Chapter 429: Chapter 428: The Upper God Pattern, Ling Ling’s Capability
Heading east.
Before long, Li Jing encountered the Evil Spirit that Ling Ling had mentioned.
At first glance.
The Evil Spirits appeared to be tangible yet substanceless shadows.
But they lacked Yin Qi, which shadows would naturally possess.
Instead, an intense Faith Power dwelled within them.
Among which, there was a slight hint of sinister aura.
These Evil Spirits all had complete human forms.
They wandered aimlessly on the earth like lone spirits.
Their numbers were not scant.
But overall, they were scattered, so Li Jing did not act against them.
While the strengths of the Evil Spirits he encountered during his journey varied, with the strongest reaching the Seventh Realm, none of them showed Essence Source behind their Health Bar.
With no Heavenly and Earthly Essence Source displayed, and the entities being so scattered, killing them would be a waste of time. It was better to continue following Ling Ling’s guidance.
On the way.
Li Jing was also observing Ling Ling.
A Health Bar existed above her head, displaying a lowly value of 666.
Moreover, no Essence Source was presented behind the Health Bar.
The Health Bar displaying 666 implied this little creature was weaker than a monster just starting its Cultivation.
Initially, Li Jing didn’t pay it much mind.
With such limited strength, there was little merit in taking notice.
But the way this little creature relished gnawing on the Lower God Pattern in hand, occasionally hopping to 667 before reverting to 666, left Li Jing slightly bewildered. Could this be due to the amount it consumed?
Had this little thing concealed her strength, explaining the low Health Bar display? Or was her growth constrained somehow?
Regardless, one thing was now certain.
The little creature didn’t just enjoy eating God Patterns; gnawing on them seemed to be beneficial in some way.
Unbeknownst to them.
Li Jing and Ling Ling had been flying for over ten minutes.
Just then, Ling Ling suddenly spoke up.
"Stop here!"
Upon hearing her, Li Jing halted.
No sooner had he stopped than Ling Ling pointed at the ground, making an indistinct sound.
"There are two God Patterns beneath us, of good quality, but buried deep."
"No problem."
Li Jing smiled and looked down.
With the Eye of True Vision, he easily identified two isolated God Patterns buried over a hundred meters beneath the ground.
Both were Middle God Patterns.
The power they contained came nearly fifty times that of the Lower God Pattern that Ling Ling currently gnawed on.
Upon seeing this, Li Jing was slightly taken aback.
Considering the significant difference in power contained by the God Patterns and even their decline over tens of thousands of years, how much powerful can a living Middle God be when compared to a Lower God?
In comparison, it seemed like the difference between a giant and a baby.
Without further delay, Li Jing mentally commanded the Smoke Eye within him to stop simulating Holy Power.
The next second.
Spirit Weapon Qingfeng discreetly appeared beside Li Jing, drawing his sword and slashing out a blue sword shadow.
Without making any sound.
The blue shadow sliced through the earth like cutting tofu, creating a massive chasm stretching precisely to where the two God Patterns lay.
Having descended and retrieved the two Middle God Patterns, Li Jing returned to the surface, casually crushing a few Evil Spirits rushing at him like they were on steroids.
Li Jing paused to consider for a moment, manipulating the spiritual power within him to wash out the hair dye that turned his hair gold, then removed the coloured contacts used for disguise.
All the way here, he hadn’t seen any traces left by the bulk of troops.
If he couldn’t find the army, there was no point in keeping his disguise.
Simulating his power to resemble Holy Power was rather inconvenient.
Moreover, after tricking the Supreme God once, he didn’t know if it would rage and reveal his "fraud" by passing down a divine decree. The identity of a saint might not be useful anymore.
Might as well drop the act.
Upon seeing Li Jing removing his disguise, Ling Ling blinked dumbfoundedly.
Li Jing’s outward appearance hadn’t changed much.
His eyes retained the golden colour from the Eye of True Vision, and his hair had simply turned from gold to black.
However, the change in the nature of the power within him did surprise Ling Ling.
Literally, seconds ago he was a being filled with overflowing Holy Power.
Yet in the blink of an eye, not only did his power transform, but it also spiked unusually high.
Compared to the high purity and high-density Spiritual Power within him, the Holy Power was like a younger brother!
Still, Ling Ling’s surprise only lasted an instant.
Compared to beings she had come across, Li Jing was much weaker.
Lowering her head to gnaw on the Lower God Pattern in her hand, Ling Ling gestured with her little hand.
"Continue in this direction, drift a bit. There should be two Upper God Patterns over there."
Upper God Patterns?
Li Jing raised an eyebrow, and with Ling Ling, they dashed off like a bolt of lightning.
As for what use God Patterns hold or how they should be used.
He did not have a concrete answer yet.
But it was certain.
Only those possessing God Patterns could claim themselves to be Gods.
Such valuable items definitely had to be collected.
There would be ample time to figure out its uses later.
Such God Patterns were hard to come by elsewhere.
...
Without the need to simulate Holy Power, Li Jing’s pace quickened substantially.
Before long.
Under Ling Ling’s guidance, they arrived at a dilapidated palace.
Upon arrival, Li Jing furrowed his brows.
Four mighty Evil Spirits were lurking around the ruined palace.
Every one of them bore a Health Bar value over 10500 atop their heads. Unmistakably, they were Evil Spirits of the Eighth Realm.
All the Evil Spirits he had encountered thus far on their journey were at most Seventh Realm entities.
There were not only Eighth Realm Evil Spirits here, but also a group of four that had emerged.
Behind one of the evil spirits with a health bar exceeding 11,000 was a staggering sixteen pairs of wings!
This creature...
In its lifetime, it must have been a Middle or Superior God from the War Worship God System!
Four Eighth Realm Evil Spirits meant nothing to Li Jing.
However, their wandering here...
It was not purely because there were Superior God Patterns buried here...
While closely observing the four Eighth Realm Evil Spirits, they discovered him.
Four ghostly green glances were cast toward him. They had been aimlessly roaming around before but suddenly halted. Then, they let out hair-raising shrieks and lunged toward him.
Upon seeing this, Li Jing moved his mind slightly, and a Spirit God Whisper swept out.
It was very swift.
The four Eighth Realm Evil Spirits evaporated on the spot, their departure silent and tranquil.
Under the powerful onslaught of the Primordial Spirit, they couldn’t even hold on for a second.
For Li Jing, who had stepped into the Ninth Realm, the Eighth Realm was just like this.
Not to mention these evil spirits that had died countless years ago and completely lost their rationality, even a serious Eighth Realm cultivator would just be a matter of a Spirit God Whisper.
After killing the four Eighth Realm Evil Spirits, Li Jing felt quite indifferent.
Including the evil spirit with sixteen pairs of wings, each of the Eighth Realm Evil Spirits only had a health bar without the display of Essence Source.
Their deaths were meaningless.
Looking down at the ruined palace, Li Jing, using the Eye of True Vision, located two Superior God Patterns buried in the rubble and then furrowed his brows.
Both of these Superior God Patterns, like the Lower God Pattern he initially obtained, were enveloped in bone.
Both sets of skeletons were very well preserved.
One of them had as many as twenty-four pairs of wings on its back.
The God Pattern hidden in its skull held a power more than a hundred times that of the two Middle God Patterns he had obtained earlier.
The other set of skeletons was a complete human form.
The Superior God Pattern’s power hidden in its skull was slightly inferior to the former.
But the power of the two God Patterns was significantly different.
The God Pattern within the skeleton with twenty-four pairs of wings was golden, just like the power of the three Middle-to-Lower God Patterns Li Jing had previously collected. However, the God Pattern in the complete human form was a sacred white color.
Gold.
Undoubtedly, it was a characteristic of the War Worship God System’s power.
White.
It was a characteristic of the Supreme God System’s power.
A Main God from the Supreme God System?
Li Jing squinted his eyes. He crushed the ruins covering the two sets of skeletons with a punch and took out the Flying Sword Blue Edge.
He was about to start smashing the two sets of skeletons when Ling Ling let out a sound.
"These two sets of god bones are well preserved. Don’t waste them by destroying them. In the future, if you want to play god, you can absorb them along with their underlying God Patterns. You might be able to get a special authority and a god position."
At these words, Li Jing blinked.
"Can God Patterns be absorbed?"
"There aren’t so many gods that come with their own God Pattern."
Ling Ling shrugged her shoulders and pointed out,
"At least in the Supreme God Domain, the number of Main Gods who were born with their God Patterns can be counted on your fingers. Absorbing a God Pattern can not only lead to a god position but also enhance the power of an existing God Pattern. Like the Supreme God, his God Pattern was achieved by battling around with the Supreme God Clan and absorbing contributions. It wasn’t that strong in the beginning."
After saying this, she continued,
"It’s my first time here, so I do not know what happened. However, seeing that a Main God from the Supreme God System fell here, this place is likely to be a battlefield where the Supreme God Clan sought to reach a higher level. If there is no accident, this is most likely a divine domain of a certain God Clan System."
Li Jing silently nodded his head in response.
This place might be the divine domain of the War Worship God System.
He had speculated about this before.
In less than an hour, he had collected two Middle and two Superior God Patterns.
If this place was not the habitat of the War Worship God System, then there must be no significant difference.
When Ling Ling mentioned that absorbing God Patterns could not only attain god positions and authority but also enhance the power of one’s own God Pattern, it greatly explained why the Supreme God System had to fight the War Worship God System.
They wanted to absorb God Patterns to reach a higher level.
These God Patterns were abandoned here, with no one paying them any attention.
And with the fall of a Main God from the Supreme God System here, it’s easy to draw a conclusion.
During that battle of those years, the Supreme God System had indeed destroyed the War Worship God System, but the process may not have been easy.
They hadn’t had time to collect the God Patterns, and they had left this place prematurely due to some apprehensions, not daring to descend recklessly.
Among the reasons,
Could be that this place has suffered spatial fragmentation, to some extent, becoming a part of Heavenly Saint Land, which could invite the Will of Heaven from Heavenly Saint Land.
Swiping his hand to store the two skeletons, Li Jing asked,
"Are there any restrictions on absorbing the God Pattern to obtain a god position?"
"Of course, there are restrictions. Your soul has to be strong enough, or it won’t be able to withstand the power of the God Pattern."
Ling Ling made an unclear sound as she said,
"There’s a way around it, though. First, use a Lower God Pattern, and your soul will naturally become stronger. Then, absorb other God Patterns to elevate the level of the Lower God Pattern. Of course, you must have enough God Patterns to do this."
Before Li Jing could speak, Ling Ling said again,
"However, becoming a god may not be of much use to you. I can sense that you have already mastered powers similar to authority. Absorbing a God Pattern will not benefit you much, instead, it may create constraints. If your God Pattern is not of high enough level, it will be inherently suppressed when encountering higher-level God Patterns. Besides, you are not a person from a specific divine domain but an ordinary human, so the uncertain god position does not bring any benefits to you."
Hearing Ling Ling’s words, Li Jing nodded silently again.
He roughly understood the uses of a God Pattern.
One, it can be used to create god positions for fun, to bolster one’s powers.
If you set aside the power growth brought by God Patterns, god positions are mainly used for show.
If you’re not living in a divine domain, god positions basically have no practical use.
Then, it’s about absorbing God Patterns to control a certain authority...
The so-called authority, in essence, is rules.
This usage is not trivial.
Those who cultivate the Orthodox Immortality Path can understand and use the power of rules when they reach a certain realm.
However, that threshold is exceedingly high.
To control the rules, one must reach the Ninth Realm.
Whether one can grasp and control a certain rule depends on individual luck.
But God Patterns are not that troublesome; one can control a rule as long as it is absorbed.
The drawback is,
If the level of the God Pattern is not high enough, one will be naturally oppressed when encountering someone with a higher-level God Pattern.
Digesting this information silently, Li Jing became more interested in collecting God Patterns.
As an individual,
He did not need a God Pattern.
But by collecting enough God Patterns, he could make gods and elevate their levels.
For instance, allowing Liu Sisi and Jiang Yini in the Little Universe to achieve a god position and control a rule, wouldn’t that be fantastic?
For him who has now achieved the Ninth Realm.
The strength of these close ones around him, led by Liu Sisi, is indeed somewhat lacking.
Even though Liu Sisi has attained extremely rapid growth through dual cultivation with him, she is barely at the peak of the Fifth Boundary.
Then, if she gains a divine position, she would be a legitimate goddess, wouldn’t she?
Having a wife who is a goddess...
Isn’t that delightful?
Li Jing has always been a practical man.
Having made up his mind, he immediately looked at Ling Ling.
"Let’s put the matter of finding god patterns on hold for now. I want to take you to a place and need you to help me confirm something."
"Huh? Where are we going?"
Ling Ling blinked in confusion.
"Don’t resist, you’ll understand in a bit."
Li Jing gave a mysterious smile and focused his thoughts.
Ling Ling, as the Spirit of Origin, was exceptionally unique and thus quite laid-back.
She had no guard against Li Jing.
Why would she need to when he feeds her god patterns?
Such a good person!
Feeling the tearing forces of a possible spatial displacement around her, Ling Ling didn’t resist.
Next second.
They entered the Little Universe space.
Upon suddenly entering the Little Universe, Ling Ling was stupefied.
This little fellow was born in the Supreme God Domain, she didn’t even know where the Supreme God was when she was born, and who knew how many years she had lived.
Despite her laid-back attitude, this little one had seen much and was worldly.
The moment she stepped into the Little Universe, she immediately realized that this was a world that was on the right track and starting to evolve.
She hadn’t expected Li Jing to bring her to such a place.
And she could feel it.
This place was closely connected to Li Jing.
Essentially it was created by him alone.
She had never thought that this bizarre man, who had summoned her consciousness, would turn out to be a "Creator."
At the very moment Ling Ling was stunned, a loud "boom" echoed in the high sky out of nowhere, and a thunderbolt horizontally cut across the heavens and earth.
???
Li Jing looked up, his head full of question marks.
It was Ling Ling who was stunned when they first stepped in.
Now it was his turn.
He could distinctly sense.
The moment the thunderbolt exploded, the Little Universe had manifested more than ten complete rules related to the evolution of living beings, and a few bugs were born in the blink of an eye.
How could Li Jing not be surprised by such an unexpected development?
Bringing things that didn’t exist in the Little Universe in could speed up the evolution of this universe.
He had learnt that from Longxu.
He had also considered this by bringing Ling Ling in.
Perhaps after Ling Ling came in, a Spirit of Origin could be born in his Little Universe as well.
Didn’t the rule to birth remnant souls appear after Longxu came in?
However, he had never expected Ling Ling’s "power" to be so tremendous.
Manifesting more than ten rules related to the evolution of living beings at once wasn’t the issue, what’s surprising was that she gave birth to a native living being.
Just when he was stunned, Ling Ling let out a sound.
"I’ve decided, I want to live here and I’m not leaving."
???
Li Jing turned his head.
In view, Ling Ling had grown about an inch or so in size.
The health bar that was showing 666 at the top of her head, had turned into ???.
Behind the health bar, there was a representation of Essence Source, which also became ???.
Seeing this, Li Jing was instantly stupefied.
The Heavenly Path of Heavenly Saint Land also had three question marks for its health bar display.
But the grotesque seventeen-billion Essence Sources have been explicitly shown.
Did Ling Ling’s ??? for Essence Source mean that her Essence Source was more absurd than the Heavenly Path of the Heavenly Saint Land, causing it not to be displayed?
Considering Ling Ling suddenly wanted to live here, Li Jing easily figured out that this little one must have gained way more Original Fortune than Longxu, which was why she didn’t want to leave because of the huge benefits.
Li Jing, of course, would not object to this.
He never maliciously thought about kidnapping this little thing.
But if she can be convinced to stay, then of course it is all for the better.
The mystery of Ling Ling extends much beyond the surface and needs to be further explored.
Also, this little one has a history much longer than that of the Supreme God System, through her he could learn about the Supreme God System.
If she does not want to return to the Supreme God Domain, it’s the best-case scenario.
What aroused Li Jing’s curiosity was.
Just how generous was his yet-to-be-formed Will of Heaven towards Ling Ling, and what kind of Original Fortune was given to her that made her decide to settle here without hesitation.
On this side.
Seeing Li Jing staring at her in silence, Ling Ling interjected.
"Why are you looking at me like that? Aren’t we friends? I’m going to live here, you won’t object, will you?"
After speaking, she continued.
"Don’t worry, I won’t live here for free. As the Spirit of Origin, I control all the authority related to life, I just can’t use it recklessly or else I’ll be punished by Heaven’s will. The evolution of the Will of Heaven in your place is not complete, and the restrictions are smaller, I can help you accelerate the evolution of life."
"..."
Li Jing.
He hadn’t said anything yet, and Ling Ling had gone on a "self-disclosure."
Control all life-related authority?
This little one was more capable than he initially thought, by quite a bit.
At this point, he probably understood why the Supreme God didn’t dare to touch Ling Ling, and could only take advantage of her.
Her existence could easily affect the beings within the Supreme God Domain, including the Main God of the Supreme God System.
Since Ling Ling could accelerate the evolution of life.
If she got desperate, at the risk of bearing Heaven’s punishment, she could probably also make life devolve...
Who could withstand that?
"You’re right, we are friends."
Li Jing’s eyes lit up, he casually took out a very tasty Spirit Fruit and handed it over, his expression seemed like that of a child trafficker.
"Feel free to stay as long as you want."
Upon hearing these words, Ling Ling felt very satisfied.
She did not decline the Spirit Fruit that Li Jing handed over, and while enjoying the Lower God Pattern she had nibbled away, she greedily took a bite of the fruit, smacking her lips contentedly.
"Then we agree, if you break your promise, I won’t play along anymore."
"How could I possibly go back on my word?"
Li Jing laughed heartily and then, with a thought, he brought her to the Qingyuan Fairy Palace.
His arrival timing was rather inconvenient.
At present, Jiang Yini and Liu Sisi were both in a meditative state, presumably both coming to some realizations.
The remnant soul of Longxu was fluttering around the Heritage Stele like an evil spirit.
Caught off guard by Li Jing’s arrival, Longxu was momentarily startled.
Immediately afterwards.
He noticed Ling Ling perched on Li Jing’s shoulder, almost bulging his eyes at the sight of her.
"The.... The.... Spirit of Origin?"
Li Jing was about to ask Ling Ling whether Jiang Yini and Liu Sisi’s current strength could absorb the God Patterns, but stopped in surprise, glancing sideways.
Did Longxu actually know about the Spirit of Origin?
And was he able to recognize it at a glance?
Ling Ling was not shy, and seeing that Longxu recognized what kind of being she was, she cheerfully waved at him.
"Hello."
After greeting him, she turned to Li Jing.
"This remnant soul is quite discerning, and his soul is strong enough to absorb the Upper God Pattern. You can give him one of the two God Bones you just harvested. With my assistance, he should be able to accomplish godhood and possibly regenerate a physical body."
Li Jing was stunned at her words.
Could Longxu absorb the God Pattern?
And could he regenerate his body after absorbing the God Pattern?
On the other side, Longxu was also a bit taken aback.
He knew more than anyone exactly what the Spirit of Origin represented.
This was a Heterogeneous Species that was naturally created before the evolution of nature began, symbolizing the origin of all life’s evolution. Even the Heavens would tremble at the sight of this being.
Artificially created worlds wouldn’t produce the Spirit of Origin.
And the Spirit of Origin wouldn’t casually leave its birth world unless it was attracted by certain things.
Where had Li Jing gotten a genuine Spirit of Origin from?
This kind of existence, he had only read about it in ancient books.
Then what was she talking about?
God Bones, God Patterns, achieving godhood - Longxu, who had been a cultivator of the Eastern Orthodox Immortality Path in his lifetime, didn’t have much understanding about these concepts.
However, he did understand one thing.
He...
might have the chance to regenerate his body.
Without hesitation!
Longxu instantly collapsed onto the floor where the Heritage Stele stood, kneeling.
"Master! Please grant me the chance to be reborn!"
"..."
Li Jing.
There was really not much that could disturb him.
But Longxu’s sudden kneeling made quite a scene, startling him a bit.
Speechless, Li Jing turned to face Ling Ling.
"Will it take long for you to assist him?"
"Just a moment, the bulk of the process will depend on him."
Ling Ling replied.
"Alright."
Li Jing nodded, pulling out the God Bone with twenty-four wings.
In a way, Ling Ling’s personality was similar to Li Jing’s; both of them didn’t waste words.
Seeing him retrieve the God Bone, she simply raised her hand and pointed it out from afar.
Next.
Under the guidance of Ling Ling, the God Bone was imbued into the kneeling Longxu.
!!!
Longxu.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be reborn, or that he didn’t want the God Bone.
The key was that the moment Li Jing pulled out the God Bone, he recognized it as the bone of the Western God who had once destroyed the Qingyuan Fairy Palace.
His memory was fragmented.
But that didn’t mean he wouldn’t recognize his own enemy...
If possible.
He wished Li Jing would replace it with another one.
Unfortunately, Ling Ling moved too quickly. The moment the God Bone was integrated into him, he instinctively knew exactly what he should do next - the process of regeneration.
This . . .
It was too appealing!
Longxu silently closed his eyes, his transparent remnant soul gradually turning paper-like.
Following that, a light film emerged and quietly enveloped him, forming a cocoon.
Seeing this, Ling Ling withdrew her hand and chuckled.
"It’s done, he needs to sleep for a while. When he wakes up, he will be a living god."
"Hmm."
Li Jing responded, then pointed at Liu Sisi and Jiang Yini.
"This one is my wife, and the other is my friend. Do you think they could..."
Before he could finish his sentence, Ling Ling shook her head.
"Their soul intensity is currently too weak, and they can’t fuse with a God Pattern. If you could bring me some more snacks, I might expend some effort to help them so they can absorb a Lower God Pattern as a starting point."
"Sure."
Li Jing agreed immediately.
Liu Sisi and Jiang Yini were currently too weak to absorb the God Pattern.
That wasn’t surprising.
The fact that Ling Ling could help wasn’t a problem either.
As for her demand for "snacks" - he could go back to the shattered space and search for it.
Once confirmed, Li Jing didn’t delay.
Picking up Ya’er, who was bouncing everywhere in the Little Universe without Liu Sisi watching her, he placed her near the Heritage Stele to continue meditating and left with Ling Ling to go back to the fragmented space.
...
