In an instant, the world was divided into many ponds.
The power of the Southern Abandoned Worthy Divine King was bestowed upon the Great Material Lord God the moment it entered Joseon!
The ghost god looked up and saw the image of a colossal Celestial Venerable, clad in feathered robes, his head crowned with divine light. Rolling yellow clouds surged like the chaotic energy of creation, filling countless desolate worlds!
These ponds multiplied, accumulating like sand dunes in the desert.
Like gravel in a river, they bobbed and drifted with the waves!
The ghost god ceased its actions. It could no longer see the Celestial Venerable. The surrounding ponds had completely enveloped it, making the path ahead invisible.
"There are gods in the heavens, and demons in the heavens."
"Above and below, gods and demons are one."
Ji Xiang's voice echoed from countless desolate worlds!
The Five Heavens Eight Emperors Great Demon Kings govern the inner demon trials of cultivators across the land; only with their recommendation can one attain immortal status.
The Ten Directions Limitless Flying Divine Kings oversee the potential for ascension of cultivators; after a demon king's recommendation, they must also receive the divine king's favor to truly transform into celestial beings!
Each divine king creates a different heaven and earth, which then becomes a Dharma Realm. The power of these ten Dharma Realms is the "Ten Directions Worlds"!
The Southern Divine King created the Abandoned Worthy World.
What is meant by Abandoned Worthy?
"A nation prospers by employing the worthy and capable, and declines by abandoning the worthy and acting autocratically."
"A nation flourishes through the employment of talented individuals and declines due to the abandonment of talent and unilateral decision-making. Therefore, rulers should vigorously employ the worthy and not act unilaterally."
"And you, are you considered worthy?"
Ji Xiang spoke softly, his voice traversing rivers and seas, passing through the countless ponds to reach the deepest core of the ghost god's consciousness.
At this moment, he chanted:
"I contemplate that you, in your ignorance, have long followed foolish ways, and thus, I reveal the karmic connections of sin and merit, so that you may escape the river of suffering and desire."
"Sentient beings wander, sinking in the sea of suffering. This world is named the Abandoned Worthy Blissful Heaven Realm, also known as the World of Mixed Retribution."
"Entangled by desire, born and fallen within, appearing and disappearing, gathering and scattering. Like a flash of lightning, it is but a moment!"
The ghost god's power instantly disintegrated. The ponds turned into streams, and the streams converged into rivers and seas!
The sea of suffering is boundless!
...
The ghost god sensed immense danger. It was the embodiment of disaster, forged by the nation's soul, and naturally possessed self-awareness! Upon discovering that Ji Xiang possessed a spell specifically targeting it, although it was willing to "die," as a ghost god, it possessed an innate, subtle sense for spells related to the rules of heaven and earth.
The essence of this Southern World was to exile it. This boundless sea of suffering was not meant to kill it, but to trap it. It would continuously strip away its power, eventually returning it to its primordial state as a ghost god.
Yes, what was the primordial state of a ghost god?
The ghost god itself did not know, but it was certainly not a good state. It was like an adult regressing through years back into an infant.
This would not do.
It had to be killed by him, not regressed into an infant. If it did not die, the command of Emperor Jinmu could not be fulfilled.
If it did not die, its source of disaster and existence could not be transferred to the heavenly demon before it.
This demonic energy was so surging!
It made the ghost god reveal a ferocious smile!
This overwhelming demonic energy was irresistible!
"If there is anything that is most suitable as a vessel for a ghost god,"
"It is undoubtedly the heavenly demon that has appeared in the heavens!"
"Possessing the most ancient and purest 'Heavenly True Demonic Energy,' it is the embodiment of desire that existed in the world before the descent of the Primordial Celestial Venerable. As long as life exists, it will have desires, and with desires come disasters, great or small."
"Whether it is revenge, love and hate, wealth, or power... the seven emotions and six desires, all things in the world exist within this. Even Emperor Jinmu is no exception. If not for the desire to create a divine kingdom and fulfill his aspirations, he would never have confined himself to the overseas lands and found it difficult to return to the central plains."
"It is all due to unwillingness, the desire to gain the recognition of heaven and earth, and thus attain the true realm of the Heavenly Dao."
"We ghost gods, by attaching ourselves to the body of a heavenly demon, will greatly increase our power and control over human hearts with greater precision... This is truly the most perfect vessel for possession I have ever seen..."
"Your body is mine!"
...
The ghost god did not speak, but its voice came from the void, accurately transmitted into Ji Xiang's mind.
This was not a secret transmission of sound, but similar to a deity manifesting in broad daylight to communicate with beings in the mortal world. The ghost god would sense a person's soul and establish a connection with it, a process called "Yin-Yang Resonance."
Hearing the other party's arrogant declaration of possession, Ji Xiang showed no emotional fluctuation.
"Your body is mine?"
"This body was something I picked up in the first place."
"I have always been the one to seize things; how can someone seize from me today?"
"Haven't you gone to the White Lotus Sect's halls to inquire? Can anything that falls into my hands be taken away by you?"
Ji Xiang drew his bow and nocked an arrow.
Withered grass fills the autumn fields, the mountain wind blows ceaselessly;
You have traveled for many days, yet your returning tracks are unseen!
The Heavenly Feather Feather Arrow was loosed with a single shot!
This arrow possessed the might to "pierce gods"!
There was no suspense. Once the Heavenly Feather Feather Arrow was aimed, unless the archer suddenly died in the next moment, it was guaranteed to hit! Ji Xiang thought that he could decapitate Uesugi Kagekatsu in an instant, but the ghost god opposite him clearly could not decapitate him in an instant!
No matter what a ghost god was, it had three souls and seven spirits. If struck by the Heavenly Deer Bow and the Heavenly Feather Feather Arrow, its three souls and seven spirits would turn to ashes!
Of course, although the Heavenly Feather Feather Arrow had a negative effect, but...
At this moment, the ghost god also sensed this arrow!
Its previously ferocious face instantly became one of extreme terror!
"Heavenly Feather Feather Arrow!"
The God-Slaying Arrow!
It pierced its ghost god form with a single shot, yet the arrow was not stained with blood! This was because the ghost god's true form was formed from the nation's soul, and it possessed no true physical body!
According to the method of the Inner Scenery Divine Tablet, this arrow inflicted heavy damage on the ghost god. Of course, it could not destroy it, as it had no physical form! However, in the next moment, the colossal Celestial Venerable image behind Ji Xiang finally began to move!
And the Great Material Lord God also unleashed its power. In an instant, the world was filled with eight hundred thousand disaster ghost gods. They manifested from the void, rose from the corpses of the fallen on the battlefield, and the infinite wishes were manipulated. Combined with the "great disaster" brought about by this war, the more people died, the more powerful the Great Material Lord God and Emperor Jinmu's strength became.
Eight hundred thousand ghost gods swarmed towards Ji Xiang, covering the sky and the earth!
The army advanced, and even the power of the immortal path began to decline, let alone the demonic energy. The heavenly demon energy that permeated the heavens and earth was torn and devoured by those ghost gods to strengthen themselves. Without resorting to the Jade Pure Hidden Scroll, Ji Xiang's demonic energy was their best offering.
But!
A divine sword swung through the air!
Heaven, earth, mountains, and rivers were cleaved in two!
A multitude of swords!
With a single strike of extreme power, the bodies of the ghost gods were cut open. Even if it could not kill them, the immense storm generated was enough to shatter their forms!
"Ghost gods are immortal and indestructible!"
The Great Material Lord God paid no mind to the collapse of the ghost god army, as they would regroup in the next moment!
But Ji Xiang let out a cold laugh!
Thunder suddenly roared throughout the heavens and earth. The Great Material Lord God saw that in the direction of Ulsan, dozens of colossal gods suddenly rose from the ground. Amidst the rolling sea of thunder, above the deafening roar that sounded like mountains collapsing and the earth cracking, the leading colossal god was none other than "Take-Mikazuchi-no-Kami"!
"Gods? Then let's see if your nation's ghost gods are stronger, or if your nation's celestial gods are stronger! Celestial gods and ghost gods, let's settle this!"
The gods roared and charged towards the ghost god army with a stomping and crushing momentum!
"What, Take-Mikazuchi...!"
The Great Material Lord God was also startled. As a ghost god refined by Xu Fu, it naturally knew of Tachibana Munehide's death, but it never expected that the lost Take-Mikazuchi-no-Kami was in Ji Xiang's hands and was even obeying Ji Xiang's commands!
What kind of spell was this!
But it had no time to think further.
Because in the next moment, the colossal image of the Celestial Venerable of the Opened Yellow Path extended its heaven-encompassing hand and reached towards them!
Ten thousand streams of disaster energy, upon touching this Celestial Venerable, inexplicably dispersed to the four corners of heaven and earth!
...
At this moment, Xu Fu, who was connected to the Great Material Lord God, sensed what was happening. Disregarding Toyotomi Hideyoshi by his side, he cursed loudly!
"Not good!"
"This is... the annihilation of disaster, the connection of heavenly might! Transforming disaster into merit, opening the great gate of ascension!"
Upright and righteous, commanding thunder, all impurities are driven ten thousand fathoms into the earth!
Dispelling past transgressions, gathering future blessings.
"Celestial Venerable of the Opened Yellow Path!"