Chapter 97: Ch.10
Situ Beiyan saw Nie Li and my covered form before Nie Li told him. "Brother Situ, there's no reason for you to fight now, you can't win even if your father helped you. I've got this, trust me."
Situ Beiyan gave him a complicated look before saying aloud for all to hear. "I withdraw my claim and I give my support to brother Nie Li."
The crowd was confused but Nie Li thanked him before telling him to let his people watch. Long Tianming took that opportunity to have his people attack and I simply raised a hand, shredding their clothes and masks. Several hundred of his people were demon beasts from the demon god sect in disguise.
Now that they were all revealed, naked before the sect, Long Tianming as well, they were well and truly fucked. Cries of outrage came from the crowd as Nie Li declared. "Long Tianming, you are a spy for the demon god sect as witnessed by this crowd here. You have betrayed the sect and brought demon god sect members within it's borders. As your opponent here and now, I sentence you and your followers to the only recourse for such actions, death!"
I waved a hand and green flames engulfed them all, burning the souls right out of their bodies. Hierarch Linglong cries out. "Stop!"
I appeared next to her and revealed myself before bitch slapping her. "If I had my way you'd join them for raising such a traitorous brat."
The rest except Crimsonblood were caught completely by surprise. I sighed and backed away saying. "Nie Li has won this battle, does anyone oppose his claim?"
My voice shook the sect and when none answered I turned to Hierarch Martialsky and raised an eyebrow. He sighed and declared. "I, Martialsky, formally announce that I will be withdrawing to behind the scenes. The Sect Master's position of the Divine Feathers Sect will go to Nie Li!" Hierarch Martialsky's voice resonated in the ears of every disciple.
The sect disciples praised Nie Li while I joined the big five for a mental conversation about my actions. I showed them what Long Tianming did, my suspicions and all the way up to what I'd shown Crimsonblood. Linglong was saddened by the betrayal of one of her own descendants but accepted his death while I told them of my cultivation level and the scroll I had filled with resources and a few deity lakes.
When I finished talking to them I took the scroll out and passed it to Martialsky. I'd long since given the pot to Nie Li as I'd fused with the last four demon beasts I could. I had no more use for it and with most of the deity lakes moved to his scroll, there was no need to keep it. There was plenty of elixirs for the five of them.
I showed him how to use it and left them to practice together. I'd transferred all the sky origin clan members to Nie Li's scroll with most of everything else now so there was little worry they'd cause trouble. I'd ordered all of the sky origin clan members to focus on cultivating and to obey Nie Li in times of battle.
It was the best I could do for them now. I removed myself from the affairs of the sect and whatever Nie Li intended on doing before going into my own secluded cultivation to assimilate all the divine energy I'd taken in.
I'd left it this long as I had plenty of things I needed to be doing before but now I was free from mortal affairs. I couldn't care less if the sage emperor shit on the sect now unless he brought more deity ranks I could feast on.
With a time barrier in place I began assimilating all the divine energy I'd acquired. Six months passed in the outside world while I'd assimilated it all. I'd finished after the first two months and risen to the sixth stage of deity rank. A whole two stages from killing and absorbing the divine energy of thirteen deities.
Frustrated, I began to send Duan Jian more resources like Nie Li did to his friends. Hell, I'd even made another scroll painting and sent it to him with instructions on how to unlock and use it. I'd grown bored inside the time barrier and finally I decided to take a nap in the house I'd bought.
I'd long since tossed up a time barrier around Nie Li's scroll so all he'd have to do is enter it and he'd be able to cultivate ten times faster than the outside world. The down side was that he couldn't put the damn thing away as the time law wasn't something he'd mastered.
I dozed off in a self induced coma with instructions not to wake me unless something interesting happened. Luckily I didn't have to explain what interesting meant because before I knew it he was waking me up to introduce guests that came five months after I'd gone to sleep.
They were the leaders of a subsidiary sect to the divine feathers sect. When the young man asked why waking me was so important, I sent my aura out and retracted it as they nearly collapsed from just my basic presence.
Nie Li, I was happy to see, had become a martial ancestor albeit the beginning stages. Lu Piao was at the late stages as was mostly everyone else in the room. He told me about the guests and I grunted. "You want something, spit it out."
He sighed. "The sky origin clan members have mostly all become deity ranks except for the ones I have and the ones you sent out to Duan Jian. They say you said they only have to cultivate and listen to me in times of war."
I nodded. "Well, that sounds about right, what's your point?"
He sighed. "I want to have them attack the demon god sect-"
I smacked him upside the back of his head, creating shock for the weaklings in the room. I snorted. "They may be deity realm experts, but if they're anything like me, they're only at the begging stages at best. You know as well as I that they won't be enough to win the fight that comes after the demon god sect is destroyed. Nor would I ask them to sacrifice their entire race for the stupidity of one man."
I gave him a harsh glare and he sighed. "Then what would you have me do?"
I grunted. "Spread more elixirs to the other sects and make sure they understand they must lock up and go into closed door cultivation. Stop being so damn stingy and self absorbed, idiot. Keep the sect closed-"
I turned to the subsect leader and continued. "-and bring in the others from the cold harsh world. Make sure they understand that all traitors are to be killed and do so if necessary."
I faced Nie Li again and sighed. "And for the love of the gods stop being so damn impatient. You've waited this long, hell, three and a half more years isn't that much longer! Once we've wiped out the demon beasts of tiny world and you've found the artifacts there, we can leave it and come back here ready to end this war once and for all. Patience is a virtue for a reason."
He gulped and nodded before sighing. "You're right, perhaps I've been to impatient. I'll see about doing as you've suggested."
I nodded. "Send a thousand dao of the dragon unattached males to reinforce the heavenly note sect. Maybe go in person and bring half a dozen martial ancestor realms with you to stay there when you come back. If the heavenly note sect falls then it'll domino until we're all that's left. As for the Skyblaze sect, I've already sent reinforcements there. Maybe do the same to the others as well. When it's time we will strike and make a crippling blow but until then defending is probably for the best."
Lu Piao asked. "Can't you handle the other deity realm experts?"
I snorted. "I can only be in one place at a time genius. Besides them, the sage emperor could strike out even as bound as he is and I am not a match for him right now. If I seek out and kill too many of his followers he'll turn his gaze to the sects to find me and all will be revealed when he sees what's going on here."
He gulped and I nodded while Nie Li sighed. "Maybe waiting is for the best. I just have this feeling like I should've doing something."
I nodded in understanding. "Why do you think I was asleep, it's called anxiety and impatience. There's little to worry about now, tiny world is protected, your master is protected, everyone is or will be protected, all we need to do is continue bolstering our strengths."
I waved them off and they left as I went back to sleep once more, dreaming of a field and my beautiful mates running through the flowers once more, my happy place.
A month later I was woken up again and this time I stayed awake. Nie Li had made deals with the other sect masters of the righteous sects for their pieces of the myriad ancestor sword each sect carried.
That along with repelling the demon god sect from attacking the heavenly note sect earned him the right to send the fifty thousand unattached males to the heavenly note sect.
The reason he woke me up and dragged me to the meeting of the sect masters that the sect master of the heavenly note sect, Nangong Xianyin had called, was because he wished to make his people known and make a war pact with the sect masters.
He wanted me to be there as a show of force of sorts. Sighing I bit into a piece of divine phaseless fruit extract. A little truly went a long way. It allowed me to connect with the heavenly dao and gather divine energy so that I may rank up upon enlightenment if I succeeded which was easily done while using the dao of the sword for me.
The heavenly dao and the lack of ability to gather divine energy without it was the reason the sky origin clan members had mostly stopped at the beginning of the deity realm. For me gathering the divine energy from other deity ranks is easy so long as I'm willing to kill that person. The not so easy part is converting it into the divine energy of the dao of the sword.
That's why it takes so damn long for one or two rank ups. I was enlightened enough on the dao of the sword to simply use their energy after converting it. What I was doing now though was different.
The divine phaseless fruit forced you to either take in all of it's energy and keep it upon enlightenment of whatever dao you followed, or it's energy faded all together upon failure. Not exactly ideal but the dao is limitless and for those who walk the path, enlightenment is always sought.
So there I sat amongst Nie Li and the other sect masters while cultivating and seeking enlightenment. Nie Li of course did all the talking and introductions. His friends had accompanied their sect masters to the meeting, including Duan Jian who appeared to have accomplished much in the time since I last saw him.
His physique alone was almost on par with that of a deity rank could bring to bare and he had barely stepped into martial ancestor realm! His cultivation technique was unique in that it would allow him to keep his mortal shell like a demon beast would.
He stood behind my chair obediently to most of the sect master's shock. When Nie Li finally got around to explaining me and why I was seated amongst the sect masters, I'd just felt my enlightenment come as I was wrapped in the sword dao.
Gu Bei and a few others there who were fated for the sword path felt their own understanding increase just by watching my own rise in power. When I succeeded in becoming a seventh stage deity, I opened my eyes as the ceiling was split into dust by micro sword energy particles. The sky lay bare before us now as the evening sun was revealed through the cloud that had been so clearly cut in half.
I breathed out a sigh knowing it'd be a three years before I could bite another small piece of divine phaseless fruit extract. I calmed my sword aura and put it away before turning to the group while Nie Li finished. "Brother Lu here is also a deity rank expert and the strongest person in our divine feather sect. If I'm right, he's just breaking through to the seventh stage of the dirty realm now."
I spared them little thought as my realm took a small step forward now. It really would take three years to digest the fruit extract, but the bonus was that I'd most likely break through to the eighth stage before it was completed.
As I finished stepping into the seventh stage I spoke to them. "As interesting as this meeting is, I've a nap with my name on it."
Nie Li gave me a sour look before saying. "The reason I brought all this up is because the time to act is now. I've finished preparing and all I need to do now is break the barrier to tiny world to reclaim the temporal demon spirit book. The demon god sect master is in closed door cultivation and the sage emperor has gone back to sleep after he'd sent out his deity beast to silence my master."
I smirked. "I've killed the deity beast and I'm sure the others have taken notice by now if nothing else. Odds are they've alerted him of the first one's death along with the twelve deity rank human and other traitors I killed that served him."
Sect master Nangong sighed. "If you can kill them so easily then-"
I waved a hand to silence her. "First of all, while it may seem easy for me, well it is, but I'd be no match for an army of hundreds or thousands. A couple dozen is my max and unfortunately the sage emperor has thousands. Not to mention he could squash me like a bug himself if he decided to. So no, I'm all for waiting. We've a hundred years before he's ready, longer if his subordinates keep failing. All I'm proposing is that we all wait three and a half years before we act. That should be plenty of time to get the majority of you all up to deity rank and those more talented, further. Then we'd have a true fighting chance."
I waved a hand at Nie Li there and said. "He's being impatient because he thinks having the god artifact would make all difference. What he doesn't understand is that once this war starts, it's not going to end until we do or they do and I for one want to use this time to push the odds in our favor more before we go looking for the artifacts we'll be using."
Nie Li scowled. "The temporal demon book-"
I cut him off. "Is stuck in the tiny world at least for another three and a half years. There's no chance of it getting out before that time unless you insist on acting foolishly. It can wait until we're ready to retrieve it, I promise! Those in that world that aren't hidden supreme experts, can't even rise past heavenly fate realm!"
"They've no chance of getting it out or breaking the barrier in that time. Hell, I'd you want to crack the barrier down a month before it's scheduled to open a portal, be my guest, just give these people a few years to raise their own forces to acceptable levels before you ring the war bells and plunge us into a life and death struggle!"
I sat back before having a telepathic argument with him. (What am I saying, do as you wish. But those you will have their blood on your hands. I've no dog in this fight as it were anyway.)
I stood up ant he asked. (What do you mean by that?)
I shook my head. (Win lose or draw, the outcome of the battle with the sage emperor has no real draw backs to me. If he's alive if you all win, Duan Jian here will lead his own forces into seclusion where those he takes will be protected from there on from any new adversaries. I'll no longer be apart of mortal affairs either way.)
Nie Li shook his head. (And if we loose you'll be just as dead as the rest of us.)
I shook my head. (Not even remotely. The outcome of this fight as I said before, doesn't effect me.)
He frowned. (If the sage emperor wins and succeeds in refining the draconic ruins realm-)
I chuckled. (Then I'll leave this reality a little sooner than I expected. Once this form holding back my real self and power expires, I'll be a full and true god again and this small reality will tremble at my presence. I'd whine out the sage emperor with a thought and shatter space and time itself, but then, you'd all be too dead to see that part.)
He sighed in defeat. (You won't fight?)
I shrugged and spoke aloud. "I'll fight, hell, I'll fight hard and to the death if need be but I'm only one man. It will take more than just me and a thousand barely deity realm experts to overcome the sage emperor and his army. Even with the book and a few pages, the barrier is already in place. As you know, a formation is hardest to destroy when it's already active. That takes time even with the proper tools. That precious time you'll need to break the time-space barrier will be bought with the lives of those you see around you and the ones that follow them."
I waved a hand to the sect masters and sighed when he finally said. "We're not ready."
I nodded and told him. "Dao of the dragon and even martial ancestor realm ancestors will mean very little on that battlefield. They'll die by the millions if we go now."
The sect masters all looked pale and queasy now. They had no problem fighting and dying to ensure that humanity survives, but to needlessly run headlong into a battle they had time to prepare for would be the height of foolishness and needless sacrifice.
Sighing I told the room at large. "Make your pacts, prepare you people and grow. In three years at least is when we'll strike."
With a thought I made another scroll painting using my internal realm as a bases. It took tons of heaven and earth energy from my own realm but nothing I'd miss. I filled it with elixirs and god growth rate demon spirits before tossing it on the table saying. "There's enough resources in there to make all of your sects at least equal the divine feather sect."
I tossed a book Nie Li would recognize next to it saying. "I've written words with my own understanding of the daos inside there. It's not perfect, but it might help. As for what the divine feather sect can offer you as leader of this alliance, this is just the beginning. Duan Jian will be my voice from now on when you all wish to know my opinions on matters."
I turned and patted his shoulder and indicated for him to take my seat. When he did I sent him all I wished to say before heading back to my bedroom to sleep/meditate and absorb the extract all the way.
It was a quick trip with teleportation so when I arrived I grabbed a hot shower before laying down. The scroll I'd left had a time barrier in it as well. I'd put one on Duan Juan's when I met him again and now all they needed was for him to explain how it worked, which were my last parting words to him.
I drifted of and found myself amongst the field of flowers and my mates once more. When I realized I wasn't alone, the flowers started to decay and I turned to meet Lucifer. He snorted. "There's where you've been running off to. Where is this place?"
I sighed. "It's a promise I made to my mates long ago. My happy place actually. I found it on a world used to ascend. We spent decades there at peace. So what is it you want father."
He flicked me an annoyed gaze before saying. "You've not grasped the second lesson in it's entirety yet. I've come to tell you that you will once you leave here. I've spoken to Gaia and she's agreed that you need to experience it in full to understand the natural order. Looks like you and I will be spending much more time together once you've learned this lesson."
I grunted. "And my mates?"
He copied my grunt of annoyance. "They're undergoing something similar themselves. Gaia is a bit soft in this matter when it comes to them but they'll either learn or be a burden to you when you've grown."
I sighed. "What is the real reason you're here? I know there's more to it, there always is is t there?"
He sat down on a throne that appeared. "If there's not?"
I gave him an annoyed glare and he smirked. "You've been growing stronger at an excellent rate. The bloodthirstiness and cruel actions you've done-"
I sneered at him. "You've been influencing my mind and emotions, I'm well aware. I've known for a while now."
He smirked and shook his head. "I'm afraid not my dear boy, it's your own essence, that spark of me in you, that's been reacting to my presence and drawing out the real you. You're evolving into the god you were always meant to be-"
The earth in my dreamland shook and he stopped talking. Sighing he changed the subject. "Once you've learned your lesson, the next reality will be a cakewalk. All you have to do is rip the laws out of some punny half divines and maybe another god of laws. I'm sure you won't have a problem with that. When you finish becoming a god of laws, I'll let you choose the next reality we go to to await your wives. Be sure it's a remarkable one please, I do so hate to be bored."
I gave him a foul look before he disappeared, leaving his throne for some odd reason. The flowers revived though and soon enough my mates, or dream mates, as it were, came back and pulled me off to run amongst the flowers and chase each other.
Every time I relaxed completely though, my mind returned to the throne that sat there, empty, for some reason. The next three years passed outside in a blink compared to my dreams. I'd made it last for as long as I could to see my mate's smiling faces even if they were just memories and dreams.
When I was woken up again, I was not happy but then, neither was the one who woke me. Nie Li's solemn face was resolute as his own deity realm was as vast as it could be in this time. He'd reached stage three deity realm now as friends around him weren't much different.
My own realm had already finished consolidating and stepping into stage eight while my mind was lost in memories and dreams. Standing I stretched and he told me about the state of things. "All the sects have reached martial ancestor or higher as the majority are deity realm experts. We've all either met bottle necks or lack the divine energy to continue. I've got another year before I can take another piece of divine phaseless fruit extract."
I nodded and pulled out another small piece and ate it while sitting in meditation. When the enlightenment came, my house was destroyed by sword energy that pierced the sky. After I finished consolidating my realm I told him. "It won't se me into the emperor realm but I'll have reached the barrier."
I took a step and teleported to Nie Li's shower. When I finished washing off and dressed myself, I headed before the sect and inspected it all. Every dao of the dragon warrior had reached the peak of martial ancestor or stepped into deity realm.
Hundreds of thousands of them were deity realm while tens of thousands were martial ancestors. Sighing Nie Li who appeared before me said. "We've gathered up all the deity lakes near each of the sects into all four scrolls over these past few years. On my command we're ready to destroy the demon god sect and every demon beast sect before marching on the ancestral demonic saint land."
I shook my head. "I've a better idea, the sage emperor is asleep, of this I can tell. I say we surprise them all now. Have all the sects enter your scroll and we head to tiny world when the portal opens. Inside, we kill off all demon beasts and take all the god artifacts that reside inside. Once we're armed to the teeth, we shatter the barrier and come out. We clean off the world's of demon beasts above legend rank and come back."
I created a small illusionary map as it showed us taking territory. "Once you sneak into the demon god sect, our elite wipe it out without a single peep getting out. An array of my own symbols can be put up by us around the sect before we attack. This way the deity beasts watching won't see as the demon god sect is wiped out. When they send someone to investigate, I'll kill them and when the rest come our own forces will be waiting in ambush. In that moment we'll deal a massive blow to the sage emperor's pet army."
Nie Li looked it over before nodding. "It works until the sage emperor wakes up."
I nodded. "He'll still be weak and we can in theory hold him off with those artifacts while you break his space-time barrier. Once that's gone, the supremes and other beings on the outside will sense what he's done and the final battle will begin. He won't be completed so his strength can be overcome and he will die."
Nie Li frowned. "How do you figure?"
I grinned bloodthirstily. "Because, after the massacre, I'll head to the ancestral saint lands and drain his bone there of emperor energy. It should be enough to pivot both of us into emperor realm and take away any chance he has of reaching full strength. I'll be using the massacre to take divine energy to send you to the peak with me as your own understanding of the dao is already sufficient."
He smiled. "We can really pull it off then."
I nodded. "With your friends arrayed to you, they'll rise to the peak fast as you do. Once the emperor energy is inside you, it should help them evolve their own daos until they to reach emperor realm as well. With all of us working together, I refuse to believe we can't take him down!"
Nie Li agreed and made the arrangements. The portal was a few months away and gave him plenty of time to inform the other closed up sects of the plan. In that time I visited the sky origin clan and told them of the plans. They were already prepared as most had reached third stage and some even as far as fifth stage deity realm.
None were beyond that though as their own daos differed and as such they were forced to walk their paths blind and alone. They were making steady progress though so there was hope yet as they had the formation arrays unique to their people to boost their power temporarily during a battle.
Two months later I gave them all the order to follow Nie Li's orders as if they were my own until we won the battle or died. I left them as I joined Nie Li outside his scroll. He was the only one besides his friends that were outside his and the other's scrolls. Duan Jian carried the other to from the sects and his own.
Nie Li has the one with all the divine feathers sect members in it so we were ready. All the other sects had actually been put inside the scroll Duan Jian carried, buildings and all. Chaos was bound to happen for a while but then the demon god sect would soon be wiped out so it mattered little.
When it was time, we stepped through the portal to tiny world and met with the nether realm master. Surprisingly not a lot had changed changed except his obvious rise in cultivation. He'd reached the peak of heavenly axis realm, well beyond what he was before we left.
Apparently he had a lot more cultivation resources than I thought when we left him. Either way I greeted him before turning to Nie Li. "Let them out. We've an entire world to search and not a lot of time to do so."
The nether lord asked. "Let who out? What's happening now?"
Xiao Yu, his adopted daughter and deity rank expert told him what we were doing. I moved a hand as I summoned the black flames tower. It shrank before us as I passed it to Duan Jian. "It should boost your own flames and cultivation once it receives heavenly energy. Put it in your scroll and let it begin doing so."
He nodded and did so after refining it. It took him a while as it was a god artifact, meant for those at the supreme level or above. I began reaching out and taking all the laws of this world inside myself. Focal points were killed in the demon beasts cases while others were spared as I ripped them from their grasps.
Yu Yan was ready and had removed her godhood, a focal point, as I absorbed them. When I got to hers I was gentle but took it all the same. The nether master let his go as if it was on fire when I got to him. The only real resistance was from the strongest demon beast, a Rakshasa and the beast that had hunted Yu Yan.
He resisted for all he was worth but died screaming all the same. As the sects were all summoned I told the warriors. "Kill all demon beasts of black gold rank and above. Spread out and search for all powerful artifacts and search all sub realms like this one. If you come across a supreme expert, tell them our plan."
The teleported away while many more were summoned and told. Once most of the divine feathers sect and Duan Juan's personal forces were let out, I brought out the sky origin clan members as well.
We'd search this rock for the artifacts if we had to refine it to do so. Nie Li took his friends to retrieve glory city and it's people into his scroll. There they'd all have a chance to go further in cultivation. Yu Yan went to retrieve her spacial ring and personal effects she'd lost when the demon beast spiritual gods had chased her.
It took a month before the old bastard from the abyss prison realm showed up. When I felt him now his power was still daunting. He was a supreme for sure, trapped like the others because of the god artifact seal.
When he sat before me, he grunted. "You've certainly come far in your cultivation. Still believe eliminating others and showing no mercy is the right thing to do?"
I chuckled. "I may have grown stronger but my heart has not changed. To leave someone as vicious as the silver wing patriarch alive, even for another moment, would be an idiotic move. People grow and change, that much is true, but greed, hate and viciousness that's apart of their character never truly goes away. They can suppress it sure, but having an enlightened moment won't change the fact that evil is apart of their nature."
He sighed. "Then you're saying it's apart of yours as well?"
I stilled and heard Lucifer's laughter as if he were right next to me. I gave the supreme expert a cold look. "I'm neither good nor evil, I'm a force of nature itself."
It clicked in my head as I if I'd heard my mother's sigh. The supreme expert frowned as I felt something change in me. My inner world was growing now, not the illusion, but the realm the world trees roots were planted in. It grew and formed as it absorbed the laws around it and converted them into my own.
The basics were there and even the laws of good and evil appeared, foreign to this world's laws.i closed my eyes as the inner world crew beyond the core to the inner crust before stopping. (I simply wasn't there yet huh?)
I opened my eyes again as I felt my own cultivation churning and I felt the barrier separating myself from the emperor realm weaken significantly. The dive fruit was almost instantly used up as it was digested fully.
The supreme expert gave me a look while I just smirked. "Thank you for that. You've helped me settle some inner turmoil that's been bubbling inside me for a rather long time. If you need to ask, I'd still kill him and anyone else I felt the whim to. Nature is cruel and unrelenting, but soft and nice at times. In two words, it's all encompassing."
I felt my nature powers unlocking now as I felt the world respond to me. Lucifer was right, I needed to understand myself better to go further down my path. It might not be in the direction he envisioned, but it was my path to tread.
Weekly Power Status
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