Mandala Flower and the Nine Netherbird
"What are you doing in the Heavenly Net Continent? Is it to build up your power? But this Great Luo Heaven Domain is only one of the Seven Great Forces in the Northern Realm. Its strongest is only Lower Earth Sovereign. Why did you set your sights on it?" Qing Yanjing gazed at the floating island, a hint of confusion on her gentle face.
"I did come here to establish my power, but as you know, I need to find those companions and prepare for the Fire Spirit Grand Ceremony a year from now, so my focus isn't here. No Heavenly Sovereign's forces have ventured into the Northern Realm yet, making it a perfect starting point. No one will disturb me for a while after I leave," Xiao Ming explained, turning his head to the side.
"Then why did you set your sights on the Great Luo Heaven Domain? The Divine Pavilion is the strongest force in the Northern Realm; subduing it will save a lot of time."
The Seven Great Forces in the Northern Realm are the Great Luo Heaven Domain, the Mysterious Heaven Hall, the Demon Gate, the Underworld Palace, the Myriad Saints Mountain, the Snake God Hall, and the Divine Pavilion.
Although Qing Yanjing thought these forces were all pretty much the same and it wouldn't matter which one she accepted, Xiao Ming ignored several of them and headed straight for the Great Luo Heaven Domain. This behavior was something she couldn't understand.
Could it be that the mysterious Great Luo Domain Lord is a beautiful girl, and Xiao Ming has come here specifically to collect beauties?
The sudden, nonsensical idea made Qing Yanjing want to laugh, but fortunately, Xiao Ming's next words stopped her laughter.
"The true form of the Great Luo Domain Lord is Ancient Mandala Flower nurtured by the Ancient Heavenly Emperor in the Ancient Heavenly Palace."
"The Ancient Heavenly Emperor and the Ancient Mandala Flower?!" The usually calm and Qing Yanjing was unusually surprised.
Both the Ancient Heavenly Emperor and the Mandala Flower are astonishing beings.
In this Great Thousand World, it is not only humans who can cultivate, nor are only Divine Beast intelligent. Some advanced plants can also cultivate, but their cultivation methods are different, and their cultivation speed and difficulty are much lower than those of humans.
This is somewhat similar to the Divine Beast race, where the higher the level of one's bloodline, the faster one's cultivation speed and the higher one's level.
The Ancient Mandala Flower is comparable to royalty among plants, incomparably noble. Once it reaches maturity, its power even surpasses that of ordinary Heavenly Sovereign.
At the same time, the Ancient Mandala Flower has its own magical properties, possessing the power to seal and dissolve all things. Even if the main body is destroyed, it can still escape even if only a bud on a branch remains.
Legend has it that if each Mandala Flower were to evolve to its fullest potential, it would possess power comparable to that of a true True Dragon True Phoenix.
If the Great Luo Domain Lord is indeed the Ancient Mandala Flower, then judging from her current strength, she is currently in her infancy.
No superpower would miss out on such a person with no clan and immense potential, after all, Heavenly Sovereign are not so easy to cultivate. In this light, it's no wonder that Xiao Ming came directly to the Great Luo Heaven Domain.
Moreover, this Mandala Flower is also associated with the Ancient Heavenly Emperor, and there are many aspects of it worth exploring.
Seeing that Qing Yanjing looked thoughtful, Xiao Ming stopped there and didn't say anything more.
Actually, there was another reason why he came to the Great Luo Heaven Domain: it was close to the Hundred Battles Territory. The Hundred Battles Territory was not the name of a power, but a chaotic area with a complex web of power factions.
One of the factions, the Thunder Demon Sect, possesses a fragment of the Supreme Heart Demon Scripture.
The Supreme Heart Demon Scripture is the legacy of the Ancient Heart Demon Thunder Emperor, and also the supreme divine power of the current super force Thunder God Palace.
Cultivating the Supreme Heart Demon Scripture to its Great Perfection state allows one to Touching Heavenly Sovereign and contend with super-strong individuals at the Heavenly Sovereign level, which can be described as defying the heavens.
In Xiao Ming's memory, the only thing more heaven-defying than this was the divine power created by the Ancient Origin of Divine Beasts, Blood Battle King — the Self-Sacrificing Demonic Fist.
Using this divine power, the Blood Battle King, at the peak of the Earthly Sovereign Great Perfection realm, fought to the death against an Underworld Demon Emperor.
Xiao Ming was deeply impressed by these achievements, remarking that the Ancient Times era truly was teeming with talent.
If it weren't for the invasion of the Outer Realm Evil Tribe, there might be more than one Half-step Master Realm expert in the Great Thousand World today.
Suppressing his emotions, Xiao Ming smiled slightly at the two women and said, "Let's go. We might be staying here for the next few days."
Upon hearing this, Qing Yanjing snapped out of her reverie, Yan Ran, and nodded.
Xiao Ming took the lead and flew out without revealing too much of his strength. He flew directly towards the distant Great Luo Heaven that floated in the sky, and the two women followed closely behind.
As they drew closer, the Great Luo Heaven became clearer, with countless streams of light flashing by within it.
High above the Great Luo Heaven, there was an enormous Spirit Array. The Spirit Array transformed into a light shield that enveloped the entire Great Luo Heaven. A spiritual energy fluctuation that could instill fear in anyone below the Earth Sovereign rippled slightly, causing subtle ripples in the surrounding space. This was the Great Luo Heaven Domain's Sect Protecting Great Formation.
Within the area covered by the great formation, there is a huge gate of light, about a thousand feet long, after which there is a path of light that leads directly into the Great Luo Heaven. This is the only passage into the Great Luo Heaven.
Xiao Ming and his two companions landed on the passageway.
"Halt! Unauthorized entry into the Great Luo Heaven is strictly forbidden. Violators will be killed without exception!"
Just as the three landed, a sharp shout rang out, and hundreds of figures clad in black armor with piercing eyes appeared, their spears aimed at them.
A strong aura of killing intent emanated from them, but it quietly dissipated when they reached Xiao Ming and the other two.
Xiao Ming merely raised his eyes slightly, a flash of colorful firelight passing through his pupils.
Everyone was frozen in place like puppets, and then naturally returned to their previous positions, as if nothing had happened.
"Bah!"
Just as Xiao Ming was about to step into the Great Luo Heaven after finishing these tasks, a clear, fierce-sounding cry suddenly came from behind him.
Turning around, he saw a divine bird with wings engulfed in Black Flame hurtling toward him.
"I didn't think you wouldn't make a move." He looked at the black divine bird swooping down, intending to capture him.
With a mere wave of his hand, Xiao Ming caused the divine bird, which was about a hundred feet tall, to shrink rapidly. When it reached Xiao Ming, it was only the size of a child's palm. Then, looking completely bewildered, the bird's body was pinched by Xiao Ming's hand, with only its small head showing.
"Huh, isn't that the Nine Netherbird?"
Qing Yanjing and Qing Tan remained calm about the attack, but the flames on the bird caught Qing Yanjing's attention, and she quickly recognized the bird's origin.
The Nine Netherbird is a Divine Beast race, possessing the bloodline of the Ancient Undying Bird. Born in the Land of the Northern Darkness, its wings can cover mountains, and its dark light can devour the sun and moon.
However, the Nine Netherbird in Xiao Ming's hand looked like a minor.
"Oh?" Xiao Ming glanced at the gradually extinguishing flames on the Nine Netherbird's body. Could this be the Nine Nether from the Original Work?
Seemingly startled by Qing Yanjing's voice, the confusion in Nine Netherbird's eyes quickly vanished, and Black Flame erupted again, enveloping Xiao Ming's palm. She struggled angrily, but could not escape Xiao Ming's grasp, and the Black Flame had no effect whatsoever.
Therefore, it gradually had to stop, and its fierce eyes slowly closed.
Seeing that the Nine Netherbird Sparrow seemed to have given up struggling, Xiao Ming stretched out a finger and flicked its head.
Nine Netherbird Sparrow immediately opened its eyes in anger, its clear voice ringing out. "You despicable intruder, what are you doing? Kill me or do whatever you want, just don't lay a hand on me!"