Chapter 769: Ubiquitous

Chapter 769: Omnipresence

In the past, Zhao Changhe had hinted and stated this topic countless times. The Blind One either ignored him entirely or directly told him he wasn't qualified, leaving Zhao Changhe grinding his teeth in frustration.

This was the first time she had shown an attitude of possible cooperation, and she had clearly laid out the prerequisite.

It wasn't that the Blind One was putting on airs. In truth, everyone knew that "cooperation" sounded nice but might not actually come to pass. Zhao Changhe was essentially asking, "What the hell do you want to do? Just say it directly." As for whether they could cooperate, probably not; the more likely outcome would be a showdown and a falling out.

The Blind One couldn't possibly reveal her intentions outright from the very beginning.

As for why it could only be spoken after breaking the Temple of the Eternal Heavenly God, Zhao Changhe didn't know. It might have something to do with the nature of that page of the Heavenly Book, or perhaps with the connection between the Divine Axe and the Land of the Spirit Clan. In any case, it likely involved the ultimate mysteries of the world.

He didn't press further.

Zhao Changhe knew that the Hu people were certainly not the final boss, no matter how vast their power. Measured by individual strength, the Eternal Heavenly God was merely at the second level of the Imperial Realm, on par with the Sea Emperor and the Dao Lord, suppressed by Xia Longyuan for decades. Even if he hadn't been at his peak before, once he fully recovered, he would at most be at the peak of the second level. He hardly seemed like a final boss.

Currently, only three top-tier existences at the third level of the Imperial Realm were known: the Night Emperor, the Netherworld, and the Ethereal. As for the Sword Emperor, once thought to be at the second level, now there was a chance he might be at the third, making at most four.

Among them, the Ethereal had already reincarnated. Even at her peak, she was probably slightly inferior to the Night Emperor. Assuming the third level had stages, the Night Emperor was definitely at the mid-to-late stage, while the Ethereal was likely at the early stage. The Netherworld was at most a hair behind the Night Emperor.

Based on the Blind One's earlier description of the Netherworld, Zhao Changhe had originally felt she had quite a bit of a final boss vibe.

Chaos, death, annihilation—the whole rhythm of a world-destroying demon lord. Moreover, the Blind One was particularly cautious about her, making her qualifications sufficient. Yet, upon meeting her in Chang'an, Zhao Changhe didn't feel that the Netherworld's display reached the Blind One's level at all; they weren't even on the same tier. This shook Zhao Changhe's judgment.

Hopefully, it was because the Netherworld's recovery was incomplete, and she would be stronger when fully restored... Or perhaps what he saw in Chang'an was merely a split soul? Her true body should be in Kunlun? Possibly. In any case, it was best if the Netherworld was still worthy of being the boss; otherwise, the problem would be huge...

Because if she wasn't worthy, who else could be?

If no ruthless figure beyond cognition appeared, then the final boss was undoubtedly you, Ye Wuming!

What exactly are you trying to do?

Zhao Changhe was silent for a long time, then said in a low voice, "I never thought I would actually hope the Netherworld was stronger."

The Blind One stared fixedly at him, also silent for a while before saying, "She is indeed much stronger in reality. Chang'an was just an avatar."

"Just as I thought." Zhao Changhe let out a sigh of relief, then broke into a smile. "You used the word 'avatar' instead of 'split soul,' which means she has a physical body. As for your body—has it perished, or is it hidden somewhere? I've read novels where the protagonist helps the heroine piece together her body..."

The Blind One said, "Who is the heroine?"

Zhao Changhe: "..."

"What use would I have for a physical body? For you to use?"

"..."

The Blind One sneered. "The body is nothing but a vessel. My will is eternal. What meaning does having a body hold for me? Only certain people find the body particularly important."

"However..." Zhao Changhe hesitated, then slowly said, "When I brought that up, I was actually considering whether your inability to restrain the Netherworld's avatar was related to your lack of a body. So who is it that's thinking about certain things?"

The Blind One's brows shot up in anger.

You deliberately mentioned the protagonist helping the heroine piece together her body, leading me astray, and now you blame me?

Before she could curse, Zhao Changhe quickly said, "The biggest variable in our northern expedition is the Netherworld's movements. Earlier, you said you would restrain her, but if you can't, wouldn't it all be for nothing? Before the battle with the Dao Lord, I never thought you would be the one to drop the ball."

The Blind One said coldly, "Because that was an avatar. She can destroy, reshape, or replace it at will. In an instant, you wouldn't even notice it had changed. You thought the Netherworld you saw was weak, which only proves your lack of insight—you couldn't even see where her strength lay."

"Uh..."

"I won't vent my anger on an avatar; it's meaningless. If her true body faced me, the situation would naturally be different. The fear is that even if I restrain her true body, she could casually leave an avatar outside and still beat you to a pulp." The Blind One added with some mockery, "And behind her are countless ancient corpse puppets and the amalgamation of beings like Huang Yang. Can you handle that?"

Zhao Changhe laughed. "So strong, good, good. Strong is good."

The Blind One said, "Are you sick?"

Zhao Changhe smiled. "You know."

Whoever is strong looks like the boss. I'd rather fight her than you.

Such sycophantic words, Zhao Changhe was unwilling to say. Besides, if he could really beat the Blind One, he would have wanted to long ago—it wasn't about not wanting to fight you.

But these words were sincere... somewhat contradictory.

The Blind One knew what Zhao Changhe wanted to say. She was silent for a long time, then gradually faded into the void. "Don't underestimate the enemy, or you'll regret it."

Zhao Changhe watched the direction she disappeared, muttering to himself, "Split soul..."

He tried to split off a small part of his own soul, but immediately felt a splitting pain, drenched in sweat as he stopped the experiment.

Too big a step...

Try something else? Zhao Changhe suddenly flicked his finger, and a drop of blood automatically left his body. As it fell, it "danced" and transformed into a tiny human figure.

Not injecting a split soul, just controlling it... Like Hong Ling embedding sword qi in various places, that wasn't a split soul either.

Zhao Changhe flicked his finger again, and the blood figure "whooshed" into the sky.

Endless yellow sand, snow flying for a thousand miles. Yuan Sanniang stood with her hands behind her back by the ice pool, gazing at the rising ice vapor, lost in thought.

She was the earliest among Zhao Changhe's companions to break into the Imperial Realm, just like her reputation in the martial world—low-key, without great achievements, yet the strongest and most gifted—inheriting the Sea Emperor's "divine essence," the faith of millions of sea people, and the Xuanwu faith of the Four Symbols Sect. If Xia Chichi couldn't directly draw upon the dragon qi of the land, then in terms of borrowing faith power for cultivation speed, no one in the world could match Sanniang, not even Zhao Changhe at this moment.

But cultivation was one thing, enlightenment another. If she wanted to break into the second level of the Imperial Realm, she was still missing some key insight.

Sanniang stretched out her finger and flicked lightly. The frozen lake instantly turned into rippling water, without even a gradual transition, like a miracle. In the distance, many herdsmen of the Batu tribe kowtowed in worship, calling her a deity.

The tribe lacked water, and it was resolved in an instant—if not divine, then what?

Batu was saying to someone, "See that? That's my godmother."

But Sanniang, worshipped as a god, shook her head slightly, dissatisfied.

The interchange of ice and water—she hadn't studied it deeply before. She once thought it was the key to breaking into the Imperial Realm, but it proved irrelevant. The hardness of ice was significant for her defense, but such an interchange, even understandable to mortals, couldn't lead to the threshold of the Imperial Realm, let alone the second level.

If anything related to the second level... the hardness of ice, the softness of water, the steadfastness of the Xuanwu, the ever-changing nature of the Xuan Serpent. The tortoise and serpent intertwined, yin and yang revolving.

It was normal for the Four Symbols to have five, wasn't it? Perhaps the consideration of split souls, dividing and then unifying, was the path to the third level?

Just as she was pondering this, a blood-red figure suddenly dropped in front of her, grinning at her.

What demon dares to provoke me? Sanniang instinctively slapped out a palm, smashing the blood figure into smoke.

"Damn..." Beneath the sky, Zhao Changhe covered his face. "Stupid turtle..."

This wasn't a split soul; it was his own soul controlling it. That slap felt exactly like being slapped on his own face.

But still... it wasn't the pure soul roaming of before, but rather a soul lodged in an object. To some extent, it was akin to splitting off a part of the soul into an object while still being able to do his own thing. At least it counted as multitasking, a bit of progress. He also found a bit of that feeling of transforming into all things and being omnipresent—there was some flavor to it.

This was also the Sea Emperor's water-man control technique. In essence, using sword qi to control sword slaves, or using life-and-death power to control corpse puppets, should all be similar routines, just different methods. The essence was alike. That is to say, continuing to train in this direction could at least reach the Sea Emperor's level. It didn't seem to require splitting the soul; a multi-core processor didn't mean splitting the processor itself...

So it wasn't a matter of quantity, but still quality. At a certain level, it wouldn't be called yin spirit anymore—could it be called yang spirit?

The path was right.

Over there, Sanniang was staring at her own palm, doubting herself. "Is it an illusion? I seem to have hit my little man. The feel of that stinky face..."

"He seems to be studying split souls... using the method of lodging the soul in objects as an entry point?"

"Then I might be better suited to try this than him... Did my little man come specifically to remind me?"

Sanniang waved her jade hand, and a whirlpool suddenly appeared in the lake. A chubby water figure emerged, bowing and saluting: "My lord..."

Sanniang pointed at Batu in the distance. "Beat him up."

The water figure rolled up its sleeves and ran over, flipping Batu over and beating him up. "You call her mother? Is a divine son something just anyone can be?"

Batu covered his head and screamed, "Batu only recognizes one godmother!"

Sanniang blinked, snapped her fingers. The chubby water figure floated back obediently.

Third Lady plucked a blade of grass, stuck it into the water golem, and slurped water through it: "Quite interesting... seems I can try a bit more. Where I surpass that little man is that, in the name of the Sea King, the water golems I summon possess a certain self-awareness, and death doesn't affect me much. This might, to some extent, count as creation..."

All the tribespeople kowtowed even more devoutly: "Our God..."

Third Lady clasped her hands behind her back, gazing at the sky, appearing proud and lofty, but her eyes had crinkled into crescent moons: "Hurry up and attack already. I can't even get a good sleep in a place like this—so annoying."

Zhao Changhe was also smiling: "Wait, it'll be soon."

His gaze turned westward, toward the Jade Void Peak of Kunlun, and the town at its foot where battles had once been fought.

Li Shengtong was supporting Yu Xu, having just arrived here.

They hadn't necessarily needed to return to Kunlun; any remote countryside would have been best for recuperation. But Yu Xu felt it wouldn't do. This region was teeming with too many villains. After the Chaos Chronicle announced his "temporary loss of power," what would happen?

No need to guess.

Some villains had already scattered across the divine lands, no longer restrained. Others had been subdued by Jiuyou or Poxun, becoming their henchmen.

Still others had occupied Jade Void Peak, searching for any possible "treasure where the Dao Lord once lodged his soul."

Such a thing was bound to exist. The ancient demon gods who survived and revived did so largely because of treasures protecting them. This item was either on Yu Xu's person or stored in the Jade Void Palace.

When Yu Xu appeared in the town, he received neither reverence nor welcome as its former master. Almost every eye flickered with strange colors, and in their bowed salutations, what they concealed was nothing but malice and ferocity.

"The True One returns?" Yan Que, the Blood Demon Hand who had once chased Wang Daozhong to the ends of the earth, greeted the two with a smile at Chen Yi's tavern: "I never thought I'd have the honor of seeing Lord Li Zongzhu's face. What fortune."

Li Shengtong smiled without a word.

Yan Que poured wine for the two and raised his bowl in toast: "I wonder if the True One's injuries allow for drinking? If not, no matter—I'll toast Lord Li Zongzhu instead."

The words seemed casual, but they were a veiled probe to see how badly Yu Xu was hurt. If Yu Xu, famous for brewing his own wine, dared not drink, then one could only pray that Li Shengtong would stay by his side forever.

The two old friends naturally saw through this little scheme, and even deeper ones besides, but they paid it no mind. Both raised their bowls and drank it all: "Just back from Chang'an, my mouth has been so bland it's driving me crazy."

Yan Que watched them drink, the light in his eyes growing ever more eerie.

But Li Shengtong wiped his mouth and said cheerfully, "Brother Yan's Netherwater Poison is quite interesting... It seems not only has Brother Yan underestimated me, but Jiuyou hasn't taken me seriously either."

Yan Que's smile vanished instantly.

"If one has tempered the body to this point, yet not the internal organs, not the soul, how can one be called a defender? Brother Yan, down in the Netherworld, be sure to tell Lady Jiuyou."

"Boom!" The peaceful tavern erupted with wind and thunder. A steel-like giant palm had already pressed against Yan Que's chest.

Yan Que's hand blazed with crimson light. His famed Blood Demon Hand desperately met the blow.

"Crack!" His entire arm was crushed into pulp. A faint Netherworld aura rose from his body, slowing the strike just enough to keep him from being killed outright. He flew backward like a broken kite.

Jiuyou's phantom appeared before Li Shengtong, as if to block him. Li Shengtong glared back, his arm muscles turning to steel in an instant.

On Yan Que's path of flight, a tiny blood golem suddenly appeared, waving its little fists in an attempt to stop him. Yan Que actually felt a heart-stopping threat from this little thing. Gritting his teeth, he swung his left palm: "Get lost!"

The blood golem suddenly transformed into a face Yan Que knew well—Wang Daozhong's—and pushed forward with one hand: "Pai Tian Zhen Hai!"

"Boom!"

Though the little hand was no bigger than a pin, it struck with surging airwaves and a sky full of blood.

Now it was Li Shengtong's turn to smile as he blocked Jiuyou: "Miss, if you're looking to throw yourself into King Zhao's arms, head to the capital. This is Kunlun's Jade Void Peak."

In that single moment of delay, Yan Que was already blasted into a bloody pulp by the little blood golem wearing Wang Daozhong's face, completing the karmic cycle.

Jiuyou stared coldly at the little blood golem. It reverted to Zhao Changhe's form and waved at her: "Hey, Miss Li's here too? Want to hook up?"

A green aura rose on Jiuyou's face. Unable to determine whether Ye Wuming was present, she still didn't want to fight. She left a single sentence and vanished: "Being Ye Wuming's dog—you'll regret it."

Zhao Changhe ignored her, cheerfully waving at Yu Xu and Li Shengtong: "Lord Li, let's communicate like this from now on."

Li Shengtong's cheek twitched: "Agreed."

Yu Xu asked, "Does King Zhao have designs on the Taiji Diagram?"

The little blood golem waved dismissively: "You need it to recover. What would I do with it? Maybe I'll borrow it to look at later. For now, that's it. The tavern owner here is a friend of mine, and there are some Four Symbols cultists lurking around. If you're going to clean house, distinguish the people and give me some face."

The little blood golem vanished. Li Shengtong and Yu Xu exchanged glances. Though they appeared calm, both felt a chill in their hearts.

This omnipresent display by Jiuyou and Zhao Changhe was terrifying. It seemed time and space had lost all meaning; even in sleep, one might lose their head at any moment.

The world had changed to this level, and even the old masters of the Heavenly Ranking struggled to keep up. How Zhao Changhe, merely at the first level of the Imperial Realm, managed this was beyond them...

Li Shengtong said nothing. He glanced around, and a killing intent rose on his face.

"On the second day of the first month, Yu Xu and Li Shengtong arrived at Kunlun. Yan Que, the Blood Demon Hand, attempted to destroy their physical bodies with Netherwater poison. The two drank it like water, completely unharmed. With the plot foiled, Li Shengtong severely wounded Yan Que with a single palm strike. Blocked by Jiuyou's divine descent, Zhao Changhe crossed ten thousand li and killed Yan Que with his own hand."

"A terrestrial ranking falls, the rankings change..."

"With Jiuyou and Changhe gone, Li Shengtong slaughtered the Kunlun Villains' Valley, sparing none except those with connections. In that battle, nearly ten thousand were killed, blood filling the Kunlun slopes."

Across the world, everyone scratched their heads at this sudden Chaos Chronicle broadcast.

What was this battle report? How could no one understand it anymore?

Crossing ten thousand li to strike? Was this still the path of martial artists? Could you all just sit at another table? The Chaos Chronicle we read wasn't like this.

At the bottom of the Imperial Ancestral Temple, Zhao Changhe winced and sucked in a breath: "Damn, Kunlun's too urbanized, right? Old Li's gone full Great Western King."

Yue Hongling was in meditation and didn't reply.

The Blind Woman answered: "Everyone in the Villains' Valley was a villain. Li Shengtong had no moral qualms about killing them. Besides, many had already fled. That town back then had far more than ten thousand people."

Zhao Changhe nodded: "Back then, even just the east side of the city had several rival gangs... Suddenly I feel Yu Xu deserves immense credit. These people have now scattered across the divine lands—what a headache."

The Blind Woman said, "Let them scatter. Do you think you're the only one in the world doing righteous deeds? How many swordsmen are rising through the ranks today? The real trouble is the ones Jiuyou has recruited... Her power is growing."

Zhao Changhe smiled and said nothing, then turned: "Blindie."

"Hmm?"

"Gazing across the world, omnipresent—I've finally grasped a part of your realm. It's truly incredible."

"Go on. Why the sudden flattery? What do you want?"

"Once, someone raised a crown prince, and in the end, he became her favorite husband. Now, someone raises an agent, and the more she raises him, the more he becomes like her. Don't you find that a bit strange?"

The Blind Woman parted her cherry lips and said only one word: "Scram."

Neither of them noticed how accustomed they had become to this kind of teasing... or rather, to the state of "he wants me, I know it, yet I still play along with his nonsense." It had grown more natural than ever.