World Tree Spirit

The True Martial Sect's plaza is spacious and can accommodate a million cultivators.

Not only Human Race but also Demon Beast beasts roamed within, and even dozens of Boundary Sea Fierce Beasts silently lingered nearby.

But now, upon seeing the figure slowly descending from the sky, they all stood up respectfully.

"Junior Brother Ning!" "Senior Brother Ning!"

"Sect Master Ning!" "Realm Master Ning!"

"Owner!"

A cacophony of various names and titles erupted, echoing across the entire square.

Ning Qi pressed his hands together, and the square fell silent instantly.

He landed in the center of the square, and the crowd immediately gathered around him, while those who were familiar with him came to the front.

Ning Qi glanced at the crowd.

From my master, fellow disciples, and friends in the True Martial, to the people I met in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He smiled slightly and said, "It's been a long time since we've all gathered together. Now that the Three Realms have changed and we've returned to the True Martial, I've decided to place all of you under the True Martial. Are you willing?"

As soon as these Exit, everyone knew they were directed at the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Sword Ancestor and Qi Keqing exchanged glances.

The Sword Ancestor, his face contorted with rage, glared and said, "I never imagined my Boundless Sword Sect would end like this. Ning brat, how are you going to compensate me?"

Qi Keqing smiled faintly from the side and said, "Sword Dao Swordsman, he has given you a World Lord in return. Aren't you willing to accept that?"

Everyone laughed at this remark.

The Sword Ancestor looked at the crowd and asked, "Are you willing?"

The cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm present all shouted, "We are willing!"

Seeing this, Ning Qi suddenly realized that the Sword Ancestor always managed to win people's hearts.

Sword Ancestor did not seem to be the kind of stubborn old man. Although he was a sword cultivator, his sword heart was clear and he had a deep understanding of people's hearts and human nature.

Qi Keqing was extremely cooperative.

The two of them played a joke in front of the public, instantly winning over everyone's goodwill and eliminating much of the misunderstanding.

This will be of great benefit to how people get along in the future.

Thinking of this, Ning Qi said, "Although you are people from two realms, and there are even cultivators from the Vast Realm outside the True Martial Immortal Sect, we, the people of the True Martial Sect, must break down prejudices based on identity and guide the entire True Martial Spirit World with the principle of equality for all beings."

Daoist Longshan coughed and replied, "Young Ning, even if you didn't say it, we understand. Don't worry. Besides, even if we wanted to hold a grudge against them, we wouldn't dare. Their overall cultivation level is stronger than ours."

That's true. After all, although the cultivators from both realms had gone through the Spirit Realm War, all the survivors were elites.

Even though the True Martial Spirit World has merged with the Mountain and Sea Realms, the cultivation levels of the cultivators within it have not improved that quickly.

Their only advantage over cultivators from both realms lies in their talent and foundation.

Of course, given time, they will definitely catch up quickly.

These words naturally drew laughter from everyone, and the air was filled with an inexplicable joy.

Ning Qi then quickly exchanged views with the others.

This dispelled the doubts in the minds of the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and also relieved the unease in everyone's hearts.

Everyone felt that Ning Qi was still the Ning Qi as before, and had not changed even after becoming the Lord of the Three Realms after their merging.

He became aloof and seemingly detached from the masses, going to rescue the Holy Ancestor and the Sea Ancestor, and incidentally, to fight the Mountain Ancestor.

After calming everyone down, Ning Qi prepared to leave to rescue the Holy Ancestor Hai Zu and, incidentally, to fight the Mountain Ancestor.

"The True Martial Spirit World is still developing rapidly. You can take advantage of this great change to cultivate in peace. I will not appear for the time being."

Upon hearing this, everyone looked at him, their faces showing reluctance.

"Boy, is there anything else we can do? If we just let you fight alone while we, the people of the Three Realms, cultivate in peace, that's..."

Sword Ancestor looked at everyone, and he didn't continue speaking, but everyone understood what he meant.

Ning Qi shouldered everything alone, yet he told them to focus on their cultivation. How could they truly be at ease?

Moreover, they no longer need to fight each other for their respective worlds like in the previous Spirit World War; now they are all from the same realm.

And it is precisely because this distinction of identity has been eliminated that everyone is now willing to contribute in this final battle.

"Senior Brother Ning, we don't want to be idle!"

"Sect Master, although our strength is weak, we also wish to participate in the battle!"

Shouts rose and fell again, like waves of sound sweeping across the entire square.

Unbeknownst to them, the Holy Ancestor's avatars, the two spirits of Shan Hai Zhi Li, also quietly arrived at the True Martial Sect.

Accompanying them were Zhao Yujun, the sect leader of the Moon Sea Immortal Sect in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and Jiang Yingchu, the sect leader of the Vastness Immortal Sect in the Vastness Realm.

Ning Qi glanced at them; they appeared at the back of the crowd.

The Holy Ancestor's avatar seemed to have said something to the two spirits, and the two spirits actually transmitted all the sounds and images of this place to the entire True Martial Spirit World, allowing everyone in the realm to see what was happening here.

Their commotion naturally attracted everyone's attention.

The crowd gradually fell silent, and they squeezed forward with smiles on their faces.

Ning Qi narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "What's going on here?"

"If you want to join the war, don't forget about us," the Holy Ancestor's avatar said with a smile.

The spirit of mountains and seas also said, "Yes, we just visited all the spirit realms that were once under our command to offer our condolences, and they sent two representatives here."

Zhao Yujun and Jiang Yingchu walked out at the same time, facing the crowd, and said to Ning Qi:

"We two can plead on behalf of all cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realms, hoping that the Realm Lord will agree to our participation in the war. We also want to safeguard the hard-won safety and peace."

Everyone in the True Martial Sect square looked at them, their expressions deeply moved.

At that moment, it seemed as if everyone's hearts were connected.

With everyone united in purpose, regardless of their cultivation level or status, all were willing to step forward to protect the newly merged True Martial Spirit World.

This is different from many wars in the world.

In most wars, the powerful and wealthy remain behind the scenes, letting their subordinates fight for their own interests.

The same old cycle of conscription and similar practices repeats itself every time.

However, the beings within the True Martial Spirit World were different; they actually volunteered to join the battle.

Simply because both Ning Qi and the True Martial Spirit World are worthy of their doing so.

Ning Qi, as a Realm Lord, is prepared to shoulder everything alone. In the world's wars, have you ever seen the mastermind behind the scenes willingly take on all the burdens?

They were merely driving the cattle and horses below, making them fight for them.

Ning Qi frowned slightly.

It wasn't that he didn't want everyone to participate in the war, but rather that in the end, the only enemy in this war was the Mountain Ancestor.

Are they all going to fight to their deaths?

Everyone looked at Ning Qi, and naturally they also saw the expression on Ning Qi's face.

At this moment, all the beings in the True Martial Spirit World seemed to understand that the Realm Lord was afraid of losing their lives.

Everyone was deeply moved.

Where did they find such a worthy ruler of a realm?

Throughout history, few have worried about the casualties of their subordinates during wars. Some ruthless and warmongering individuals are even willing to sacrifice everyone to achieve their goals.

Even if it means fighting to the bitter end, with the people starving, we must fight!

They didn't care about the lives of their subordinates at all, unlike Ning Qi.

The people of the Mountain and Sea Realm were deeply moved at this moment, especially the surviving cultivators under the Mountain Ancestor.

The Mountain Ancestor could be considered a supreme being in a realm, yet he treated his subordinates like mere tools.

They either fight and die for him, or become his sacrifices.

At this moment, everyone's hearts were united, and their beliefs converged. They unleashed an incomparably pure power of faith, converging towards the True Martial Sect high in the sky.

A wisp of invisible power of belief flew into the True Martial Sect and gathered on Ning Qi in the center of the square.

"Um?"

The Holy Ancestor's avatar and the two spirits of Zhili Mountain and Sea instantly sensed something, and they all looked at Ning Qi in the center with disbelief.

They vaguely sensed that a terrifying, unknown force was surging towards Ning Qi.

That power was incredibly pure, and filled with hope and light.

Gradually, a faint golden light enveloped Ning Qi, making him appear incredibly sacred!

Everyone saw the golden light emanating from Ning Qi. The light was not dazzling, but incredibly gentle, reflected in everyone's eyes and in their hearts.

Everyone felt incredibly comfortable and warm, as they became even more devout.

"Zhili, could this be..."

The Holy Ancestor's avatar asked in surprise.

Although he was well-read, he wasn't quite sure if the golden light emanating from Ning Qi was truly what he was thinking.

Beside them, Zhili and the two spirits of mountains and seas both wore expressions of utter shock.

Zhili said softly, "Teacher, the unity of the people seems to be the legendary power of faith!"

Shan Hai stared wide-eyed, dumbfounded, "Is there really someone who can win the hearts of everyone? How is that possible!"

They are the will of the spirit world, and we have previously discussed the difficulty Ning Qi faced in becoming the will of the spirit world.

One of the conditions for becoming the will of the spirit world is to bear the power of all living beings and have them serve as its master.

But worshipping someone as their master does not mean that everyone genuinely respects them or is even willing to fight for them.

Just like the sun in the sky, all living beings benefit from its grace and regard it as light.

However, if the sun were to transform into a human and call upon all living beings, those beings might not necessarily pay attention to him or even believe in him.

Just like the two spirits, Shan Hai and Zhi Li, even if they were originally the will of the spirit world, have all living beings ever truly submitted to them?

With the mountains and seas sealed off, the cultivators under the Mountain Ancestor only showed him superficial respect when they saw him.

The cultivators under the Sea Ancestor are slightly better, but if they were to choose between the Sea Ancestor and the Spirit of Mountains and Seas, they would definitely choose the Sea Ancestor without hesitation.

Even though Zhili and the Holy Ancestor taught and enlightened the beings of the Vast Realm, they still failed to win the hearts of the beings.

Therefore, it is evident how difficult it is to win the hearts and minds of the people.

However, Ning Qi has unintentionally achieved this feat!

In the center of the square.

Ning Qi's slightly furrowed brows relaxed without him even noticing.

His attention was already drawn to the golden robes he was wearing.

Ning Qi was completely bewildered; he had no idea what had happened.

He felt his body become incredibly light, as if he were floating on air.

"Kid, this is the power of faith from all living beings, so you should be secretly happy about it."

The voice of the Holy Ancestor's avatar quietly came through.

"The power of faith among all beings?"

Ning Qi was taken aback, then he seemed to remember something.

He had read extensively before and seemed to have encountered this term in some of those books.

However, Ning Qi simply ignored it, thinking that such an illusory thing could not possibly exist.

The Holy Ancestor's clone continued to transmit his voice:

"I don't know much about this thing either, but it only has benefits and no drawbacks. I don't know its specific function either. Legend has it that in a certain special era, some powerful beings needed the faith of all living beings to become immortals."

"This is my first time seeing something like this too, you're so envious!"

Ning Qi received the telepathic message and finally understood.

"Is it the faith required to become an immortal in a certain era?"

He looked at the crowd, and they continued to look at him with unwavering devotion in their eyes, as if waiting for Ning Qi's response.

At this moment, Ning Qi seemed to sense everyone's wishes and connect with them.

Just as Ning Qi was about to respond, suddenly, the Enlightenment Tree hidden within the True Martial Spirit World spontaneously emerged.

The enormous, illusory shadow of the tree filled the entire True Martial Spirit World.

Each leaf is different, some as large as mountains, others as small as blades of grass, and each leaf is a different color.

And they are constantly transforming, turning into other trees, flowers, grasses, and leaves.

As soon as the Enlightenment Tree appeared, all beings felt their minds instantly become much clearer, and inspiration flowed freely.

However, at this moment, their hearts were filled with piety, and they felt that the huge tree shadow was created Ning Qi.

They saw that the soft golden light emanating from Ning Qi's body also quietly spread out, coating the entire giant tree with a layer of golden light.

The leaves rustled softly, as if they were leaping with joy, as if they were excited...

What is this tree?

The Holy Ancestor's avatar and Zhili gazed at the tree that filled the heavens and earth, sheltering all living beings with its shade, and were utterly awestruck!

But Shan Hai recognized it.

"That tree from before, the one belonging to the mountain ancestor? It feels different now."

He has the most authority to speak on this tree, after all, it has been sealed by it for countless millennia and absorbed countless amounts of energy.

But at this moment, the tree evoked a completely different feeling in him.

It no longer draws power from the world, and has shed its ferocity, appearing instead incomparably sacred.

Ning Qi looked at a huge branch hanging down in the square and couldn't help but reach out and touch it.

All living beings then saw that the illusory tree shadow, Ning Qi's touch, seemed to be tickled.

It swayed slightly, appearing both evasive and somewhat enjoying itself.

"Teacher, for some reason, I feel like I've seen this tree somewhere before, but I can't quite place it," Zhili said blankly.

The Holy Ancestor's avatar also wore a thoughtful expression.

"The power of faith, the giant tree... I seem to have seen a similar pattern in the Ancient Sacred Path Diagram, but it seems different from what I see before. How strange."

At this moment, the spirit of the mountains and seas looked at the shadow of the giant tree, and saw that it too was gilded with gold. A look of bewilderment appeared in its eyes, and it nodded in agreement.

"Damn it, I should hate this tree, but now I feel the same way you do!"

For a moment, they couldn't pinpoint the source of this feeling; it seemed as if it were etched into the very depths of their being, and had surfaced unexpectedly at this moment.

When Ning Qi touched the Enlightenment Tree, he seemed to receive a message once again.

"You... are very good... collect more... this power..."

Ning Qi's heart was churning like a raging storm.

The Enlightenment Tree he cultivated seems to have developed sentience?