New and Old Followers

Ning Qi bestowed the title of the Spirit of Moral Instruction upon the Will of the True Martial Spirit World and the Spirit of Mountains and Seas upon the Will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, thus arranging a place for the former two great spirit realm wills.

They had suddenly lost their former status as Realm Lords, which should have made them very uncomfortable, since their identities had changed to spirits under Ning Qi's command.

However, Ning Qi did not see any displeasure on their faces; on the contrary, they seemed somewhat pleased.

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm has been sealed by the Mountain Ancestor for countless millennia, and has always been considered a prisoner. Its energy is either devoured by the seedlings of the Jianmu tree or stolen by the Mountain Ancestor.

Now that he has regained his freedom, how could he not be overjoyed?

The will of the Vast Realm also felt a sense of relief, as if it had been freed.

As the will of the spirit world, their work is not as easy as one might imagine. They need to maintain the operation of the spirit world at all times, repair it, and resist the erosion of the Boundary Sea.

Moreover, they are confined to the spirit world itself and cannot escape it.

Now, they have been freed from the material shackles of the spirit world.

Ning Qi suddenly pointed out.

Two seven-colored orbs of light shot out from his fingertips and pierced into the foreheads of the two spirits.

Shan Hai and Zhi Li's spiritual bodies froze instantly, silently absorbing the seven-colored light.

After a moment, they came to their senses, glanced at each other, and saw the same shocked and excited expression in each other's eyes.

"Lord of the Realm, can we truly break free from all constraints?"

Zhili scratched his head and asked somewhat uncertainly.

Although Shan Hai remained silent, he clearly shared the same thought.

Ning Qi nodded in agreement:

"It is impossible for you to completely break free from your constraints. You were born into this world, and now that you have come to my True Martial Spirit World, you still need to depend on something. That is why I bestowed titles upon you."

"The seven-colored light I just witnessed was based on some insights I gained from my own cultivation. It allows you to condense a real physical body and gain freedom in the form of an avatar."

Both were extremely excited upon hearing this and repeatedly expressed their gratitude.

Beside him, the Holy Ancestor's avatar looked at Ning Qi, clicked his tongue, and said, "Ning boy, what are you planning to do with me?"

Ning Qi laughed and said, "You love poetry, calligraphy, and painting, so why don't you join Zhili in helping me educate the beings of the True Martial Spirit World? I think you'll definitely be able to satisfy your desire to be a teacher in the True Martial Spirit World."

"However, all of this depends on your original body surviving."

Upon hearing this, the Holy Ancestor's avatar glanced at the illusory image of Mount Buzhou outside, still somewhat worried, and said:

"Kid, are you confident you can take down the Mountain Ancestor?"

His expression was conflicted, as if he wanted to say something but hesitated.

Ning Qi said calmly, "Who knows? We'll only know the real result after everything is done."

The Holy Ancestor's avatar withdrew his gaze and said softly, "Even if you can't win, it's alright. I have other methods prepared. If all else fails, now that the Three Realms have merged, you should be able to control the True Martial Spirit World to leave this realm, which is also an option."

Ning Qi narrowed his eyes. "We'll see when the time comes."

Running away wasn't his style. Besides, Ning Qi still wanted to get his hands on the Ancient Dao Sacred Map that the Mountain Ancestor had snatched from him.

Moreover, given the scene Ning Qi just witnessed with his World Heart Selfless Realm, the Mount Buzhou summoned by the Mountain Ancestor might lead to other unexpected events.

"Alright, I'll stay a few more moments before dealing with that troublesome mountain ancestor. If you're alright, could you help me appease the creatures that migrated from your two realms?"

Ning Qi waved his hand, and the group instantly left the inner world.

The Holy Ancestor's avatar and the two spirits of Shan Hai Zhi Li went to comfort the beings of both realms as he instructed.

High above the True Martial Spirit World, within the only massive, suspended immortal sect.

Since the Three Realms merged, Ning Qi not only assigned the Xuanzhen Domain to the True Martial, but also reorganized the entire True Martial.

Today, the True Martial Sect holds a position in the True Martial Spirit World that is comparable to the Heavenly Court in mythology.

It is both Ning Qi's sect and Ning Qi representative in wielding Heavenly Power to maintain order in the entire True Martial Spirit World Realm.

It is also the sect that all beings in the True Martial Realm most want to join.

There's a saying in the mortal realm, "True Martial stands in the Heavenly Court; to enter his gate is to attain immortality!"

Ning Qi was naturally aware of this rumor, but he didn't know who had spread it; the more it was spread, the more mysterious it became.

The True Martial Sect is now bustling with activity, a scene of unparalleled liveliness.

There's no other reason than that the cultivators who were reincarnated into the Mountain and Sea Realm by Ning Qi in the past, as well as those who were later reincarnated into the Vast Realm, all returned to the True Martial Spirit World as the two realms merged into True Martial.

These people were selected by Ning Qi; they were among the most daring cultivators in the True Martial.

Of course, the majority of these people came from the True Martial. As for the other cultivators from the lower realms, they were waiting for Ning Qi to make arrangements within the True Martial.

Those cultivators who were reborn into the Mountain and Sea Realm were alright; at least they stayed with Ning Qi in the Mountain and Sea Realm for over a hundred years.

The cultivators who were reborn into the Vast Realm were all still infants.

There was no other way; before and after the Spirit Realm War began, Ning Qi obtained the spatial coordinates of the Vast Immortal Realm and reincarnated into it.

But who knew that this war, from its inception to now, has only lasted a few months at most.

What else could someone be reincarnated as if they weren't an infant?

At this moment, those cultivators continued to appear in the True Martial Sect's plaza as infants, which was both laughable and absurd.

Everyone was making fun of them.

Someone exclaimed, "Gentlemen, look how awesome our True Martial Sect is! Even infants can fight in enemy realms. This is probably a rare feat in all worlds!"

"Yeah, if I'd known it would be this fun, I should have let the Realm Lord reincarnate me later. I wanted to try winning effortlessly as a child."

"What enemy realm? There's no such thing as an enemy realm anymore, it's all my True Martial Spirit World!"

An infant, babbling in dissatisfaction, hovered in the air and pointed at the crowd.

Around him, more babies were either hanging, standing, rolling on the ground, or biting on bottles, their eyes rolling around, looking particularly comical.

"Yes, yes, this infant has such knowledge; it truly puts us adults to shame!"

Everyone burst into laughter.

The entire True Martial is now roughly divided into three factions.

One group consisted of the True Martial Sect disciples who remained behind. They stood curiously on the perimeter, some chatting with familiar cultivators about the situation in the Mountain and Sea Realm, while others watched with envy.

The Realm Lord previously stated that those who accompany him to the enemy realm will receive incredibly generous rewards.

Now, regardless of whether the Realm Lord will reward them or not, these returning individuals are all striding confidently, their aura as deep and boundless as the ocean, reaching an almost frightening level.

It should be noted that before Ning Qi left the True Martial, there wasn't even Primordial Spirit Realm cultivator in the entire True Martial.

However, in the current True Martial Spirit World, as the Realm Lord rapidly elevates the world, the cultivation levels of all living beings are increasing at an astonishing speed, like a rocket.

However, no matter how fast they went, only a handful of people in the entire True Martial Spirit World reached the Perfection of the Void Dao Realm, and no one broke through to the Dao Integration Realm.

Of course, this refers to the cultivators who stayed in the True Martial, not those who reincarnated in the Mountain and Sea Realm with Ning Qi.

Those reincarnated cultivators are now the second faction of the True Martial Sect.

Several of them did indeed advance to the Dao Integration stage.

For example, Daoist Longshan, Qin Yun, etc...

Their return gave the True Martial a top-tier fighting force, no less capable than cultivators from the other two realms.

The third faction consists of the cultivators of the Xuanzhen Domain, whom Ning Qi Commander from scratch after entering the Mountain and Sea Realm.

It included cultivators from Ning Qi's otherworldly sect, the Wuji Sword Sect, as well as all the sects from the Xuanzhen Domain, such as the Bull Demon Upper Sect and the Heavenly Chen Upper Sect, and cultivators led by Qi Keqing from the neighboring Fuyao Domain.

Since they all belonged to Ning Qi, Ning Qi directly integrated them into the True Martial.

Now, led by the Sword Ancestor, they sat silently in the wide square, occasionally interjecting with a few words.

The shock they felt was no less than that of other cultivators in the two realms, even though they had been following Ning Qi all along.

Because they never expected that Ning Qi was not from the Mountain and Sea Realm!

In fact, Ning Qi already had his own sect, and Ning Qi was also the ruler of a realm!

This was such explosive news! When they first heard it, the shock they felt from the inside out gave them all goosebumps.

Tall and proud, Lu Ziyue stood in the Wuji Sword Sect's group, her arms tightly clasped together.

Am I really not dreaming?

She looked around at everything, which seemed both real and dreamlike.

Lu Ziyue found it hard to believe that the baby she had picked up during one of her outings years ago had actually become a big shot in the industry!

Her teeth seemed to be chattering. As the great contributor to bringing Ning Qi back to the Wuji Sword Sect, she couldn't help but blush when she thought of the past, and the blush never faded.

"That despicable guy, he... he actually pretended to be a baby to deceive me. Was I no different from a fool in his eyes back then?"

Lu Ziyue was deeply troubled and constantly doubted herself.

On the one hand, she was proud of Ning Qi as he was now, but when she thought about Ning Qi's true identity, she felt like an ignorant girl.

Lu Ziyue gathered her hair and murmured to herself:

"But that explains it. No wonder his talent is so terrifying, allowing him to quickly achieve the Primordial Spirit and become the sect master of my Wuji Sword Sect."

"Actually, I shouldn't dwell on these things. If I hadn't met him and taken him back to the Wuji Sword Sect, the Wuji Sword Sect would have been destroyed long ago!"

She tried to convince herself to let go of the woman's pointless speculations.

However, after waiting for so long, Ning Qi still hadn't shown up to explain anything to them, and she found it hard to calm down.

Almost everyone from the Wuji Sword Sect, the Xuanzhen Domain, and even Qi Keqing and others from the Fuyou Domain shared the same sentiment.

They followed Ning Qi, received many favors from Ning Qi, survived safely, and arrived in the True Martial Spirit World.

They are now considered Ning Qi's own people and have joined the True Martial, but to this day, none of them have seen Ning Qi again.

Sword Ancestor Qi Keqing and others sat facing each other, accompanied by their old acquaintances from the True Martial.

Daoist Longshan smiled and said to Sword Ancestor, "You and I are both Ning Qi's seniors. Fortunately, we fought side by side in the War Realm, so we are not strangers."

As a sword cultivator, Sword Ancestor always spoke his mind, but at this moment he was in a bit of a bind.

He pondered for a moment and immediately recognized the young man in front of him.

He remembered that the other party was a protector of the Xuan Nu Sect under Qi Keqing's Fuyou Domain.

It was said that the child was born out of wedlock to the previous Holy Maiden, and was subsequently discovered and brought back to the Xuan Nu Sect.

His background was quite complicated, leaving a deep impression on the Sword Ancestor.

Now, the other party has transformed into Ning Qi's master in the True Martial.

Faced with such a situation, even the Sword Ancestor, who had lived for many years, found it difficult to suppress his emotions.

He took it in stride and wasn't worried that Ning Qi wouldn't take care of them.

If Ning Qi truly didn't care about them, why would he have incorporated them into his former sect?

Sword Ancestor understood Ning Qi's concerns; with a formidable enemy at hand, how could he possibly have time to meet with everyone?

However, now that all cultivators in the Three Realms True Martial, Ning Qi will face the Mountain Ancestor alone, and the Sword Ancestor is still worried about Ning Qi.

His reasoning was simply to see Ning Qi one more time.

Sword Daoist Longshan, "Since you are both Ning's seniors, how about we address each other as fellow Daoists?"

Daoist Longshan laughed and said, "That's exactly what I was thinking. It's all thanks to Fellow Sword Dao Jian's help that Ning Qi's journey in the Mountain and Sea Realm has been so smooth."

When the two of them talked about Ning Qi, they had a lot more to say.

"No, no, actually young Ning helped us more," Sword Ancestor shook his head and smiled wryly.

Daoist Longshan seemed to instantly understand the Sword Ancestor's feelings, and he also smiled wryly:

"To be honest, I wholeheartedly agree on this point. That guy was born an extraordinary person, and my nominal master has benefited even more from him."

In an instant, the two were in complete agreement and their conversation became even more animated.

Besides them, the other monks were also exchanging ideas with each other.

For example, another cultivator from the Xuan Nu Sect, the Holy Maiden Ye Qinghe, said to Qi Keqing, "Senior Sister Qi, I'm so glad you've also come to the True Martial and become a fellow cultivator with us!"

Qi Keqing naturally remembered her. As a powerful figure in the Yaoguang Immortal Sect of the Fuyao Domain, she knew all the important figures in the sects throughout the Fuyao Domain like the back of her hand.

However, now, Qi Keqing, just like the Sword Ancestor, faced this overly familiar female cultivator and said:

"I remember you were the Holy Maiden of the Xuan Nu Sect, but I have no idea what your current status is."

Ye Qinghe, with her straightforward personality, burst into a silvery laugh upon hearing this.

"Senior Sister Qi, you can just call me Qinghe. Actually, I'm Ning Qi's senior sister!"

Qi Keqing stared at her blankly. Good heavens, so she had Ning Qi's mole by her side!

No, it wasn't just her. Qi Keqing and the Sword Ancestor both discovered that Ning Qi had planted people in almost every sect in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

This... is absolutely terrifying!

Fortunately, she was impressed by Ning Qi and took the initiative to follow Ning Qi.

She had always felt that this was the best thing she had ever done in her life. This was partly due to Ning Qi's preferential treatment of them, but more so because of her admiration for Ning Qi.

Now, witnessing this scene, Qi Keqing felt she had seen a terrifying side of Ning Qi.

Those who oppose Ning Qi will die without even knowing how they died, just like the old man Sikong from the Qingxuan Immortal Sect.

Others were also exchanging glances, such as the ten True Disciple of the Wuji Sword Sect, all staring intently at Qin Minghao.

"Senior Brother Qin, you've kept this from us for so long!"

Qin Minghao smiled helplessly and replied:

Do you know how many years I've kept this secret? Do you know how much inner turmoil I've endured keeping such a huge secret hidden for so many years?

Upon hearing this, everyone couldn't help but smile.

Yes, it's not easy to know such a major secret and not be able to reveal it!

Now, Qin Minghao no longer needs to hide this secret.

Just as everyone was getting bored, a figure slowly descended from the sky.

All eyes immediately turned to that familiar figure.

Instantly, everyone stood up, their eyes filled with a variety of emotions.