Chapter 433: Chapter 432: Delicate Situation, Wina’s Miserable State
In the Little Universe, epic transformations were taking place, and it can be said that Xiu Qiong was the sole witness to these changes.
It just happened that she was the only one on the secluded Solitary Peak Hidden Dragon Mountain before the changes occurred in the Little Universe, granting her an incredibly broad view.
All these transformations, she saw in their entirety.
The Little Universe, which was originally flat and vacant, suddenly possessed various unique landscapes, causing Xiu Qiong to be taken aback.
What stunned her even more was...
She personally witnessed several small insects breaking out from the earth beneath the dense forest at the foot of the mountain. Their forms transformed in mere minutes, as if they’d undergone millions of years of evolutionary history in an instant, changing into various birds and beasts.
Xiu Qiong was not foolish.
All the incredibly odd occurrences she was witnessing started when Li Jing waved his hand.
Looking blankly at Li Jing, who was standing calmly by her side, Xiu Qiong swallowed hard and finally managed to speak.
"Li Jing, what... where is this place? What did you just do?"
"Originally, this was my storage space. Due to some changes, it has become the Little Universe, which can accommodate living beings. One day, this place will become its own heaven and earth. You can understand it as this: in the future, this place will be a Secret Realm Space. Whether it will eventually become a Small Secret Realm or a Big Secret Realm, I cannot guarantee."
Li Jing explained with a faint smile.
"As for what I just did, it’s something that you may not be able to understand at your current level. All you need to know is that here, I am the Creator."
"...."
Xiu Qiong.
The information contained in his words was simply overwhelming.
This place...
Originally was Li Jing’s storage space?
And here...
He is the Creator?!
Ever since she entered the Little Universe for three straight days, she’d had many speculations.
However, she never imagined that this space belonged solely to Li Jing; she’d always just assumed he had a method of entering this independent space anytime, anywhere.
Looking at the Little Universe that now possessed countless mountains and rivers, Xiu Qiong closed her eyes and chose to give up on trying to understand.
What Li Jing had described was far beyond her comprehension.
This was not a level she could reach.
Even after merging with the God Pattern and achieving the Upper God Position, she didn’t qualify.
Since she didn’t qualify, she shouldn’t think too much about it.
Rather than pondering this or that, it would be better to fully digest the enlightenment brought about by witnessing that historical moment, to gain a little more advantage for herself.
Xiu Qiong, who now possessed the Upper God Pattern, was indeed different.
Although her actual realm was still only the Sixth, she couldn’t truly comprehend the Power of Rules, but the Authority endowed by her God Position allowed her to easily feel the fluctuations of the Power of Rules in the heavens and earth.
Even though the faint sensation she experienced in the blink of an eye couldn’t exactly be called clarity, the tremendous quantity of Power of Rules that Li Jing had invoked as he transformed heaven and earth was undeniable!
If she could quietly digest this, it would hugely benefit her future path of cultivation.
Seeing Xiu Qiong close her eyes in meditation, evidently needing time to digest her unique enlightenment from the recent changes, Li Jing did not disturb her. He too, sat cross-legged nearby.
Most of his journey after stepping onto the path of cultivation was like he was maxing out his stats.
But this time was different.
He had genuinely gained the ability to control heaven and earth as the Creator through his connection with the Little Universe and the unshaped Will of Heaven granted by this place.
In order to better control the Little Universe, he too needed to fully digest this experience.
His eyes closed in contemplation.
Through the further growth of the Consonance Heart, the area of the Little Universe, which was now wider than the entire Longyu Country, was clearly presented in Li Jing’s consiousness in a near-holographic, three-dimensional format.
As the image emerged, a revelation surfaced in Li Jing’s mind.
This was a map of the realm.
Through this map, he could adjust the landscape of every inch of the Little Universe at will.
And he could monitor the movements of all the local living beings in the Little Universe, control their life and death, and even use the rules related to biological evolution to promote their further evolution.
However, directly interfering with the process of biological evolution would consume the energy of the Will of Heaven.
This, was not necessary.
Not to mention that the Will of Heaven in the Little Universe had not yet fully evolved, it was better to let species evolution occur naturally. Any excessive interference might result in some strange species, potentially collapsing the Little Universe.
There was another crucial point.
The Little Universe currently contained a significant number of complete rules, but it was still a long way from truly becoming its own heaven and earth.
Before this path was completed, forced interference could lead to unknown consequences.
If the evolution of the Will of Heaven and the rules were considered autonomous programming, then the current program of the Little Universe was barely runnable, as long as there were no problems.
Forceful interference might cause bugs.
If an unexpected bug actually starts running and no one corrects it, who knows what problems it might cause.
...
In the blink of an eye, more than three hours had passed.
Li Jing had digested the wonders of the map of the realm, made several "fine-tunings" and changed some landscapes he was not quite satisfied with. Then he came out of his meditative state.
At the same time.
Xiu Qiong, having digested the enlightenment from witnessing various transformations, took a deep breath and opened her eyes.
She noticed that Li Jing was sitting cross-legged nearby, she paused for a moment then smiled radiantly.
"It’s only been a while since I last saw you, but you’re becoming harder and harder to read. I hope I’m not being too presumptuous in asking, but what’s your current level?"
"You could say that I just stepped into the Ninth Realm."
Li Jing answered with a faint smile.
?
Xiu Qiong.
For a moment, she thought she had misheard.
What realm did Li Jing just say?
The Ninth Realm?!
That’s a realm that no one in this world has reached!
She knew that Li Jing was very special and very powerful.
As the owner of the Little Universe, strictly speaking, he could no longer be considered a cultivator of the Orthodox Immortality Path.
But he hadn’t merged with a God Pattern, so why was he so powerful?
Looking at Li Jing, who had an harmless yet utterly composed face, Xiu Qiong reflected quietly.
She wondered why on earth she would ask such a question?
Not only was he fooled, but he also ended up feeling a great deal of frustration.
How did Li Jing reach the Ninth Realm, a level that no one in the present world had ever set foot in, without integrating with a God Pattern?
A big question mark appeared in Su Qiong’s mind.
She wanted to ask.
But she knew she shouldn’t ask this question.
She pursed her lips, then chose to change the subject with a smile.
"During this time, I’ve gained quite a benefit from you, and I have nothing at hand to repay you. I think you won’t value my repayment either. But with our friendship, when one day if I want to retire or grow tired of the worldly life, and come to your Little Universe to claim a mountain as my own, as a mountain king, you probably won’t object it?"
Upon hearing these words, Li Jing smiled.
Indeed, he didn’t need any repayment from Su Qiong.
He benefited her only because they had met, and happened to encounter each other in the Fragmented Space.
Su Qiong truly had no shame.
She actually planned to claim a mountain and become a mountain king in his realm...
Really, couldn’t she have higher aspirations?
At the very least, she was now a holder of an Upper God Pattern. Wasn’t it better to have some greater ambitions?
Feeling both amused and dumbfounded, Li Jing replied.
"Whatever happens later, we’ll discuss when the time comes. If you wish to reside in my Little Universe in the future, I of course wouldn’t object to it. But currently, my realm only has a few low-level Spiritual Beasts and ordinary beasts that have just completed their evolution, and how it will be like in the future I can’t be certain. Anyway, I’ll agree to this for now."
Seeing that he had tentatively agreed to her proposal, Su Qiong smiled brightly.
"You’ve said it, I’ve taken note."
While nodding, Li Jing rose from his seat and started speaking.
"We have overstayed our time limit for three days. The curtain blocking our way forward has possibly been removed by the people of the Supreme Church by now. The exploration team not finding you might cause some problems, let’s head out first."
"Okay."
Su Qiong also rose from her seat in response.
...
After leaving the Little Universe, Li Jing and Su Qiong found themselves back in her tent.
However, before they had even settled in, they heard a cacophony of noises from outside.
Hearing the noise, Su Qiong raised her eyebrows.
"We have returned at the right time, we didn’t miss anything. Outside is the exploration team from our Longyu assembling."
Li Jing nodded in response.
"You go attend to your tasks, I will act independently from now on. You can’t make Longyu’s exploration team retreat, and me showing up to persuade them will likely be futile as well. If any problems arise later, I will try my best to watch out for Longyu."
As he spoke, he added.
"Also, note this. The Authority and the Power of Rules granted by the God Pattern are basically the same, but there are some differences. Not only do the Supreme Church and the Present Supreme Church’s people are present, but there is also at least one Messenger of the God’s Descent and a Saint. Try not to use your mastered Power of Rules as much as possible unless absolutely necessary, to avoid attracting unnecessary trouble."
"Rest assured, I’ll be cautious."
As Su Qiong responded, she smiled and said.
"Don’t forget, as a Monster mixed into the Management Bureau, I naturally wouldn’t expose myself unless necessary."
Meeting this reply, Li Jing then came to realize.
Su Qiong was unlike Jiu Li and Yulian who had been influenced to join the Jianghai Management Bureau; everyone who knew she was a Monster had been bought out by her, she had hidden herself deeply.
Considering this point, Li Jing couldn’t help but admire Su Qiong.
This young woman had already become a commander.
Not some team’s commander, but the commander in charge of the entire Xiang City branch.
She never exposed her strength and always stayed low-profile.
Getting to this point was not due to the advantage she gained from him in the 107th Small Secret Realm, but she truly had abilities.
...
After they had discussed, Li Jing activated the Silent Shadow and walked out of the tent with Su Qiong.
Outside, the curtain had already disappeared.
Not only was the Longyu exploration team assembling, but the teams from different factions were also gathering and taking roll-call rapidly.
The people from the Supreme Church and the Present Church, clearly had assembled in advance. Both parties were now confronting each other, ready to fight at any moment.
Once Su Qiong left the tent, she was quickly noticed by the Longyu exploration team.
"Commander Su."
A young man from the Xiang City Management Bureau briskly approached.
Su Qiong nodded and responded as she saw him coming.
"My apologies, I encountered some problems during my cultivation and was delayed. What’s the situation now?"
Meantime, she walked away with the young man, giving Li Jing an "I’m going to be busy now" glance.
Seeing this, Li Jing silently nodded in response, and then turned his gaze towards the Supreme Church and the Present Church’s teams who had completed their assembly.
These two parties, being both friendly and hostile, were as good as ready for battle, seemingly saying ’you glaring at me, and I glaring at you’. The tension was almost palpable. They were simply a step away from a full-on fight.
Alicia, as the Saint of the Goddess of Light, held an absolute leading position in the Supreme Church’s team.
She was standing in front of the fully assembled team, facing off against a handsome young man in the team of the Present Supreme Church.
Both behind Alicia and the young man stood a man and a woman respectively.
Wina was behind the young man, implicitly seeing him as the leader.
Noting such an arrangement, Li Jing couldn’t help but pay attention.
Each of the two people standing behind Alicia, and the one person behind the young man, all had a health bar above their heads.
And their health bars were not simply a little higher than Wina’s.
Wina’s health bar under normal circumstances would only read 10699.
Her real health inside her body would be 13454.
The other three people’s health bars were reaching up to 13400+.
The most outrageous one was directly at 13499.
At the threshold of the Tenth Realm, they were just a step away from it.
All three of them were in the late stages of the Ninth Realm.
Without any doubt.
These three, just like Wina, were Messengers of the God’s Descent, only their strength exceeded hers.
Whether their current health bars displayed their full strength, Li Jing could not be certain.
With four late-Ninth Realm Messengers of the God’s Descent here, he didn’t think it would be safe to use his Eye of True Vision for observation, lest he attract their attention and possibly trouble.
The one thing he could confirm was.
The situation was more or less the same as he had anticipated.
After the Goddess of Light, another Supreme had made its move.
Now, Wina was no longer the principal part.
The one truly in charge is that youth.
The youth has no health bar above his head, so he must not be a Messenger of God’s Descent like Alicia, but rather a Saint favored by the Main God.
Judging from the way the two groups of people confront each other, it is likely that his backing is none other than the superior of the Main God that Wina serves, who, in name, controls the Heavenly Saint Land, and no doubt is one of the Supreme.
It is worth mentioning that
By observing the youth’s clothing as well as that of another young man behind him, one can easily conclude that they are both from the Present World.
Quite evidently,
The Supreme Being who nominally controls the Heavenly Saint Land is slightly inferior to the Goddess of Light. After the people of the Supreme Court sided with Alicia, he was forced to select someone from within the Present Supreme Church in a desperate attempt to counterbalance, lest the original advantages belong to himself be taken away.
Seeing these four people, Li Jing also grasped a situation.
These three days weren’t calm.
He had missed quite a few things.
Including the young Saint, the other three people definitely weren’t there before.
If this weren’t the case, it wouldn’t have been Wina’s turn to take charge of the Supreme Church, and it wouldn’t have been so difficult to repel the pursuit of the Evil Spirit.
Collecting his thoughts, Li Jing quietly retreated to an unnoticed blind spot in the line of sight, took out Smoke Eye and put it on to conceal his aura.
Besides Wina,
The apparent strength of the three Messengers of the God’s Descent that appeared at some unknown time was the legitimate late Ninth Realm.
With a gap of two small realms, his Silent Shadow might fail, so it’s better to keep a low profile for safety’s sake.
When he looked up again, Li Jing was envious.
The health bars of these three new people were not only longer than that of Wina’s body, but the Essence Source count displayed behind their health bars all broke the 200,000 mark.
The one with 13499 health bar was directly going for the 300,000 mark.
If he can kill these three, he could easily level up seven or eight times in one breath.
As much as he was envious, Li Jing couldn’t possibly jump out now to wield his Immortal Items and start hacking people. He still needed these people to lead the way to the real destination of this journey.
...
About an hour later.
All teams were assembled and each team took their sky control and flew up. At the same time, they also formed their respective alliances.
Most of the powers of the West Continent are behind the Supreme Court.
The Present Supreme Church here has gained the support of some powers in the West Continent. Including Longyu, all forces from the Present World stood behind them.
This round of alignments was clearly forced by the situation.
Not to mention that like the Present World, there are quite a few forces in the West Continent that are nominally supportive but actually opposed to the Supreme Court. The Longyu, who had just been tricked by the Present Supreme Church, chose to support them. Everyone knows that such a situation would never occur unless they were forced.
It is likely that the appearance of the four people other than Alicia and Wina has exerted considerable pressure on various forces.
Their strength forced these forces to temporarily align and make a statement.
Over there,
Seeing that the various teams have chosen to align themselves, Alicia, despite having more people and higher quality support behind her but not being able to gain the support of the Present World Forces, revealed a brief gloom on her face before collectedly revealing a bright smile.
"Lord Dylan, it’s about time. Shall we set off now?", she said
Facing these words, the leading Saint from the Present Supreme Church made a "please" gesture with a stiff smile on his face.
"After you, Lady Alicia."
Alicia took the command without hesitation, gave a signal to the two Messengers of the God’s Descent behind her, took the lead and transformed into a ray of light that shot out.
The two Messengers of the God’s Descent immediately followed upon seeing this.
The rest of the team gradually followed.
Simultaneously.
The Saintly youth known as Dylan glanced back at Wina and spoke coldly.
"Useless, stay behind and protect our people. John and I will take a step ahead so as not to be overtaken by Alicia and her group."
Before Wina could respond, Dylan turned into a beam of light and shot away.
The God Envoy behind him glanced at Wina, her face turning from green to white upon being called ’useless’. He laughed with a trace of meaning, then leisurely transformed into a beam of light and followed.
Except for Wina who was ordered to protect the rear, Alicia and the others had no intention of advancing with the main force. They each erupted with a speed of at least Eighth Realm, swiftly leaving the main force behind.
As soon as Dylan and John left, Wina gloomily signaled the Supreme Church’s team.
"Depart."
Executing orders was her duty indeed.
But those leading the Supreme Church’s team no longer shared her previous high regard.
They hesitated before following her command, and not even one person stayed by Wina’s side.
Instead, Longyu’s team subtly moved closer to Wina, who had stayed behind like a lone soldier after the departure of the main force.
Li Jing observed this and wore an odd expression.
No doubt, Wina had degraded to the point where she was insulted by the Saints because of him.
After all, she was a God Envoy.
She was originally the sole person in charge of this mission, belonging to the faction of the Supreme who controlled the Heavenly Saint Land.
As it seemed.
Things were just as Wina had predicted.
Not only was her impersonation as a Saint exposed, but the Supreme God used this incident to meddle with the faction of the Main God behind her and forcefully intruded.
If there were no accidents.
God Envoy John was mostly not from the faction of the Supreme who controlled the Heavenly Saint Land but from the Supreme God’s faction.
Seeing team Longyu intentionally getting closer to Wina, Li Jing was somewhat bemused.
The reason for team Longyu wanting to get close to Wina was partly gratitude for her help during the great war. However, more likely, they saw her being ostracized and wanted to borrow her strength.
How do you phrase it again?
’The enemy of my enemy is my friend.’
Because of the other God Envoy and the Saints’ affiliation with the Supreme Church, even if team Longyu tried to curry favor with them, they couldn’t expect much help.
With Wina being in a dire situation and even being ostracized by the previously respectful members of the Supreme Church, wasn’t this an opportunity?
In terms of the situation, this was a clever and seemingly reliable move.
However, clearly Wina, who was part of this delegation, didn’t have much say anymore.
Leaving aside her sayings, the presence of a Supreme Saint and a God Envoy from the Supreme God’s faction left her with the status of a subordinate even in her own rank.
Regardless of Wina’s displeasure, Longyu’s scheme couldn’t be realized.
However, since those in the way who were eager for quick success and benefits were at the forefront of the main force, Li Jing felt he should seize this opportunity to contact Wina.
Using the same strategy,
it was one thing for Longyu to do it, but another thing for him to try.
After quietly mingling with the Gaoli Country’s force, who were of the same eastern race, for a while, Li Jing considered his options. He decided to put away Smoke Eye, reveal his true identity, silently approach Wina, and then only reveal his Silent Shadow to her.
Wina felt wronged by the accusations laid against her, and her heart was naturally in turmoil.
On her way, her mind was full of thoughts, but she never let her guard down.
A person suddenly appeared beside her, moving at the same pace. Wina was taken aback and looked over.
She saw Li Jing, her eyes filled with rage.
Before, when Li Jing had contacted her, he was essentially disguised, only changing his hair color and wearing colored contact lenses.
She could remember that face even if it turned to ashes.
That deceptive bastard who made her believe he was a saint of the Supreme God, causing irrevocable damage, appeared in front of her once again!
How...
How dare he!?
However, Wina managed to stay relatively calm.
Although Li Jing was a fraud, his strength was genuine.
Furthermore, he had summoned the will of the Supreme God while not being a believer in the Supreme Faith, even managing to play the Supreme God for a fool.
Being capable of such unimaginable actions, she knew she was no match for him.
It was apparent that the others in the group did not notice Li Jing’s appearance; they weren’t even aware of his existence. Wina managed to keep her calm while maintaining the pace of the group, gritting her teeth.
"Damn you, what do you want with me now!?"
Wina felt frustrated and wronged as she cursed.
If she could, she would like nothing better than to tear Li Jing apart herself. However, knowing she was no match for him, she could only suppress her rage.
Even though she wanted to curse at him, she, being the Messenger of the God’s Descent, was unable to come up with fitting words.
After hearing the insult from Wina face-to-face, Li Jing’s mouth twitched.
Seeing Wina, the noble Messenger of the God’s Descent, look frustrated with tears in her eyes, as if she was about to cry, he felt somewhat guilty.
Seeing Wina’s state, he realized that she must have suffered much more than he had assumed.
After a soft cough, Li Jing spoke.
"If I told you I came here to apologize to you, would you believe me?"
Wina remained silent, giving him a cold stare.
Seeing her reaction, Li Jing gave a wry smile.
"I really came to say sorry to you."
"Hmph."
Wina let out a cold laugh, a "I’ll never believe you" expression on her face, her eyes radiating a fierce glow.
Seeing her hostile glance and knowing she wanted to harm him but realized she was not capable, Li Jing smiled grimly but then turned serious.
"Alright, enough with the jokes. So many things have happened, I doubt you’d accept my apology."
He paused, then said in a soft tone,
"I have my position, and you have your background. I don’t regret using you, you can only blame yourself for being too naive and living too comfortably in the Supreme God Domain. I don’t know much about your current situation, but judging from what I see, I think you won’t be in a good position once things are over and you return to the God Domain."
"..."
Wina stayed silent, then said coldly,
"It’s none of your business. You don’t need to play the good guy here, getting used and ending up like this is indeed my fault for being naive. But don’t get too smug too soon. Going against the Supreme God, your ending won’t be any better either, it might even be worse than mine."
"The Supreme God, I don’t really care about."
Li Jing chuckled and said,
"I come from the Big World, he has no power to reach there."
Li Jing’s comment about his origin left Wina in silence again.
The Big World, the Supreme God indeed had no power to reach there, even if she as an Envoy of the God’s Descent wanted to go, it would require a huge price.
The Big World and the Heavenly Saint Land, in the end, were not the same concept.
On the side of the Big World, the Supreme God could only give the Supreme Church some divine commandments and inspirations to hunt down Li Jing.
But with his strength, what did the Supreme Church matter to him?
Seeing Wina silent, Li Jing glanced at his surroundings, then lowered his voice.
"Well, would you... want to join me?"
?
Wina was puzzled, giving him a "What are you thinking about?" look.
"I could never betray my Lord God. As a mere human, you don’t have the right to..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Li Jing took out intact God bones with a Superior God Pattern engraved on them, which made Wina swallow her words.
Other people might not recognize what it was.
But how could she, as the Messenger of the God’s Descent, not recognize what was before her eyes?
Wasn’t her purpose in descending here to help her Lord God retrieve such items?
Watching Li Jing suspiciously, Wina whispered,
"Where...did you get this?"
"Just because you couldn’t find it, doesn’t mean I can’t."
Li Jing replied with a smirk,
"Join me, and these God’s bones and the Superior God Pattern are yours. You are originally a six-winged angel, and with the Superior God Pattern, you should theoretically be able to become a Superior God immediately. After this journey, I don’t need you to stay with me, but to be my spy in the Supreme God Domain."
"..."
Wina.
She knew there were lost God Patterns scattered all around in this fragmented space.
But she didn’t have the capability to search for them.
Li Jing, on the other hand, had found them.
And based on his tone, he had found more than just these God’s bones.
The terms Li Jing offered were quite tempting.
However, his request made her hesitate.
After this journey, she was to be his spy in the Supreme God Domain.
What was Li Jing...
Trying to do?
This guy, could it be he was plotting against the Supreme God Domain, or did he want to fight against his enemy, the Supreme God?
Watching Li Jing, Wina wore a surprised and doubtful expression. She was struggling internally.
Right before her was probably her only chance to turn things around.
If she didn’t accept Li Jing’s offer, going back to the God Domain would most likely result in her destruction.
A god doesn’t need a God Servant who has made a mistake.
After a long silence, Wina finally whispered,
"Indeed, these God’s bones can enable me to become a Superior God. But as a God’s Envoy, I cannot rashly touch these God Patterns. The will of the Lord God could sense it and easily destroy me. Plus, you’ve directly offended two Supremes and indirectly offended the Goddess of Light. None of the three Supremes are fools. If I were to return as a Superior God, it would surely be a dead end."
