The Blood Lotus Blooms

Some True Gods and True Immortals were far weaker than Ji Ning, possessing merely ordinary Daofather-level power. Ji Ning would defeat them easily, gaining almost nothing from the encounter, and would spend perhaps half a day in contemplation.

As for the more formidable True Gods and True Immortals, or those who employed bizarre and unusual techniques, Ji Ning would carefully meditate on the battle for seven or eight days afterward.

It was the twelfth month of Ji Ning's ongoing purge. Deep within a region shrouded in gloomy, dark mist, a True Immortal was imprisoned. The booming sounds of a fierce battle erupted, causing the misty shroud to tremble violently.

Within the mist.

“Go!” The violet-eyed woman, looking half-mad, pointed at Ji Ning. A torrent of countless black beams of light shot towards him.

Ji Ning held his twin swords, treading upon the void as he walked forward leisurely.

He was in no hurry to close the distance and strike his opponent down. Instead, he strolled through the air step by step, giving her ample time to attack him. After all, while collecting treasures to restore the ‘Violet-Light Qiong Divine Sword’ was important, his own strength was the true foundation. He had to engage each of these True Gods and True Immortals in serious combat.

“Hua, hua, hua~~~” Ji Ning’s sword-light flickered in an erratic, unpredictable manner. He was using the offensive ‘Shadowless Stance’, yet it effortlessly blocked every incoming attack. His sword-art had clearly reached a sublime level, far surpassing his opponent’s.

“Is… is that your ultimate technique?” Ji Ning asked as he continued to walk.

The violet-eyed woman’s face was pale. She let out a low shout: “Retreat!”

Whoosh. Innumerable black beams of light immediately flew back into her body, restoring a bit of color to her cheeks.

“You are far too powerful for me. I will submit to you,” the violet-eyed woman said bluntly.

“One hundred and ninety-two,” Ji Ning murmured to himself.

The violet-eyed woman was startled. What did this jailer mean by reciting this number?

“Mm,” Ji Ning pondered. “I have already swept through one hundred and ninety-two True Gods and True Immortals in this World Prison. That’s the majority of them. With this many magic treasures… I estimate it should be enough to restore the surface layer of the Violet-Light Qiong Divine Sword.”

Previously, he had used all the magic treasures from the Empyrean Gods and Celestial Immortals, plus a small quantity from the True Gods and True Immortals, to restore one-fifth of the Qiong Divine Sword.

The treasures he had collected this time were far more numerous. It might just be enough.

“I’ll go and try,” Ji Ning decided. He would temporarily halt his purge and go to repair the Violet-Light Qiong Divine Sword.

Of course, before leaving for the repairs, he had a necessary task to complete.

Ji Ning reached out and placed his palm on the violet-eyed woman’s head. He never missed an opportunity to search the memories of every True God or True Immortal he conquered. One of them might provide information that would prove helpful to him.

…

Beside a beautiful lake.

The white-robed youth, Ji Ning, descended. With a wave of his hand, an emerald-jade palace appeared on the grassy lakeshore, and a collection of massive sword-art steles descended around it. Following that, three thousand six hundred enormous Heavenly Stargold Beads descended, encircling the area from all directions.

Ji Ning then stepped into the emerald-jade palace and sat down on a meditation mat, beginning his quiet cultivation.

After every battle, he would meticulously contemplate every scene of the previous fight.

Although he had already decided to go and repair the Violet-Light Qiong Divine Sword after this battle, Ji Ning remained calm, first taking the time to meditate on his last duel.

Time flowed on…

Ji Ning sat in silent meditation. A little over a day passed before he opened his eyes and rose to his feet.

He was in a good mood now. Over the past year, his sword-art had improved slightly. He had also acquired a sufficient number of magic treasures, which should now be enough to restore the Qiong Divine Sword. With the Qiong Divine Sword in hand, his combat power would likely break into the leader tier. Even compared to those who had reached the leader tier long ago… he might be slightly lacking, but he would no longer be far behind.

“The Ninefold Chaos Seal.” Ji Ning’s gaze fell upon one of the Stargold Beads, which was about three zhang in size, floating not far away. The surface of the bead was covered in complex, evolving divine runes. The Ninefold Chaos Seal continuously shifted and transformed, never repeating itself.

Ji Ning watched with a faint smile on his face, in a good mood.

“Hm?”

Suddenly…

Ji Ning’s heart trembled. He stared intently at the ever-changing divine runes. He watched them for a full half-hour, then sat down cross-legged on the grass and closed his eyes.

He sat there in meditation on the grass for nearly a full day before opening his eyes.

“Rise.” With a thought from Ji Ning…

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

One by one, the dense throng of three thousand six hundred Stargold Beads all flew up into the air, hanging there like a sky full of stars. As Ji Ning’s boundless divine power surged into the beads and his mind took control, they began to rapidly refine. The aura emanating from the Stargold Beads grew increasingly powerful, rising sharply in intensity, until each bead’s aura was even stronger than an ordinary top-grade innate treasure.

“The third level of the Chaos Seal… I have finally comprehended and refined it,” Ji Ning murmured to himself.

“Hm?”

In the boundless, unfathomably distant depths of spacetime, there existed a location infinitely far from Ji Ning, beyond the scope of space and the reach of time. In the past, Ji Ning had never been able to sense this place. But now, after refining the third level of the Chaos Seal, relying on his powerful Heartforce and the aid of the Chaos Seal itself, he could vaguely perceive it.

“Kill.”

An aura of endless, surging slaughter emanated from that place. Even separated by an infinite barrier, a single faint pulse of sensation caused Ji Ning’s heart to shudder. This aura also stirred the deepest killing intent within his heart—the hatred he held for the Seamless Gate, the murderous intent he felt for the Godking of the Seamless Gate.

Bearing the impact of this boundless killing intent, Ji Ning’s eyes turned red, the veins on his body bulged, and his frame trembled. Even with his powerful Heartforce, it took a long time for him to calm down.

What he did not know…

Different people, when they refined the third layer of the Chaos Seal, would sense different things. Just as Ji Ning, when he had walked the mortal world and refined the second layer, had gained a stronger sensitivity to fate. Now, because his heart was filled with killing intent and his Heartforce was sufficiently powerful, he had vaguely sensed… ‘Slaughter.’

“Inhale… exhale.” Ji Ning gradually calmed down, becoming even more tranquil than before.

He looked up at the three thousand six hundred Stargold Beads floating in the air. At this moment, the Stargold Beads… had all transformed into clusters of budding blood-colored lotuses.

The three thousand six hundred blood-colored lotuses floating in the high sky were breathtakingly beautiful.

“Condense.” With a thought from Ji Ning…

The three thousand six hundred blood-colored lotuses rapidly merged, quickly forming thirty-six enormous, blood-colored lotus flower buds.

“Bloom.” Ji Ning spoke the word.

The thirty-six beautiful blood-colored lotuses slowly began to unfurl. They had been beautiful before, but as they blossomed, an endless, terrifying aura of slaughter filled the air in every direction.

“The blood lotus blooms, for slaughter alone.” Ji Ning understood the might of the Stargold Beads in this ‘Blood Lotus’ form. The Stargold Beads now had three forms best suited to it. The first was their original form as beads, which possessed the most ordinary power. The second was the mirror form, excelling in defense. The third was the blood lotus form, which excelled most at… slaughter.

The slaughter of the blood lotus was different from the killing of ordinary weapons.

“These Stargold Beads themselves are precious materials, formed from the crystallized energy of fallen stars. But the Ninefold Chaos Seal inscribed upon them is the truly priceless treasure.” Ji Ning understood this. It was because of this Chaos Seal that he could sense fate more keenly, and even vaguely sense the source of infinite slaughter.

“Daofather Sanqing’s Immortal-Slaying Sword Formation was derived from the seventh layer of the Chaos Seal. No wonder it is the ultimate killing formation of the Three Realms.”

Ji Ning gazed at the blood lotuses. Deep within his heart, a boundless, roaring fury and murderous intent lay hidden. Yet, paradoxically, he felt an unprecedented, profound calm.

“Hm?”

Immersed in the peculiar state of mind brought on by controlling the blood lotuses, Ji Ning suddenly detected something strange within his divine body. His Fiendgod body was absolutely perfect, without a single flaw. Even the very depths of every cell were filled with absolute completion. Yet now, Ji Ning could vaguely sense an intense longing from every part of his body.

It was as if his entire body was famished.

Ji Ning’s sensation was vague and indistinct, but he could barely grasp it. Suddenly, he understood. He softly murmured, “The ‘Forlorn World God’ method taught that one must seek a single spark of spiritual light within endless desolation. When it is found, one can step into the True God realm.”

“It seems my divine body has long been waiting, long been starving. I simply couldn’t perceive it before, and didn’t know what to do.”

“Now, I have found it.”

“I have found that spark of light.”

Ji Ning revealed a faint smile as he whispered to himself.

(End of this Volume)

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