Chapter 309: The Holy King's Bestowal, A Woman Named Chiji

Chapter 309: The Holy King's Bestowal, A Woman Named Chiji

"This doesn't feel right..." Ji Jingqiu whispered to himself.

He enveloped himself in Wuliang Light, evading the sweeping Heavenly God's Light above that seemed to be clearing the area.

At the same time, he managed to protect the hostages.

The vast and dense light, as thick as mercury, reached its peak, leaving no room for any other power to emerge. It was like the inundation of heaven and sea, illuminating the cold universe and starry sky.

"Don't worry, it's just a timely manifestation of a projection," Helra reassured him. "If this divine form is destroyed, your consciousness can always return to the main body."

"I sense a hint of schadenfreude in your tone," Ji Jingqiu said suspiciously.

"Pfft, have you forgotten that your lineage took the revered name of the Holy King's lineage?" Helra dropped the act, clearly enjoying the misfortune of others. "That bastard Mu Shitian borrowed the revered name of the Holy King's lineage to make up for his shortcomings in the Dao. Who's going to pay back this debt?"

"If this guy has autonomous consciousness, he could trace back a million years with a single thought. It's a miracle he didn't crush you."

Only then did Ji Jingqiu realize that for the strongest beings, especially the gods, the revered name that was praised by all was an important part of their Dao.

It wasn't just a simple name, but it involved the "cognition" of all living beings, affecting many and touching upon the fundamentals of the Great Dao.

Helra added, "In fact, Mu Shitian and the five pillars 'borrowed' some things. You must have had contact with the Cangqing lineage, otherwise, how did you obtain a seed of the World Tree?"

Ji Jingqiu shook his head and said solemnly, "You're judging others by your own standards. How could such a senior care about such trivial matters with someone as insignificant as me?"

Helra played along, "Why do you need to speak so loudly during a mental exchange? It seems your will to survive is stronger than I thought."

Suddenly, Ji Jingqiu's expression turned solemn.

The projection that reached from heaven to earth extended its hand and held the Gusu Star, which was a hundred times larger than Donghuang Star, like a pearl in the palm of his hand. Unbeknownst to him, the projection lowered its head and looked at him.

"The fruit of the tree becomes the cause, bearing the sufferings of all living beings. The spirit is not weak, and our reputation will not be lost."

A voice as majestic as the sound of the Great Dao echoed in Ji Jingqiu's mind.

He shuddered, feeling as if everything about him had been seen through, leaving him nowhere to hide. Is this just a projection?!

The words of this being allowed him to breathe a sigh of relief.

This divine form should be safe.

"How dare you sleep next to me? I bestow upon you a strand of Heavenly God's Light. Within ten years, you shall pacify the Chaotic Abyss."

"I cannot do that, cut."

The majestic voice reverberated, like a decree from heaven, echoing through the universe. A single word could become the law of the world.

A blinding strand of light descended from the universe, like the sun crossing the sky, majestic and pure. It eventually entered Ji Jingqiu's eyebrows, traveling through the inner realm of his body, illuminating the heavens and earth, and finally intertwining with the Wuliang Light.

Ji Jingqiu faintly sensed that the Wuliang Light had undergone a latent transformation, as if a missing piece of the puzzle had been restored.

He carefully contemplated the transformation within the Wuliang Light. Compared to its previous inclusiveness, it now had an added touch of "purification."

As he was immersed in this realization...

The towering projection of the Dharma image turned its head and looked in a certain direction. It saw the standing figure, and its eyes seemed to ripple. Eventually, under the suppression of the grand universe, it faded into darkness.

The remnants of the restrictions on the four sides of Gusu Star emitted a sound of shattering.

Only a lingering echo remained, reverberating in Ji Jingqiu's heart, leaving the words unspoken.

"I have a daughter named Chiji, a virtuous and beautiful woman..."

Finally, all became silent.

"The one who bears the Sea of Suffering is indeed foolish and admirable. Even the Holy King is willing to give your lineage face." La Jiang's voice chimed in at an inappropriate time.

Ji Jingqiu paid it no mind.

He hadn't taken the Holy King's previous words to heart.

Pacifying the Chaotic Abyss wouldn't take ten years.

This strand of Heavenly God's Light was basically a free gift, and it had to come from these seniors.

He just didn't understand why the Holy King mentioned Chiji.

Did he want Ji Jingqiu to give her some leeway in the future?

Ji Jingqiu didn't continue testing his abilities but instead focused on the black heart that had retreated into the bronze coffin under the suppression of the Heavenly God's Light. It had been purified by more than half, leaving only the edges intact.

"Is this thing still useful?" Ji Jingqiu, with his high skill level and boldness, allowed his true energy to surge, grasping the edges of the heart that was barely surviving within the bronze coffin.

In an instant, all kinds of seductive sounds invaded his mind, trying to occupy his mental holy womb.

Ji Jingqiu didn't resist, allowing the enemy to enter his trap.

In the blink of an eye, an incomplete but inherently powerful "thought" was born in his heart, immediately vying for control of this body and tempting him to give birth to a heart demon.

This was the terrifying aspect of the Heavenly Demon. It could tempt all beings to fall, giving birth to heart demons regardless of their cultivation level, splitting the self, and entering any heart demon at will, never dying or disappearing.

However, when it came to Ji Jingqiu, it was inevitable that it would hit a wall.

The main source of the consciousness of this divine form was the Heavenly Demon split off using the 'Heavenly Demon Transformation' technique.

"The Formless Heavenly Demon Great Law?!"

The incomplete thought that had entered his mind paused, its consciousness not fully awake.

Is this the main body?

Has he returned?

Ji Jingqiu, on the other hand, was experiencing the power contained within this thought. With a cursory glance, he perceived the many illusory principles and great paths of destruction, devouring, assimilation, defilement, and slaughter, and couldn't help but exclaim in awe.

Indeed, it was the Heavenly Demon. Even a mere remnant of its power had condensed so many illusory great paths.

The original nature of this thought was at least at the Heavenly King level, but under the sweep of the Holy King, what remained was not even at the Heart Phase.

Suddenly, Helra spoke, "When you return to your inner realm, bring this remnant thought with you and refine it with your consciousness."

"What's wrong?" Ji Jingqiu tried, and it seemed to be possible.

"Let's do something interesting."

Ji Jingqiu didn't ask further, but instead looked at the ceremonial weapon that was slanted into the ground.

The western stronghold of the Magic Eye Empire had already turned to ashes, leaving behind not even a corpse.

Ji Jingqiu waved his hand, and the damaged ceremonial weapon came into his grasp. He swung it a few times, and it felt somewhat formidable despite its dilapidated state.

However, he could still sense the vast amount of faith power contained within the weapon, pondering if he could make use of it. He decided to keep it.

Looking around, the once towering and continuous mountain range had collapsed and flattened, leaving behind a radius of thousands of miles in ruins.

The blazing and surging Tian Shen Guang had not targeted the planet but was specifically aimed at the ceremonial weapons and the remnants of Heavenly Demons that had violated certain rules on this planet.

Ji Jingqiu calculated that this time, rounding up, it was a great harvest.

At the same time, he secretly shook his head. Besides not having the chance to test the Wan Xiang Zhong Mo, he had gained a general understanding of the Tianren transformation.

After all, it was just a divine form, limiting the display of his strength.

In terms of individual strength, this divine form of his belonged to a temporary makeshift setup, with many means not yet fully integrated into one. They were separated and isolated, and even the Supreme Law of Hangwu Ji had not been truly mastered.

Otherwise, how could it be so difficult to suppress a Great Heavenly Rank?

Next, this divine form of his needed a period of polishing and integration to stabilize his position in the Tianren realm.

With this in mind, Ji Jingqiu did not linger. He turned back, took the ransom, and prepared to find the coordinates of the semi-cave heaven that Tiansheng Lake had opened up in this area, and then left.

At this moment, over a hundred auras arrived late from the distant void.

They were the divided forces of the four powers, who had been scattered by Tiansheng Lake earlier. The Tianren warriors who had created the illusion of descending upon this planet had lured them elsewhere.

Ji Jingqiu turned back and took a glance, not intending to continue.

This time, the harvest was already abundant. The top priority now was to return, meditate on the Tianren transformation, and go back to his main body.

He had a feeling that as his divine form broke through Tianren and transformed with the boundless wisdom light, his main body also underwent some important changes.

"Next time we meet, it's best if you all prepare a divine herb in advance as a life-saving fee."

He punched out, horizontally severing the void. His domineering intent condensed into a tangible force, and his aura was boundless, stirring up the remnants of Tian Shen Guang in the heavens and earth. This caused the Tianren warriors who had just arrived to change their expressions and retreat.

"The Holy King's lineage?"

"No... That was clearly the contemporary Shen Jin of Tiansheng Lake, Wu Tian!"

"Then how could he draw upon the remnants of Tian Shen Guang?"

Listening to the discussions of his fellow disciples behind him, Qing Wang gazed at the unrestrained figure that resembled a "dragon" crossing the void and leaving. His chest heaved violently.

Just this one punch confirmed that even if he relied on the sect's resources to quickly break into the Middle Heavenly Rank and cultivated the Yaochi True Method, he would still not be a match for this Wu Tian Daoist who had already entered Tianren.

"It was a true dragon before, and now it has crossed the Heavenly Realm barrier, returning to the sea..."

Qing Wang's eyes showed worry.

"Once he stabilizes his position in the Tianren realm, among the Tianren, only those few Shen Jin and perhaps the Daozhong candidates within the sect can rival him."

In a word, the Daozhong can be summarized as—

The inheritor of the Supreme Law and the sect's next Tianzun.

Even those who had already reached the pinnacle of Tianwang, the quasi-invincible, were still below the Daozhong in the sequence of ascending to Tianzun.

Being able to enter the Daozhong sequence meant that one's talent and potential, as well as their understanding of the Great Dao, had reached an extremely high level, and they could be entrusted with important tasks by the sect.

In Qing Wang's eyes, among the Tianren levels, perhaps only the Daozhong candidates of Yaochi Fairyland had the qualifications to suppress others with their realm. They could suppress Wu Tian, who had not yet reached the perfection of Tianren.

However, the problem was that the Daozhong candidates were often only eligible to compete after reaching Tianren.

His few senior fellow disciples had already entered Tianren, and some were even close to Tianwang. It would be difficult for them to enter the Grand Universe.

"Shen Jin..." Qing Wang sighed.

There were strong cultivators among the various powers, but they were stuck at Tianren before entering the Grand Universe. It would be difficult for them to quickly become invincible in the Tianren realm after breaking through. Only the Shen Jin could achieve this in the current era.

"Senior Brother, we only found some corpses nearby."

Soon, the junior fellow disciple in charge of the search approached with a grim expression and reported,

"We didn't find any survivors. Qing Ling and Qing Xiao Junior Brother may have fallen into the hands of that Wu Tian Daoist."

Qing Wang thought of the "dragon" that had crossed the void earlier and sighed, "They probably haven't died yet. We don't have a deadly feud with Tiansheng Lake, so we wouldn't go to such lengths."

"How many Tianren do we have left now? Let's see if we can gather enough for the Xiaohunyuan He Luo Great Array. If not, we'll have to cooperate with the Magic Eye Empire."

"Also..."

Qing Wang's gaze swept across the surrounding heavens and earth, and he said solemnly,

"This planet requires a more thorough investigation. It's more dangerous than we imagined! It may contain the heritage and seal of the Holy King's lineage!"

Suddenly, someone walked over and spoke, "We've already said that this planet is taboo!"

The person who came was none other than Xihua, the Tianren commander of the Magic Eye Empire.

He spoke bluntly, "This place was the ancient barracks and training ground of the Holy King's lineage. It's filled with heavy restrictions. Our ancestors had a Tianwang Master explore its depths, but he disappeared without a trace, and his whereabouts are unknown."

"Your Majesty, Xi Hua." Qing Wang politely said, "How are your people doing?"

Xi Hua's expression darkened as he replied, "Many of them have gone missing. In one operation, we lost dozens of Tian Ren, which is no less than a serious injury for the Magic Eye Empire."

Qing Wang comforted him, "Don't worry. Since the one at Tiansheng Lake didn't choose to kill them on the spot, there's still a chance to ransom them later."

Xi Hua's expression remained grim as he said, "I hope so."

Qing Wang sighed lightly, "What we should really be concerned about now is the strength of that person."

Xi Hua furrowed his brows, "We must find their hideout as soon as possible. This time, the royal family has sent a Great Heavenly Rank expert, and the Temple's Ritual Arsenal is secretly following. If we can find him before he establishes his foothold, we might still have a chance."

Qing Wang was moved, "Your country has deployed the Ritual Arsenal from the Temple?"

Xi Hua spoke in a deep voice, "You've repeatedly emphasized the terror of the Divine Seals, so we must be fully prepared!"

"Where is that person now?" Qing Wang asked.

Xi Hua gazed into the distance, his brows tightly knit, "I've sent out secret messages, but I haven't received any news yet. I hope they haven't been affected by the seals triggered not long ago."

Following his gaze, Qing Wang saw a vast mountain range that had collapsed, and an ominous premonition arose within him.

...

...

Ji Jingqiu followed the coordinates and found the semi-immortal cave heaven opened up by Tiansheng Lake.

Hidden within the mountain, the cave heaven was crudely constructed, devoid of any signs of life, and not very spacious. It could barely accommodate ten thousand disciples temporarily.

A Tian Ren guarding the entrance of the cave heaven stepped forward and said, "Disciple Tian Shui, welcoming the return of Master Wutian Shishuzu!"

Ji Jingqiu slightly nodded, "With such harsh conditions, how will you settle them?"

Tian Shui forced a bitter smile, "The cave heaven's treasure can't even be brought to the Grand Universe, and we can only rely on a few of us to temporarily open up a virtual cave heaven. Master Wutian, you..."

The Tian Ren had already gained the ability to open up space in the void.

He saw a string of people behind Ji Jingqiu, each holding a gourd, and their breathing stopped for a moment.

These were Tian Ren martial artists from various factions!

How could there be so many?

"Have the other disciples returned?"

Tian Shui mumbled absentmindedly, "Half of them have returned, but some fellow disciples are quite far away, so they might not make it until tomorrow."

Ji Jingqiu nodded, "Send Tian Yingzi and Lou Lan to see me."

After saying this, he punched out a vacuum zone based on the foundation of this temporary cave heaven. With the stability of the Unstoppable True Force, he opened up a temporary Daoist monastery, dragging the ransom victims into it.

Not long after,

Tian Yingzi and Lou Lan arrived one after the other.

"We pay our respects to Great Master Wutian!"

Ji Jingqiu said, "I'll test the two of you. If you handle these people, how will you settle them?"

The two looked to the side and were stunned on the spot.

"This is..."

Ji Jingqiu calmly said, "On our way back, we encountered these fellow Daoists unconscious on the ground. I couldn't bear to leave them exposed in the wilderness, so I brought them all back."

The two remained silent, unable to express themselves for a moment.

Tian Yingzi cautiously asked, "May I ask Great Master Wutian, are these Tian Ren martial artists from several factions?"

"Indeed."

Tian Yingzi swallowed his saliva.

He roughly scanned the crowd with his eyes, and there were at least seventy or eighty people...

Seventy or eighty Tian Ren...

Tian Yingzi shivered, and his assessment of Great Master Wutian's strength rose again.

Capturing seventy or eighty Tian Ren at once, this strength far surpassed the evaluations of his senior fellow disciples.

Sure enough, those who dared to oppose Great Master Wutian would never have a good ending!

"Great Master Wutian," Tian Yingzi's mind raced, "These people shouldn't be completely eliminated. Tiansheng Lake, Huang Xue Palace, and Yaochi Fairyland have no life-and-death grudges, and all enmities are within a controllable range."

"I suggest temporarily detaining this group. Afterward, no matter how we negotiate with the various factions, we will take the initiative."

Ji Jingqiu said, "Do you think they can fetch a good price?"

Tian Yingzi replied seriously, "I don't suggest sending them back now. Sending them back will only provide assistance to the other factions."

Ji Jingqiu seemed to ponder, but it was also possible to settle everything together in the end. Exchanging several dozen Tian Ren for a divine herb might not be a fair deal, so he added a zero.

"Then you handle it. I've placed mental seals on them, and they won't cause any trouble for now." Ji Jingqiu spoke calmly, "Are the other disciples still well-behaved?"

"Great Master Wutian, no one is causing trouble for now."

"Mmm, I need to enter seclusion to stabilize my realm. During this period, you should focus on breakthroughs and stability. Also, send people to gather intelligence from the Chaotic Abyss Sea. Additionally, this Gusu Star beneath our feet isn't as simple as we thought. Continue the investigation."

Tian Yingzi lowered his head, his eyes glimmering, and he believed he understood the hidden meaning in Great Master Wutian's words. He respectfully said,

"Disciple understands your intention, and I will make the necessary arrangements."

"You may withdraw." Ji Jingqiu waved his sleeve, and the two of them left the temporary Daoist monastery.

After sending them off, Ji Jingqiu looked within himself and began to consolidate and cultivate after becoming a Tian Ren.

"Resources are not lacking, and you can apply for them at any time. The task for this divine form is twofold: first, to quickly pass through the wind disaster, and second, to continue tempering and refining three thousand Unstoppable talisman glyphs to complete the first layer of 'Unstoppable.'"

"No... 'Unstoppable' can be postponed a little later. It requires entering the Dharma Realm first to condense the imprint of the Great Dao."

As Ji Jingqiu lifted his hand, his entire body was enveloped in a layer of hazy light, and his eyes were filled with countless thunderbolts falling from the sky, as if heaven and earth were upside down and the sun and moon were extinguished.

In an instant, a Daoist monastery emerged from beneath his feet, rapidly evolving into a realm of destruction.

The mountains and rivers collapsed, and the land was devastated.

The sun, moon, and stars dimmed.

In the end,

The rise and fall of calamities were all in his palm.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end