been cultivating for a hundred years.”

The Wuxiao Celestial Immortal was furious.

“Fool, idiot, waste.”

He ground his teeth in rage. “That Evergreen Sword Immortal, who was controlling the Daofather Puppet, is a complete waste! He might be skilled at controlling swords, but his Sword Force has only reached the second level. If his Sword Force had reached the fourth level, wouldn’t he have killed Ji Ning easily? Ji Ning has only been cultivating for how long, and his Heartforce is already at the fourth level.”

“What do I do, what do I do?” The Wuxiao Celestial Immortal fumed in every possible way.

He suddenly realized…

Killing Ji Ning had already become incredibly, incredibly difficult.

“No matter what, I cannot let that waste Evergreen Sword Immortal control the Daofather Puppet any longer. He is a complete failure.” In his rage, the Wuxiao Celestial Immortal completely blamed the Evergreen Sword Immortal.

The Daofather Puppet was determined to flee. Although Ji Ning tried to block it many times, he could only slow it down a little. Before long, the Daofather Puppet still managed to escape into the Seamless City. After all, the Daofather Puppet was truly flawless; Ji Ning couldn’t damage it in the slightest.

“Victory!”

A thunderous roar of triumph erupted across the entire battlefield. Countless immortals and fiends shouted in excitement, their blood staining the wilderness until it ran in rivers.

The towering Karmic Punishment Deity stood together with the Seven Radiance Empyrean God, staring at the distant, black Seamless City.

“It’s over.” The Seven Radiance Empyrean God sent a mental message. “The Seamless Gate has suffered devastating losses. Less than twenty percent of those who fled will make it back. This Realm War is truly over.”

“Yes.” The Karmic Punishment Deity, Ji Ning, nodded.

“Ji Ning, with your current breakthrough in power, you should be able to undergo the Empyrean Tribulation, right?” The Seven Radiance Empyrean God sent another message.

PS: Tomato will post some more photos on WeChat today. Follow my WeChat to see them. You have all been incredibly supportive with your monthly tickets. In a few days, I plan to hold a ‘Giveaway for Signed Books’ event on WeChat. These won’t be ordinary signed books; I’ll personally sign them, personally mail them, and you can also have me write ‘For XXX’ on them… If you want a specially customized signed book, hurry and follow my WeChat. I will announce the event on WeChat.

My WeChat ID is fanqie34. You can also search ‘I Eat Tomatoes’ to find me.