Book 21, The Bloodlotus Blooms, Chapter 22 – A Deadly Crisis
The remnants of the Seamless Gate’s army departed from the Deerchaser world, the scene of the Seamless Gate’s most catastrophic defeat.
“Eh?”
As they were leading their shattered forces away, their hearts filled with misery, the black-robed Godking and Daomother Devilhand were both stunned.
“The Fiendlord is summoning us?” The Godking was puzzled.
“Why is Windfiend summoning us? He never gets involved in these things.” Daomother Devilhand was puzzled as well. Neither of them, however, hesitated at all. They immediately sent their coresense to the Allfiend world, using it to manifest an incarnation that descended upon it.
The Allfiend world. Windfiend Palace. At the very tip of the palace, clouds and mist could be seen swirling about four figures who had gathered here. These four could be considered the true leaders of the Seamless Gate.
They were the Lord of All Fiends, the Keeper of the Everwood, Daomother Devilhand, and the black-robed Godking.
“Uncle-master, why have you summoned all of us here?” The black-robed Godking had the lowest status of the four, and so he spoke in an extremely respectful manner.
Keeper Everwood and Daomother Devilhand looked towards him as well.
The Lord of All Fiends said solemnly, “Just now, Demonheart showed himself. He had a chat with me.”
Instantly, everyone’s hearts clenched.
Demonheart….
The undisputed king of the Seamless Chaosworld. Everywhere he went, he brought warfare with him. There were no enemies that could stand against him, and no one could surpass him in his mastery of strategy and in his mastery of the heart. He had led the Seamless Chaosworld in its war against the Pangu Chaosworld, and had inflicted repeated, disastrous defeats upon the Pangu Chaosworld.
But at the critical moment, the alien Outsider known as the Lord of All Things who had been manipulating the conflict behind the scenes made his appearance. Then, Mother Nuwa had suddenly made a breakthrough to become a Pangu-level God as well, allowing her to absolutely dominate all her enemies. Only then did Demonheart suffer such a humiliating defeat. However, no one doubted Demonheart’s power.
“He appeared?” Keeper Everwood frowned. “He’s already merged himself into the Heavenly Daos. Even if he did appear, it would’ve been nothing more than a clone that was manifested from the natural energy of Heaven and Earth. He was the one who started the first war. What is he scheming now?” Keeper Everwood was the most peace-loving member of the Seamless Gate. He was extremely unhappy with how Demonheart had caused this new war.
However, the secret whispers of fate had also indicated to him that if they didn’t fight, the only result would be utter annihilation. Thus, there was no way for him to oppose it.
“Everwood.” The Lord of All Fiends looked towards him. “I know what type of a person you are…but you need to understand that at a time like this, we simply cannot be merciful and soft-hearted. To be merciful to them is the same as being merciless to our brothers, elders, and younglings of the Seamless Chaosworld! Now that things have reached the life-and-death stage, we need to be even more merciless than before!”
Keeper Everwood nodded, his aura becoming a bit more vicious. “Don’t worry. When the time comes…I won’t show mercy.”
“We have already lost the war for the Deerchaser world.” The Lord of All Fiends continued, “This was because a major new variable appeared. Ji Ning.”
“Ji Ning is clearly just an Empyrean God and True Immortal, but he was able to wield his Rahu Formation to great effect, unleashing a level of power that was comparable to that of a top-tier Daofather’s. In fact, he was able to completely suppress the Envoy of All Things in might. Now that Ji Ning also has the Envoy in his hands…he is like a tiger that has gained wings. If Ji Ning is to appear on any battlefield during the rest of the war for karmic luck, the advantage we have from our Envoys would be completely nullified.”
Everyone present nodded.
“Right. He’s too formidable.” The black-robed Godking couldn’t help but agree.
“We have always left the decision of how to handle Ji Ning up to you.” Daomother Devilhand said coldly, “And now, that young fellow has grown up to become such a dangerous threat. Hmph.”
The black-robed Godking’s face changed slightly, but he forced down the rage he felt in his heart. Daomother Devilhand was the easily agitated sort. In the past, there were times when she wouldn’t even give Demonheart any face, to say nothing of a junior like him.
“I was wrong.” The black-robed Godking lowered his head.
“Enough.” The Lord of All Fiends continued, “In the war for karmic luck, the Nuwa Alliance has its three major formations while we have our Envoys. We’re able to give them a good run for their money. But now that Ji Ning has appeared, and now that we’ve lost the most critical battle…our chances of winning the war for karmic luck are quite slim.”
All of them felt heaviness in their hearts.
“Thus, Demonheart suggested to me…that we should simply go kill Ji Ning,” the Lord of All Fiends said solemnly.
“Go kill him?”
“But…”
“This could very well cause the Endwar.”
All three of the others were shocked.
The Lord of All Fiends said, “At first, I didn’t agree with him either. However, when I thought it over carefully, I realized that Demonheart was right. If we kill Ji Ning, we’ll be able to take back the Envoy. Even if the Endwar begins, we’ll be prepared for it while they won’t be. And of course, if the Nuwa Alliance isn’t willing to start the Endwar, that’ll be even better.”
The Lord of All Fiends swept the other three with his gaze. “To tell the truth, we can all subconsciously sense the enormous danger that hangs over our heads. This danger is the danger of annihilation, and it has made all of us nervous. However, there’s no way to escape the Endwar. Sooner or later, it will come. When it does come, I want the three of you to stay close to me. If the situation turns grim, or if an unexpected variable appears like another alien Outsider, I’ll immediately lead you all in fleeing from the Three Realms. As long as we are able to survive, hope remains.”
“Agreed.” Everyone present nodded.
Before planning for victory, first plan for defeat. With the Lord of All Fiends on their side, the Seamless Gate’s chances of escape would clearly be quite good.
“Make your preparations for the Endwar,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “Although I predict that the chances of the Nuwa Alliance actually launching it are quite low, we still need to prepare for it. Inform that ally of ours as well. As soon as we make our move, his entire army has to move as well.”
“Of course. There’s no way we can let him just sit there and mop up the survivors,” Keeper Everwood said calmly.
“Agreed.” They all nodded.
“Our strike against Ji Ning has to be successful,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “The Nuwa Alliance has just won a great victory, and their army is currently celebrating. Ji Ning is currently within Xuan Yuan’s imperial palace. If we are going to attack, let’s attack Xuan Yuan’s palace and slay Ji Ning on the spot.”
“Attack him inside the imperial palace?”
“Aren’t we going to wait for Ji Ning to come out? If he comes out by himself, things will be much easier for us.”
“Windfiend is correct. Right now, the Nuwa Alliance is probably feeling fairly confident and relaxed, as Ji Ning is inside the imperial palace. But once he leaves, it’s possible that Daofather Subhuti will travel alongside him. Even if we were to attack, Subhuti would be able to instantly protect Ji Ning or collect him into a treasure, giving us no chance to attack at all.” Keeper Everwood agreed with the Lord of All Fiends.
The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Although the palace is a dangerous place, at least he is by himself. When we make our move, there won’t be enough time for Subhuti and Xuan Yuan to intervene. But of course, striking within the palace will be quite difficult, as Xuan Yuan’s surrounded his home with many formations.” As he spoke, he turned to look at Keeper Everwood.
“Everwood, you have many tricks up your sleeve. You should be able to temporarily tie down the Three Sovereigns by yourself for a short period of time, so you have to be involved in this. Help us tie down the major powers of the Nuwa Alliance,” the Lord of All Fiends instructed.
Keeper Everwood nodded and sighed. “Don’t worry. I’ve sparred against those old friends of mine countless times. Even if all three of them come against me at the same time, I’ll be able to hold them off for a short period of time.”
“We’ll also have to invite Darklight and Shadowless,” the Lord of All Fiends said.
The supreme figures of the Seamless Gate began to make their plans against Ji Ning, carefully plotting his death in detail.
They even came up with two contingency plans. If the first plan failed, they would use the contingency plan. If the contingency plan failed, they’d use the second contingency plan. In short, they were determined to make this mission a success. They also had to take back the Envoy of All Things! However, slaying Ji Ning was the most important part of this mission, with taking back the Envoy being a secondary goal.
The Nuwa Alliance, however, knew nothing of the Seamless Gate’s secret plotting. This was because very few members of the Seamless Gate were involved in it; less than fifteen in total! The vast majority of the major powers of the Seamless Gate were kept in the dark, with only their most supreme leaders and some of the most loyal, top-tier Daofathers knowing that they were to make their preparations for the Endwar. Each of these figures had multiple Daofathers under their command; once the Endwar actually began, they would be able to give the order and ensure that all of the major powers of the Seamless Gate would respond in an orderly fashion.
So long as the major powers weren’t caught off-guard, the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals under them wouldn’t be caught off-guard either.
The imperial palace of the Deerchaser world.
Ji Ning’s residence.
The white-robed Ning was seated silently in the lotus position, training in the [Solitary World God] technique. If he was able to break through and become a True God prior to the Endwar erupting, he would become much more powerful than he was now. The [Taowu Eighteen Fiendgods] technique and the [One True Body] technique had given him the power of a half-step True God already. If he was able to make a true breakthrough, he would be equivalent to a half-step Elder God.
Still, he was very far away from becoming a Daofather of the Great Firmament, because he had to first master a Heavenly Dao. In contrast, it was possible for one to become a True God after mastering one of the Grand Daos.
However, it was merely ‘possible’; more than eighty percent of Empyrean Gods had mastered a Grand Dao, but how many of them were able to become True Gods?
Ji Ning had already mastered a Grand Dao as well! The Grand Dao of Lightning!
When he had left Undermoon Lake, Ning had quickly mastered the Dao of Rainwater and the Dao of the Thunderclap. During the month that he had spent training in the [Icefire Jindan Smelting] technique, he had silently and soundlessly mastered the Grand Dao of Lightning! Surprisingly, it was actually the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, which he had once mastered in the past, which remained incomplete. He would most likely need another ten days or so to re-master it.
His foundation was simply far too profound. His sword-arts were at such a high level that he was able to understand these Daos at an absolutely astonishing level of speed.