The Hidden Aces of the Three Realms

In principle, both of them vaguely felt that the Inner View of the At-Ease Primordial God Scroll was more profound, yet the Forlorn World God was more complete and detailed. After all, it was a technique that had been tested by countless cultivators, so its chances of successful cultivation were far higher. Although the principles of the Inner View of the At-Ease Primordial God Scroll were marvelously profound, Mother Nuwa had only created it when she had just become a World God. The Forlorn World God, however, could be cultivated all the way to the World God level; its creator was at a far higher level of strength and insight than Mother Nuwa.

Yet from the techniques she created, Ji Ning could sense how astonishing Mother Nuwa's potential truly was. To have reached such a level within the Three Realms, a single chaosworld, was incredible. In the endless primordial chaos, in the wider cosmos beyond, what level had Mother Nuwa actually attained? It was difficult to even speculate.

“Master,” Ji Ning said hurriedly. “With this technique, does our Nuwa camp have any Elder Gods?”

Previously, Ji Ning had always believed that the Lord of All Demons was the only Elder God in the Three Realms. Even Fuxi and Tathagata had said as much.

Fuxi and Bodhi exchanged a glance and smiled.

“We do,” Fuxi said. “No one told you before because it needed to be kept secret.”

“We have an Elder God?” Ji Ning was overjoyed. “Who?”

The Three Pure Ones, Tathagata, and the others were all formidable, but they were True Gods or third-tier Ancestral Immortals. They could barely match ordinary Elder Gods through their profound comprehension of the Dao. But a true Elder God… even their simplest techniques carried the power of an Elder God. If their level of insight was slightly higher, they would be at the peak of Elder Gods.

“Of the Primordial Elder Gods born from the endless chaos, there is still one alive in the Three Realms,” Bodhi said with a sigh.

“Who?” Ji Ning asked, curious.

The Ancestral Dragon and Divine Phoenix were dead. Fuxi had been reincarnated. Zhurong, Rushou, and the other ancient Elder Gods had all died. Who was still alive?

“The Water Elder God, Gonggong,” Bodhi said.

“Gonggong? The one who smashed Buzhou Mountain?” Ji Ning immediately guessed.

“Yes,” Bodhi said with a sigh. “That's him.”

“But why has he never appeared?” Ji Ning was puzzled.

“During the great primordial war of annihilation, Zhurong actually died saving Gonggong,” Bodhi said. “Zhurong died, but Gonggong lived… All these years, Gonggong has never been able to get past that guilt. He feels he let Zhurong down, feels immense shame. It's a difficult hurdle for his Dao-heart. But there's no need to dwell on it. He will definitely appear for the final battle.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning's heart lifted. Gonggong was an Elder God by birth. Having lived for over a chaos cycle, he must have made some progress. His strength was likely considerable.

“Are there any others? Has anyone succeeded in cultivation using the Inner View of the At-Ease Primordial God Scroll?” Ji Ning asked.

“Yes,” Bodhi said with a smile.

“Suirenshi,” Fuxi said.

Ji Ning was startled. “Suirenshi? He's an Elder God? But… last time I was ambushed by the Seamless Gate, how could Suirenshi not have been able to suppress Master Stonerule?”

“Even if you lost a Primaltwin clone, the secret that Suirenshi is an Elder God could not be exposed,” Bodhi said, looking at Ji Ning. “At that time, the struggle for the fortunes of the realm was already underway. All our preparations were for that struggle. Even if you lost a clone, even if you only had one life, we would have found other ways to save you. There was no way we would have exposed Suirenshi's power.”

Ji Ning nodded. He understood.

“So the Chaos Nectar you gave us back then went to Suirenshi,” Bodhi said with a smile. “Suirenshi's level of insight was already extremely high. Even as a True God, he could match an Elder God. Now that he actually has an Elder God's body… in terms of real combat power, he is absolutely at the pinnacle of Elder Gods! With the Lightning-Serpent Teleportation technique on top of that, he will certainly give the Seamless Gate a shock in the final battle.”

“Mm.” Ji Ning was already looking forward to it. “Are there any other Elder Gods?”

“That is unknown,” Bodhi said, shaking his head. “As far as we know, Suirenshi is the only one who succeeded in becoming an Elder God through the Inner View of the At-Ease Primordial God Scroll. There might be no others, or perhaps some other True God… has been hiding their strength.”

“Understood.” Ji Ning nodded.

Great powers instinctively trusted themselves more. A secret known only to one person was a true secret. So even the ‘Enlightened Buddha,’ who had obtained a technique in the Moon Underwater Abyss and whose strength was likely extraordinary, was still regarded by the Three Realms as an ordinary Daofather. Ji Ning believed that there were probably other True Gods or Daofathers on their side hiding their true power. After all, nearly a full Chaos Cycle had passed since the great primordial war of annihilation.

In such a long span of time, anything could happen.

The same logic applied to the Seamless Gate. Their true strength was also impossible to guess.

“We cannot be careless,” Bodhi said. “Back then, the Lord of All Demons led the remnants of the Seamless Gate wandering through the endless chaos for a long, long time. What exactly did he experience during those ages? None of us know. Not even Master Stonerule knows. Only the Lord of All Demons himself knows.”

“And the Seamless Gate has developed for such a long time. On the surface, their leaders are still the Lord of All Demons, Master Stonerule, and Daofather Magic Hand. I refuse to believe that in all this time, not a single new leader has emerged,” Bodhi said, shaking his head. “Our side has great powers hiding their strength, and the Seamless Gate is no different.”

“Everything… will only become clear during the final battle.”

Ji Ning nodded.

“Plan for defeat before considering victory,” Bodhi said. “In this final battle, I still will not participate. If there is no hope for our side… I will take our remnants and flee the Three Realms.”

“Flee?” Ji Ning looked at Bodhi.

“Yes. In the primordial era, Mother Nuwa arranged this for me,” Bodhi said. “All these years, I have single-mindedly studied spacetime… If I take our remnants and flee, no one can catch us. The Lord of All Demons might be fast, but he excels in space. In terms of spacetime, he cannot compare to me.”

Bodhi had absolute confidence in his mastery of spacetime.

Ji Ning, Bodhi, and Fuxi were deep in conversation inside the wooden cottage when they suddenly heard footsteps from outside.

“Mm?” Ji Ning turned his head to look.

A middle-aged man in a green robe walked in from outside.

“You…” Ji Ning was startled.

“Ji Ning, it's been a long time,” the green-robed middle-aged man said, smiling at Ji Ning.

“Lord Cui,” Ji Ning said in disbelief. “You're here? All these years… I've never been able to find you.”

During the six hundred years his true body had been in the Moon Underwater Abyss, Ji Ning had traveled through the Three Realms searching for Lord Cui, but he had been completely unable to find him. It was as if he had vanished.

“I am the artifact spirit of the Book of Life and Death. Mother Nuwa actually entrusted the administration of this Nuwa's Immortal Realm to me. Since the Netherworld Kingdom was destroyed, I naturally came here,” Lord Cui said with a smile.

“Ji Ning,” Bodhi said with a laugh. “Lord Cui's relationship with Mother Nuwa is like your relationship with the Yellow-Furred Bear and Daoist Threelives. Do you understand?”

Ji Ning nodded.

The Book of Life and Death… was the most famous treasure Mother Nuwa had ever refined. It contained inconceivable power over fate. To refine such a treasure, Mother Nuwa must have expended boundless effort and carried it with her for a very, very long time. Naturally, the artifact spirit would be very close to her. For great powers, they often trusted artifact spirits more. After all, an artifact spirit could not disobey its master's commands; it would obey absolutely.

“I was able to separate from the Book of Life and Death long ago and cultivate on my own,” Lord Cui said, looking at Ji Ning. “I sent a clone to reincarnate, and it entered your homeworld, Earth. So we are also considered fellow townsmen.”

When Ji Ning had been weak, he had found this strange.

If Lord Cui had only cultivated to success on Earth, then he should have only served as the First Judge of the Netherworld for a short time. Yet his reputation in the Three Realms had spread throughout the endless ages.

Now he understood. Lord Cui had been managing the Netherworld since very ancient times. His trip to the homeworld, 'Earth,' was merely one instance of a clone's reincarnation.

“It's truly wondrous,” Lord Cui said, looking at Ji Ning with a smile. “I still remember that frail, weak youth… back on Earth, you were a sickly child. Yet now, you stand at the very peak of the Three Realms.”

“I must thank you, Lord Cui, for gifting me the Nuwa Diagram back then,” Ji Ning said. “Without the Nuwa Diagram, I would not be where I am today.”

The Nuwa Diagram was nothing special to Ji Ning now.

But it was precisely because of the Nuwa Diagram that he had been able to survive and obtain the aquatic estate's inheritance, to enter the Black-White College, to take first place in the Immortal Fortunes Assembly, and to become a disciple of Patriarch Bodhi… Without that initial Nuwa Diagram, even if he could have still achieved some success, he likely wouldn't have reached this point.

“I gifted the Nuwa Diagram to many, but none of them became as extraordinary as you,” Lord Cui said with a smile. “Back then, I sensed a certain resilience in you. No setback could crush you. In a place like Earth, where the path of cultivation was completely severed, you still managed to change your fate, living two years longer than the judge had originally decreed. I felt you might be able to create a miracle, so I bestowed the Nuwa Diagram upon you.”

“Lord Cui, you…” Ji Ning was shocked.

“Yes. Back then, I already sensed some of the Seamless Gate's secret arrangements,” Lord Cui said. “So I chose some cultivators I felt were worth nurturing and gifted them the Nuwa Diagram, giving them an easier start. It was just a small scheme of mine. After all, such minor schemes rarely produce truly great powers. Of those I helped, fewer than ten even managed to survive the tribulation and become Celestial Immortals.” Lord Cui shook his head, smiling as he looked at Ji Ning. “Fortunately, one of them turned out to be you.”

“Lord Cui, you have rendered a great service as well,” Bodhi said with a laugh.

“Haha…” Lord Cui laughed along with him.

“Lord Cui, I've also searched for my homeworld, Earth, but I've never been able to find it,” Ji Ning said quickly.

Lord Cui shook his head. “Of course you can't find it. It's like the Tristar Crescent Major World, which exists in a different temporal dimension. Among the countless minor worlds of the Three Realms… there are some hidden in other temporal dimensions. After Mother Nuwa became a World God, she painstakingly created these minor worlds in other temporal dimensions. Earth is one of them.”

“Even if the Three Realms experiences some upheaval, those minor worlds will remain a paradise,” Lord Cui said. “Only if the entire Three Realms is destroyed, and those minor worlds lose their foundation, will they be destroyed.”

“As long as the Three Realms is not annihilated… those minor worlds will be a paradise, unless a great power of the Seamless Gate is also capable of traversing temporal dimensions to reach them,” Lord Cui said.

Ji Ning asked softly, “May I ask about the parents of my past life…?” He could not forget the care and love his past-life mother had shown him, and his feelings for his past-life father, who had been devoted to his career, were quite complex.

“Born in a paradise, they naturally have no worries,” Lord Cui said.

“Please elaborate,” Ji Ning said, his heart easing as he pressed further.