The Seamless Gate's Reckoning

"No need," Ji Ning shook his head.

"What do you need? What are you lacking? Just say it," Subhuti said. "The Three Purities, Tathagata… they all feel they owe you."

Ji Ning shook his head again.

He had already acquired the vast inheritance of World God Northrest, and he could also obtain the treasures of the countless prisoners within the World Prison. He truly had no need to beg for anything from the great powers on his own side.

"Little junior apprentice-brother." Houyi looked at Ning.

Ning looked back at this plain, unassuming man. The legendary 'Houyi' the Great God still appeared utterly ordinary, like a mere mortal. Yet Ji Ning felt great admiration for him. After all, Houyi had dominated the Three Realms in ancient times with his archery! And now, using an axe, he had directly wounded Daofather Magic Hand. Just how powerful would he be if he used his bow? Truly unfathomable. Houyi's recent intervention had shocked every faction. What stunned them wasn't just the revelation of his identity, but the fact that the 'Supreme Archer of the Three Realms' was this terrifying even with an axe.

"The struggle for qi of fortune ultimately only influences the final decisive battle between our two sides," Houyi said. "That final battle depends primarily on the great powers themselves! The stronger a great power, the greater their influence. Having one or two extra existences at the leader level has an enormous impact on the overall situation. If we had an additional existence on the level of Pangu, we could sweep everything before us. Qi of fortune would become completely useless."

Ning nodded.

"So focus on your cultivation," Houyi looked at Ji Ning. "Train well. Since you're not participating in the struggle for qi of fortune, then don't participate. Focus on your cultivation. The most important thing… is still that final battle."

"Yes." Ning agreed.

He didn't mind not participating in the struggle for qi of fortune.

What he truly sought in his heart was the annihilation of the Seamless Gate. His deepest desire was to personally slay the Godking.

The All-Demon Realm.

"Windfiend, I am truly unwilling to let the Myriad Things Envoy withdraw from the qi fortune struggle." Daofather Magic Hand's pretty face was frozen, her eyes brimming with murderous intent.

"There's no harm in the Myriad Things Envoy not participating," Master Stonerule, who was beside her, said instead. "Although Ji Ning's true body was destroyed, he still has his Primaltwin. Using that Primaltwin to control the Rahu Formation… if he were to capture another Myriad Things Envoy, he would be able to unleash power close to the leader level. Then, a single one of him would be worth a group of Myriad Things Envoys."

"Letting him capture one is enough. How could he capture a second?" Magic Hand sneered.

"Ji Ning isn't acting alone. He also has the army of Nuwa's camp to assist him. In war, nothing is certain," Master Stonerule shook his head. "Moreover, we were in the wrong this time. If we don't suffer some losses, the furious Nuwa camp might truly force a decisive battle. You also saw Houyi's strength just now."

"I was careless. I never imagined he was Houyi. If I had known it was him earlier, would I have used only one hand to deal with him?" Daofather Magic Hand shook her head. "If I had gone all out, who knows who would have won or lost."

The Lord of All Demons, who had been silent all this while, said calmly, "But Houyi used an axe. What if he had used his Houyi Divine Bow?"

Magic Hand was startled.

"Houyi's strength is clearly far greater than in ancient times. I can vaguely sense a threat from him," the Lord of All Demons shook his head. "The true purpose of the Myriad Things Envoy is to be controlled by a Daofather to fight against leaders. The qi fortune struggle… if we don't interfere, then we don't. Being able to ensure Ji Ning doesn't interfere either can barely be considered worthwhile."

"Oh, right. Did you destroy that Myriad Things Envoy?" the Lord of All Demons asked.

"Destroyed," Daofather Magic Hand nodded.

The original plan had multiple layers.

Destroying the 'Myriad Things Envoy' was one of those layers. By destroying a crucial part of it, if they could bring it back, Master Wuxiao would be able to repair it with ease. However, Nuwa's camp lacked the core formation diagrams and would be utterly unable to fix it.

"That's good," the Lord of All Demons nodded. "This Ji Ning won't be able to interfere in the qi fortune struggle and can only participate in the final battle. And without the Myriad Things Envoy, his threat is greatly diminished."

"In the final decisive battle, Ji Ning won't amount to much at all," Daofather Magic Hand said calmly.

"His true body has been destroyed, and his Primaltwin follows the Ki Refining path," Master Stonerule said. "Relying solely on Ki Refining, it's impossible to reach the leader level."

Indeed.

Looking across the Three Realms, whether in Nuwa's camp or the Seamless Gate, those who stood at the very pinnacle—

Figures like the Three Purities, Tathagata, and Fuxi were True Gods born from the primordial chaos who later reincarnated, yet all of them still walked the path of dual Fiendgod Body Refining and Ki Refining! Shennong, Suiren… all of them possessed formidable divine bodies. As for Patriarch Subhuti and Old Man Yuan, they were also Primordial True Gods! On the Seamless Gate's side, Daofather Magic Hand, the Lord of All Demons, and Master Stonerule were all close-combat fighters, all of them dual cultivators of Fiendgod Body Refining and Ki Refining!

Theoretically.

A Ki Refiner could also reach the leader level if their level of Dao comprehension was high enough.

But firstly, no one in the Three Realms who had become a leader was a pure Ki Refiner.

Secondly, relying solely on comprehending the Dao to become a leader required time. Ji Ning hadn't even fully comprehended a single 'Heavenly Dao' yet; he was still far from becoming a leader.

Thus, it was perfectly reasonable for the Seamless Gate to believe that after the destruction of Ji Ning's true body, his threat was greatly reduced.

"With only his Primaltwin left, his threat is much smaller. His cultivation time is short. His disadvantages are too obvious," Master Stonerule shook his head. "This Ji Ning is indeed a monstrous talent. If you gave him a hundred thousand years, he might become a major threat. But does he have enough time to cultivate?"

"Mm."

"I still feel that giving up the Myriad Things Envoy's participation in the qi fortune struggle has too great an impact," Daofather Magic Hand frowned.

"There is no need to discuss this further," the Lord of All Demons said. "By the way, Stonerule, how did your discussion with Old Man Yuan go?"

"He wants all three secret manuals of our Seamless Gate," Master Stonerule sighed. "Not one can be missing. Only if we give him all three secret manuals will he be willing to join our Seamless Gate."

"All three secret manuals? He wants all of them?" Daofather Magic Hand sneered. "This Old Man Yuan is truly ambitious. I myself have only studied two of those secret manuals."

A very, very long time ago.

Back when the Seamless Chaosworld was still intact, the Lord of All Demons (Demonheart) once roamed the primordial chaos and fortuitously obtained three profoundly mysterious secret manuals: the Seven Hearts, the Whirling River, and the Shadowless. These three secret manuals were also the Lord of All Demons' most important supreme arts. His ability to unify the entire Seamless Chaosworld so quickly back then owed a great debt to these three secret manuals.

To win over his subordinates, the Lord of All Demons had bestowed copies of the manuals.

He was willing to teach the Whirling River and the Shadowless. However, the Seven Hearts was originally known only to the Lord of All Demons himself. Later, after the Lord of All Demons saved the entire Seamless Gate, the Lord of All Demons (the original Demonheart) had already merged with the Heavenly Dao, yet he still transmitted the Seven Hearts to the current Lord of All Demons.

This meant… within the entire Seamless Gate, only the original Lord of All Demons (Demonheart) and the current Lord of All Demons had fully read all three secret manuals.

"The Seven Hearts is a Heartforce technique," the Lord of All Demons said. "In truth, many great powers cannot use it. One must reach the fifth level of Heartforce to be able to study this technique. Actually, it's not impossible to truly teach these three secret manuals to Old Man Yuan. After all, his faction has quite a few great powers, and their overall strength is considerable."

"Mm." Master Stonerule and Daofather Magic Hand nodded.

The strongest members of Old Man Yuan's faction were the Four Ancestors of Yuan River! Beneath them, they also had other great powers. Even Old Man Yuan, whose displayed strength was already close to the leader level… who knew if he was hiding even more power?

Thus, this was an extremely powerful faction. Both major camps were trying to win them over.

"My worry is that if we give him the three secret manuals, he might turn around and defect to Nuwa's camp," the Lord of All Demons said. "I've heard that among the chaos aliens, there is something called a 'Life Oath'. But we have no idea how to make someone swear a Life Oath."

"I'll go negotiate with him again," Master Stonerule frowned. "We must win Old Man Yuan over to our side. If they come to us, Nuwa's camp will lose that much strength. One side gains more, the other loses some… the impact is enormous. We must win him over. Also, Windfiend, I'll leave the other matters to you."

"Mm. Leave the chaos regions to me," the Lord of All Demons nodded. "From the Dawn War to the present, most of a chaos cycle has passed. Although we have hidden many of our methods, Nuwa's camp is equally not to be underestimated. Don't forget, Nuwa herself reached the World God level. The foundations of Nuwa's camp are truly unpredictable."

Both sides were cautious.

The struggle for qi of fortune was merely one factor influencing the power of the two sides. Yet both camps were desperately fighting for any factor that could bring them victory. Because once the final decisive battle erupted, it would be a fight to the death.

…

Within the endless chaos.

On a frozen star. This star was completely nameless, not even possessing a proper name. Yet, it was the star where Ji Ning had hidden the World Prison.

And now, Ji Ning, who had been forgotten by the Seamless Gate and was no longer considered a threat, quietly appeared here.

"The World Prison." Black-robed Ji Ning stood deep within a ravine, gazing at the endless ice before him. "In the days to come, until there is some truly earth-shattering development, I will quietly stay within the World Prison and focus on finding a way to increase my strength."