Mountain and Sea Realm

Even if the number of Martial Saint- level experts back then was not as large as it is now, they must have still accounted for at least 30%, after all, they were the afterglow of the High Antiquity glory.

What does a hundredfold increase mean?

Several thousand Martial Saint!

Even more!

Ning Qi's expression was solemn.

Even a few thousand first-realm Martial Saint would be enough to destroy this world dozens of times over. The destructive power of a Celestial Person Realm Martial Saint is far greater than that of a Celestial Realm cultivator. Not to mention, these invaders certainly have more than just first-realm Martial Saint; there are probably quite a few fifth-realm Martial Saint as well.

Based on this comparison.

There is no chance of winning.

Logically speaking, the world should have been destroyed long ago.

But since it still exists perfectly well, it means that a powerful, unexpected force was involved.

"And then?" Ning Qi asked softly.

The Martial Saint Heaven-Slaying rose, looked up at the sky, and took a deep breath:

"As you probably guessed, under normal circumstances, we would be no match for them. In fact, that's exactly what happened. We suffered a crushing defeat, with one strong warrior after another falling in battle, and everyone was filled with despair."

What is described in a light touch is the tragedy of an era.

"Fortunately, at the critical moment, the will of the world awakened!" His eyes shone with a fiery light.

"Even the invaders didn't anticipate this turn of events. According to them, it's extremely difficult for the will of a lower-level world like ours to awaken. Perhaps the efforts of generations of sages have paid off; our world was already on the verge of advancement, and now, under these extreme circumstances, it has awakened!"

"The power of the world's will is undeniable. With its blessing upon the Martial Saint of our world, their strength has surged. Invaders have been easily annihilated, and victory is in sight. Furthermore, the world's will has destroyed the connecting world passage in one fell swoop, erasing all the Martial Saint's Dao mark that had been formed before."

"But it wasn't without its price."

"The newly awakened world will is not stable. After this battle, the world will almost collapse. In the end, it was only by pooling everyone's strength that the world will was able to fall into a slumber."

In just a few words.

Ning Qi felt as if he were witnessing a heroic and moving history of resistance, in which many touching stories must have unfolded.

He sighed inwardly.

Obviously.

The intrusion is not over yet.

The Martial Saint Heaven continued:

"The crisis has only temporarily subsided. We now know that there are spying entities intending to invade our world, and their strength far surpasses ours! The power of the world's will is already formidable, but I tell you, among the powerful beings who appeared beyond the world's celestial canopy that day, there were many even stronger than the world's will!"

"If it weren't for some kind of restriction, one of them alone would probably be enough to destroy us. According to them, we are a lower world, while they are a higher world."

This feeling is desperate.

Ning Qi felt immense pressure.

He has exceptional comprehension skills, and given enough time, he is confident that he can rival anyone. The problem is, there may not be that much time available right now.

However, considering the simultaneous appearance of the ancient sages and the resurgence of Spirituality, he knew that time might be running out.

This moment.

He also vaguely understood why the Martial Saint had always tried his best to avoid infighting among Martial Saint, as they would be the main force resisting invaders in the future.

But Ning Qi has no regrets.

So what if he was killed? That kind of person might sell himself out in the future.

He remained silent, waiting for the Martial Saint of Heaven to continue, to explain how this relates to the Covenant of the Saints.

The Martial Saint Heaven-Slaying stood with his hands behind his back, his empty eyes seemingly radiating a blinding light:

"Indeed, they are strong, but there's absolutely no way we'll just sit here and wait to die!"

"We don't know when the invaders will return, but we need to prepare in advance. After this battle, we are no longer completely ignorant of them; we have gained some understanding."

"This so-called superior world is called the Mountain and Sea Realm. Back then, many powerful figures above the Martial Saint level broke through to ascend to this world. In their mouths, we are called World Jiazi 1673. This name is disgusting. The Martial Realm is our original name."

He snorted coldly, venting his dissatisfaction, and then continued:

"After that battle, all the remaining Martial Saint sat down to brainstorm and discuss how to deal with the next invasion."

"We have grasped several key pieces of information. First, the Mountain and Sea Realm is a superior world to our Martial World. Theoretically speaking, as long as our cultivation reaches the Divine Ability Realm, which is above Martial Saint, we can break through the realm and ascend. However, there are natural limitations on their desire to descend to this realm."

"So they released the deadly poison, one purpose being to limit the growth of our martial arts world's strength, but the more important purpose was to create beacons of the Dao. The deadly poison takes root in the Spiritual Qi of the martial arts world, and will gradually form anchor points."

"However, these anchor points are not obvious. But if we martial artists reach the Martial Saint and refine Spiritual Qi into our bodies, allowing the life poison to merge with our flesh and soul, these anchor points will transform into Dao beacons. Once there are enough Dao beacons, the people of the Mountain and Sea Realm can graft world passages!"

"Therefore, our first step is to buy time."

Ning Qi's face showed a look of sudden realization:

"Therefore, you joined forces to erase the Martial Saint's Method because you didn't want anyone to step into the Martial Saint and become a beacon of the Dao."

The Martial Saint of Heaven-Slaying nodded and said:

"It hasn't been completely eradicated. If an exceptionally talented person emerges, they will be given the opportunity to become Martial Saint Martial Saint through the Martial Saint Technique. A balance needs to be struck. We must maintain sufficient Martial Saint combat power while also being wary of having too many Martial Saint, lest the Mountain and Sea Realm be able to invade immediately."

Ning Qi sighed softly.

Clearly, the later the stage, the fewer opportunities there are, and it's even possible that later generations will no longer be able to achieve the Martial Saint.

This may seem unfair to future generations, as the path to upward mobility will become increasingly narrow, but in the face of a global crisis, there's no time to worry about that.

He quickly found a blind spot.

"What's going on with this resurgence of Spirituality? Why has the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi changed back to what it was before?"

The Martial Saint's Path to Slaying Heaven:

"This involves another decision, namely the Covenant of the Saints."

"Eliminating the Martial Saint's Technique to avoid having too many Dao Beacons can only buy time. According to our calculations, as long as the Life Poison exists, even if we lose another Martial Saint, this world passage will be reconstructed as time goes by."

"We know that a great war will inevitably come again one day!"

"The reason we were able to win last time was entirely due to the will of the world. Now the will of the world is asleep, and we don't know when it will awaken, so the focus is on that."

"After continuous discussion and deliberation, a decision was finally made."

"That is—to strip away the Spirituality, to let it lie dormant deep within the world, and to eventually unleash it!"

Speaking of which...

A hint of pride appeared on Zhan Tian Martial Saint's face. This earth-shattering plan had exhausted the efforts of generations.

Ning Qi stared intently.

As the old Daoist of Bai Shan had previously said, the concealment of the Spirituality was deliberate, and it turns out it was a collective decision made by the Martial Saint.

"What does this have to do with awakening the world's will?" Ning Qi had actually already guessed some of it.

The Martial Saint Slays Heaven laughed:

"You must have used a bow and arrow. The greatest power of a bowstring is unleashed when it is tautest, stripping away and concealing Spirituality. After a long period of time, when it is unleashed, the impact will be at its maximum, and the world's will will be fully awakened, possibly even stronger than its peak!"

Ning Qi nodded.

He felt that perhaps using a spring as a metaphor would be more appropriate. He was somewhat amazed; indeed, one should not underestimate the wisdom of people around the world, such ingenious ideas are truly extraordinary.

"This was a massive undertaking, with its Spirituality hidden generation after generation, until it was finally completed thousands of years ago. During this process, the concentration of Spiritual Qi gradually decreased until it eventually transformed into the power of heaven and earth as you know it. Some people also refer to this period as the Age of Dharma Decline."

This plan kills three birds with one stone.

"Firstly, the hidden Spirituality can be used to restore the world's will."

"Both, the Spirituality can suppress the deadly poison to some extent."

"Thirdly, this also complements our previous plan to eliminate the Martial Saint Technique. When Spiritual Qi is completely gone, even if the Martial Saint Technique exists, it will be impossible to reach the Martial Saint."

"Correspondingly, we old folks from the old era have survived by various means. During this time, some have died, while others have joined us with extraordinary talent."

"It wasn't until the present day that they collectively recovered."

"This is the covenant of the saints!"

He finished speaking.

The Dao-Seeking Courtyard was completely silent.

Ning Qi's heart was stirred. He had to admit that he was quite shocked when the whole truth came to light.

He had suspected there might be external enemies, but he hadn't expected them to be this powerful.

"So, the will of the world is about to awaken, isn't it?" Ning Qi asked.

The Martial Saint of Heaven-Slaying nodded and said:

"That's right. After the Spirituality is revived, and after a period of time when the Spiritual Qi deep within is completely stable, the world's will will fully awaken. At that time, it will be an immense fortuitous opportunity for us."

Ning Qi's heart skipped a beat. What even the Martial Saint considered fortuitous opportunity must involve the mysterious and unpredictable Divine Ability Realm.

"In a while, we will convene Martial Saint Conference to explain the situation to the newly crowned Martial Saint. In any case, we have a common enemy."

"Mountain and Sea Boundary!"

The Martial Saint gazed into the distance, seemingly trying to pierce the heavens.

Ning Qi remained silent.

"Is the world passage to the Mountain and Sea Realm about to reopen?"

The Martial Saint of Heaven Slaying said softly:

"That's right. Even though we've tried our best to control the number of Martial Saint Beacons, after so much time of erosion by the life poison, the world passage will inevitably open up again. So there's no point in controlling the number of Martial Saint anymore. This time, all the martial artists who reached the Celestial Person Perfection Spirituality Awakening were granted the Martial Saint Technique."

"Get ready for battle."

Ning Qi said:

How much longer?

The Martial Saint of Heaven-Slaying shook his head:

"Maybe ten years, maybe five years, maybe the next moment, who knows?"

He has a carefree attitude.

Seeing Ning Qi's somewhat solemn expression, he smiled and said:

"Don't worry, if nothing unexpected happens, we should be fine until the world's will awakens."

Ning Qi let out a long breath.

I don't know what to feel.

He desires to live forever.

But no hope had been found in the martial arts world, and even the rumors of ascension were ambiguous. Now, they finally know that ascension is a fact, and that there are higher worlds with even longer lifespans and stronger beings.

But his feelings were somewhat complicated.

This higher world... is the enemy.

It's too early to think about immortality right now; the most important thing is to get through the upcoming difficulties. A sense of urgency rose in his heart.

Ning Qi said:

Now that I understand the cause and effect, I will take responsibility for the actions of both the Crimson Sun Martial Saint and the Purple Moon Martial Saint.

He is not an unreasonable person.

The Crimson Sun Martial Saint and the Purple Moon Martial Saint were indeed the main force in resisting the invaders. Since he was the one who killed them, he would not pretend nothing had happened. At this moment, everyone was in the same boat, and their fates were intertwined.

The Martial Saint of Heaven-Slaying waved his hand and sighed:

"I know the fault doesn't lie with you, I'm just a little regretful. What I did before was just to see your current strength, young friend, please don't take offense."

Ning Qi shook his head.

He knew from the beginning that Zhan Tian Martial Saint didn't actually have any hostility, otherwise he wouldn't have said so much to him.

The two sat facing each other in silence, quietly sipping their tea.

A moment later.

The Martial Saint of Heaven-Slaying rose leisurely:

"Thank you for the Enlightenment Tea today, young friend. I have something to offer you."

As he spoke.

He pointed, and a ball of light radiating a heavy aura flew out from his arms.

Ning Qi looked at it and found that it was a palm-sized stone, dark yellow in color, with natural patterns. His eyes lit up as he sensed a strong earthy aura from it.

"This is a fine stone from the earth's veins; it might be of some help to you, young friend," Zhan Tian Martial Saint said with a smile.

It has to be said.

Ning Qi was very tempted.

He is now only missing the Earth Qi to reach the Fifth Realm Martial Saint. Although he needs to put in a lot of hard work to hone it, having this Earth Vein Essence Stone can save him a lot of effort. He also has some regrets. If he had obtained this treasure on the day of the Spirituality Revival, he might have been able to reach the Fifth Realm Martial Saint in one fell swoop.

However, in this case, it's a timely help.

He didn't stand on ceremony or stand on ceremony, and thanked him:

"In that case, I will accept it without hesitation. Thank you, Senior Zhantian."

The Martial Saint of Heaven-Slaying waved his hand and laughed:

Consider this my apology for the knife I stabbed you in the back today.

He could see Ning Qi's extraordinary potential, but it was a pity that the other party had not emerged earlier. Otherwise, the martial world might have produced an unprecedented powerhouse. But even now, Ning Qi's strength has already surpassed most of the ancient saints, and he stands at the pinnacle of the martial world.

He wouldn't mind helping Ning Qi out.

This is also helping yourself.

That's all.

Zhan Tian Martial Saint glanced at the Enlightenment Tea Tree again, then stepped into the air and departed.

Ning Qi stared blankly at the earth vein essence stone in his hand.

The arrival of the Heaven-Slaying Martial Saint was truly beyond his expectations.

"The Realm of Mountains and Seas..."

He muttered to himself, gripping the earth vein stone in his hand even tighter.

He felt that he needed to hurry up and reach the fifth level of Martial Saint, or even higher.

Ning Qi has never had the habit of placing his hopes on others, not even the will of the world could put his mind at ease.

"Perhaps I should hurry to the True Martial Hall."

He wanted to hear what the old Xuan Turtle had to say. What Zhan Tian Martial Saint said alone might not be entirely correct; there might be some information that even Zhan Tian Martial Saint didn't know.