The Great Purge

“Go.”

“Flee. Now.”

“Scatter in all directions.”

Following Demonheart Patriarch’s command, the grand army of the Seamless Gate collapsed in an instant. Even the mighty formations—the Seamless Unlimited Formation, the Two-Realm Calamity Dragon Birth-Annihilation Formation—shattered on the spot. Empyrean Gods and True Immortal stashed Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals into their estate treasures, then fled madly in every direction.

In the blink of an eye the battlefield was packed with fleeing celestials. Nuwa’s camp did not dare dissolve their own formations.

“Haha! Those damned Seamless bastards have wet their pants. Feiyou, let’s make a bet—whoever kills more Empyrean Gods and True Immortals wins.”

“You’re on.”

One Seven Radiance Empyrean God after another tore across the field in a wild slaughter, unstoppable. The Myriad Immortal Annihilation Formation hurled ultra-long-range strikes from afar. Earlier in the battle it had only served as support—but against mere Empyrean Gods and True Immortals it was outright butchery. Every single strike of that formation carried the might of a Daofather.

“Boom—” “Crash—” The entire battlefield thundered. Nuwa’s army butchered with all their might, killing as many as they could, because every enemy slain now was one fewer foe in the future.

The figure the Seamless Gate’s army feared most was undoubtedly the Fiendgod Ji Ning, who had transformed into a streak of black lightning.

His divine swords swelled to millions of zhang in length. Six divine swords swept across the battlefield. Wherever he arrived, he wiped that region clean, chilling the Seamless Gate fugitives to the bone.

“Hah, Darknorth, it’s worth it to have your Dao-companion die with us.”

“Darknorth, we’ll go first. You won’t live much longer either!”

The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals being slaughtered cursed him.

The Fiendgod Ji Ning killed with cold, silent fury.

He held no personal hatred for these ordinary Seamless Gate experts. But this was war. They belonged to different camps. If he did not kill them, they would kill Nuwa’s camp. There was no choice. If he wanted more of his own people to survive, he had to kill more—slaughter more—now.

…

The Seamless Gate’s army had completely disintegrated into countless fleeing Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, densely packed, escaping in all directions. Some of them eventually made it back to Seamless City.

On the city walls.

The black-robed Godking and Demonheart Patriarch watched as stray Empyrean Gods and True Immortals trickled in, while the vast majority were being butchered out in the wilderness. Their faces were grim.

What a crushing defeat!

This was a massacre!

The first time the Annihilation Hive had appeared, it had forced the forces under Xuan Yuan to retreat—but even then, Nuwa’s army had withdrawn in an orderly manner. This time, however, the Seamless Gate had been routed completely. Demonheart Patriarch had been forced to issue the order to “flee freely.”

“This is all because of that Ji Ning,” Demonheart Patriarch said hoarsely.

It was Ji Ning who, in a single instant, had breached the Seamless Unlimited Formation, slain the Boundless Fiendgod, and captured their trump card—the Annihilation Hive. And this Fiendgod Ji Ning was even able to execute the Lightning-Serpent Teleportation… With such a technique, his pursuit was terrifying.

“Damn him,” the black-robed Godking said, his eyes cold.

Time flowed like an hourglass, steadily passing.

A great number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were butchered on the battlefield. Occasionally one would escape back.

At last…

The battlefield fell silent. No living Seamless Gate Empyrean Gods or True Immortals remained on the field.

The Fiendgod Ji Ning, radiating the thickest aura of killing intent down below, lifted his head to stare at the black-robed Godking on the wall of Seamless City. The murderous will in his gaze sent chills down the spine. At this moment, Ji Ning truly wanted to charge straight into the city and fight the Godking to the death. But he saw Demonheart Patriarch standing beside the black-robed Godking. Demonheart was a terrifying existence who had fought for ages against Mother Nuwa herself during the ancient Dawn War. If Ji Ning attacked, Demonheart would have cause to intervene. He could crush Ji Ning with a single slap.

He was still not strong enough to face beings of that caliber.

…

Seamless City was filled with pain, fury, and unwillingness. But over in Nuwa’s camp, there was only joy.

On the city wall, seven great powers smiled.

“We’ve won,” Daoist Three Purities said, stroking his beard with rare satisfaction.

“When Darknorth said a month ago that he would join the battle, he wasn’t making empty boasts,” Buddha Tathagata said, beaming. “With the Rahu Formation, he unleashed such power… and look, at the very end he was even able to manifest the Lightning-Serpent Teleportation while commanding the Rahu Fiendgod. He must have mastered every shred of the formation’s power without the slightest leakage.”

“Yes,” Fuxi nodded, then said with curiosity, “I wonder how Ji Ning managed that. Perhaps it has something to do with the Moon Underwater Abyss.”

“Moon Underwater Abyss,” Buddha Tathagata echoed thoughtfully. “Since Jue Ming emerged from the Abyss, he has rarely come out and has sat in silent meditation for eons. But his strength has reached a level even I find hard to gauge. Ji Ning also escaped the Abyss on his own merits—he must have gained something extraordinary.”

“Most likely.” “That would explain it.”

The great powers chatted among themselves. The Moon Underwater Abyss had always been a mystery to them; they had exhausted every method to enter but never succeeded.

The black-robed Ji Ning was standing not far away, and he could hear their discussion clearly. Some of the great powers even glanced at him, watching his expression. But he was in no mood for such things. He was still drowning in the agony and fury of Yu Wei’s death—unable to completely emerge from it.

“Withdraw the troops,” Xuan Yuan commanded.

Seamless City.

“It’s over,” Demonheart Patriarch said, his face ashen. This was the worst defeat he had ever suffered. “Over two thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals, and fewer than two hundred remain alive.”

The black-robed Godking was silent for a long time, then could not help saying, “Uncle-Master, how could that Ji Ning be this strong? I simply cannot understand it. Could he have become a Daofather and then deliberately suppressed his aura to impersonate an Empyrean God or True Immortal? But if he were a Daofather, he wouldn’t be allowed to interfere in the battle for the fortune of the realm.”

“If he were a Daofather, he would have comprehended a Heavenly Dao,” Demonheart Patriarch said softly. “But I observed carefully. Although Darknorth’s swordsmanship is supremely profound—arguably the finest in the Three Realms—that is because he has mastered the Five Treasures Sword Art to perfection, allowing his sword to exceed the limits of the Dao, and he uses incredibly clever technique. In his swordplay, I cannot detect any other Heavenly Dao.”

“Whether in his movement arts or combat, I find no hint of Heavenly Dao mysteries.”

“And moreover…”

“If he truly had comprehended a Heavenly Dao, then the Heartfiend, who is fused with the Heavenly Dao, would certainly have sensed it,” Demonheart said, looking at the Godking. “Your master is the Heartfiend, after all.”

The black-robed Godking froze, then nodded helplessly. That was true. If Ji Ning had fully comprehended a Heavenly Dao and triggered a response from the Dao itself, he could not have hidden it from the Heartfiend Lord, whose very being was merged with the Heavenly Dao.

“Then could he have become a True God?” the black-robed Godking pressed.

Demonheart Patriarch frowned at him. “The Rahu Formation relies on divine power to command the energy of countless Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, guiding and directing the boundless energy of Heaven and Earth. Even a True God, with nothing but immense divine power, would be useless. Not even a True God could command the Rahu Formation to such an extent. Surely you know this?”

The black-robed Godking hung his head, suppressing his frustration. He simply could not accept it.

A nobody he had never taken seriously had shattered his entire war plan.

“Then what do we do?” the Godking asked. “The Annihilation Hive has been taken from us. Ji Ning has both his true body and his Primaltwin. His true body commands the Rahu Formation, while his Primaltwin can command the Annihilation Hive. With those terrifying sword arts of his, combined with the Hive… the Annihilation Hive he commands might be comparable to another Rahu Fiendgod.”

The Godking was wrong.

He did not know…

That Ji Ning’s ki was actually at the Daofather level. A Daofather-level ki commanding the Annihilation Hive, paired with Ji Ning’s monstrous swordsmanship, would recreate the power of the Annihilation Hive from the ancient Dawn War under the Lord of All Demons. At that time, the Annihilation Hive had been close to the level of a leader. Three to five of them working together could rival the leaders of the Buddhist and Daoist sects.

Clearly, whether in terms of his ki or his swordsmanship, Ji Ning could drive the Annihilation Hive to a level near that of a leader—far surpassing the current Rahu Fiendgod, and on par with beings like Patriarch Bodhi and the Source Old Man.

“He has his true body and a Primaltwin,” Demonheart Patriarch said, frowning. “Troublesome. Indeed, very troublesome. We’ll have to return and discuss this carefully. Let your master and the others think hard about how to deal with this Ji Ning.”

Not long ago, Nuwa’s camp had been troubled by the Annihilation Hive.

Now, the Seamless Gate was troubled by Ji Ning.

“We are leaving the Zhulu Major World now,” Demonheart Patriarch said in a low voice.

The war was lost. It was time to go.