Book 23, Endwar, Chapter 34 – Deception
Snick! Ji Ning pulled Violetjewel out of Old Man Yuan’s corpse. His body was comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure; destroying it would be no easy feat. Ning would have to attack multiple times at absolute maximum power in order to succeed. Still, Ning couldn’t actually be bothered to do that; he would simply use his Five Elements Cauldron to annihilate the body of this alien Outsider who had sinned against them all.
Ning wouldn’t even make use of the Five Elements essence from this body, because he viewed it to be filthy! Ning truly felt far too much hatred towards Old Man Yuan, because far too many had died because of him. Many of Ning’s old friends, his fellow apprentices, and even overlords had died because of him. All the waters of the universe still wouldn’t be enough to wash away the hatred he felt.
Whoosh.
Whoosh.
Daofather Subhuti, Buddha Maitreya, Daoist Jade Cauldron, Kuafu, and the other major powers flew over. The Lord of All Fiends, Daofather Bloodswan, and the other major powers of the Seamless Gate flew over as well.
“He finally died.” Subhuti stared at Old Man Yuan’s corpse, then said in a low voice, “This alien Outsider has finally died.”
“This is the most terrifying Outsider I have ever encountered.” The Lord of All Fiends let out a sigh as well.
“The Three Realms’ tribulation has finally come to an end.” Buddha Amitabha had a look of grief and sorrow in his eyes.
“An end?” A voice suddenly rang out from afar. “Don’t be so quick to celebrate.”
All of the major powers surrounding Old Man Yuan’s corpse turned to look. They saw Godfiend Witherspike fly towards them from afar.
“Godfiend Witherspike?” The Lord of All Fiends frowned. “No, this is just his incarnation.”
Ning and the others could also tell that this was merely Witherspike’s incarnation.
“Witherspike, what do you mean by that?” The Lord of All Fiends frowned. “Are you scheming something?”
A flicker of a killing intent flashed through Ji Ning’s eyes.
Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation glanced at Ning, then laughed. “Sword Immortal Darknorth definitely stands at the very peak of power amongst Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. How would I dare to scheme against him?”
“Then why would you suggest that the tribulation has not ended?” Ning frowned as well.
“I didn’t say that. I just said…don’t be so quick to celebrate.” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation side. “To tell you the truth, all of you have to thank me. I truly feel sympathy for you locals, after having seen you all fight so hard to protect your Three Realms. As for the Mindlord, I really rather dislike the man. That’s why I’ve come to tell you a few things.”
“Mindlord?” Ning and the others listened, puzzled.
“Old Man Yuan had an extraordinary background,” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation said. “He is one of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus, whose name is spoken of with awe throughout the entire Badlands Territory. God Emperor Blacklotus is a World God, while his Nine Divine Generals are his nine most trusted subordinates, each of whom is a supreme Elder God or Ancestral Immortal. Every single one of them is more powerful than Lord Demonheart was, while Old Man Yuan was the ‘Mindlord’ of the nine.”
Ning and the others frowned upon hearing this.
The Badlands Territory?
It was the territory that was closest to the Three Realms. Once one traversed through that spatial vortex that led outside the Three Realms, one would reach the vast region commanded by the Badlands Everworld which was known as the Badlands Territory.
“No matter how powerful he was, he’s dead now,” Ning said.
“No.” Godfiend Witherspike shook his head. “I only reached this place during the Three Realms Era, while the Mindlord arrived here during the Primordial Era…but what’s strange is that when I was in the Badlands Territory, I actually saw the Mindlord once from afar.”
“You saw the Mindlord in the Badlands Territory during the Three Realms Era?” The faces of Ji Ning and everyone else all changed.
Old Man Yuan had arrived during the Primordial Era.
How could the Mindlord have been present in the Badlands Territory during the Three Realms Era?
“Right.” Godfiend Witherspike nodded. “As you’ve probably guessed by now, the Mindlord rose to power step-by-step, starting as an ordinary mortal. He has a Primaltwin! His true body has been following and serving God Emperor Blacklotus this entire time, while his Primaltwin has generally been the body he used to wage war. My guess is that the ‘him’ that died here was nothing more than his Primaltwin.”
“What?”
“He still has a true body?”
“Shit.”
The major powers of the Three Realms were all enraged.
“But why is it that all of his soulslaves died as well?” Ning pointed towards the corpses of the major powers that were floating through the Void. As soon as Old Man Yuan had died, all of his soulslaves had silently passed away as well. “If he has a true body…his true body and his Primaltwin should share the same soul. Both would be capable of controlling his soulslaves. When his Primaltwin died, the soulslaves should remain alive, right?”
“Spot on.” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation sighed. “Logically speaking, after he died he should’ve immediately ordered his soulslaves to attack you, trying to do as much damage as he possibly could, regardless of the price.”
“And yet…he did not.”
“Instead, when he died he willed all of his soulslaves to die as well.” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation smiled. “That’s because he didn’t want you to realize that he still had a true body around.”
“He didn’t want us to know?” The major powers of the Three Realms began to understand.
Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation glanced at Ning, then let out a sigh. “Sword Immortal Darknorth…you’ve started to frighten the Mindlord.”
“Frighten?” Ning frowned.
“Yes. You are starting to scare him.” Godfiend Witherspike continued, “Because of what Old Man Yuan, the Three Realms has suffered far, far too much. I trust that all of you here would be willing to do almost anything to tear him apart, dining on his flesh and drinking his blood. If you all knew that he had a true body out there…it’s entirely possible that you would choose to venture out into the Badlands Territory to seek revenge upon him.”
“All of you have remained within just this single chaosworld, with no one to provide you with any guidance…and yet, you all have still managed to train to such levels of power. This is even more true for you, Sword Immortal Darknorth…you are already ridiculously strong, and your sword-arts are particularly terrifying. Very few Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals would be a match for you. In fact, not even the Mindlord’s true body would necessarily be a match for you! And you’ve only trained for a bit over a thousand years…given your potential, it is entirely possible that you might become a World God!”
“If you were to seek him out in the future for the sake of revenge…you tell me, wouldn’t the Mindlord be worried? Wouldn’t he be frightened by this possibility?” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation smiled. “If you were to perpetually remain at your current level of power, he wouldn’t be worried; he’s protected by God Emperor Blacklotus after all. But you’ve been improving far too quickly. He can’t help but feel afraid…and so, in the moment of his death, he extinguished the souls of all his soulslaves, putting on a show of being truly slain. This was all for the sake of deceiving you.”
Ning nodded.
It made sense. Even if Old Man Yuan had ordered his soulslaves to launch an all-out assault, Ning would’ve been able to effortlessly wipe them all out. Far better to use them to deceive Ning instead.
“Ahaha…well, I’ve said everything I’ve come to say.” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation smiled. “No need to thank me. Ahahaha…great men like the Mindlord have always looked down on minor figures like us. I’m delighted that I’m able to ruin things for him!” As he laughed, his incarnation slowly dissipated and faded away.
……
Far away, at the very end of the Three Realms. A dark-golden castle was hovering in the Void here.
Inside the castle.
“Mindlord…hmph. You wanted to make a clean break and avoid any future troubles? A pity for you that I’ve stirred up the trouble you wanted to avoid.” Godfiend Witherspike laughed coldly. ‘Old Man Yuan’ truly had put on a perfect show; Ji Ning and the others had no idea that ‘Old Man Yuan’ still had a true body outside the Three Realms, much less what his true identity was. It really would’ve been difficult for them to take revenge on him.
But now…Godfiend Witherspike had told them everything.
“Master, did you just say that Ji Ning slew the Mindlord?” Saber was shocked. “Is Ji Ning really that powerful?”
“He really is.” Godfiend Witherspike thought back to that final clash, when Ji Ning’s terrible sword-art had easily pierced through Old Man Yuan’s palms. The power of the ‘Heartsword’ stance had truly frightened the Godfiend.
The ‘Heartsword’ stance was a technical stance. Ji Ning was now a half-step World God, and his body was filled with incredible power. An incredible technique, matched with incredible power…and a Dao weapon as well!
“Of all the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals I’ve ever seen, he can rank in the top three.” Godfiend Witherspike sighed softly. The reason he said this was because he had seen how terrifyingly brilliant Ji Ning’s final sword-art had been. If Ji Ning merely relied on powerful divine abilities and his Dao weapon, he would be nothing more than a stronge brute…but the Heartsword stance had truly allowed him to unleash his power in a perfect manner.
“He’s that powerful?!” Saber was truly shocked now.
Was this a joke? Godfiend Witherspike had been alive for ages now, and had seen more than a hundred individuals on the same level as the Mindlord. Despite all that, he actually dared to claim that Ji Ning could rank in the top three?
“Let’s go. To be able to watch as two figures of such power battled to the death…this entire trip was worth it.” Godfiend Witherspike no longer harbored any more designs on the Three Realms at all. His dark-golden castle flew out of the Void, entering the endless primordial chaos and once more beginning their drifting journey through it.
……
After listening to Godfiend Witherspike’s words, Ning had a feeling that the man had told them the truth.
This was because Old Man Yuan had once said this to Witherspike: “Witherspike, do you still remember that black lotus?” When Witherspike had heard those words, he had been so terrified that he immediately fled. The ‘black lotus secret art’ which Old Man Yuan had used had also been truly formidable.
“Old Man Yuan? Mindlord?” A killing intent arose once more within Ning’s breast.
He was going to venture into the endless primordial chaos eventually.
All signs pointed to Old Man Yuan being the Mindlord; Ning assessed that there was at least an 80% chance of this being the case. After Ning ventured off into the Badlands Territory, he would probably be able to quickly verify whether or not this was the case. A technique as powerful as that black lotus art had to be quite famous. Not just anyone could be allowed to learn it!
“Darknorth…can the Seamless Gate rejoin the Three Realms once more?” The Lord of All Fiends suddenly spoke out.