Chapter 684 - 683: The Lucky Heavenly Path, Mad Practice

Parasitic species, without a host, usually end up extinct.

This is easy to understand.

But the obnoxiously odd Destruction Spore Group, a certain Void Evil Spirit, clearly doesn’t possess this trait.

Based on recent observations.

Li Jing has discovered that the Destruction Spore Group not only actively seeks suitable hosts, but also displays strong-target seeking behavior.

When a sufficiently powerful target is nearby, they won’t choose the weaker ones unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Li Jing and the golden-winged roc are currently under the protection of his King’s Power, sheltered by the rules he established, thereby rendering the Destruction Spore Group incapable of making a choice about their nearby targets.

But that’s not why the Destruction Spore Group chose to retreat.

The key.

The Ancestral Dragon still exists.

The fact that the forcibly expelled Destruction Spore Group didn’t head towards the Ancestral Dragon was certainly very unusual.

Undeniably.

An existence like the Destruction Spore Group certainly doesn’t possess wisdom, it operates purely on parasitic instinct.

This point is beyond any doubt.

If you were to break down the Destruction Spore Group to the level of individual spores, each spore is no more than a slender hair-like existence.

How could such a tiny and slim existence possibly possess a brain?

However, the Destruction Spore Group that was separated from the golden-winged roc seemed intelligent, as it decided it couldn’t parasitize, and chose to retreat underground even in the presence of the Ancestral Dragon.

Monitoring the ground beneath, Li Jing narrowed his eyes slightly.

Originally, he really did not pay much attention.

He only saw the Destruction Spore Group as excessively troublesome because of its various traits.

But reflecting now.

The idea that the Destruction Spore Group, without any wisdom to speak of, swept across the corresponding Upper Three Realms and the Immortal Realm of the Star Nebula Great World, rendering even the Star Cloud Heavenly Path and the Ancestral Dragon helpless and passive, seemed extraordinary and unreasonable.

No matter how weird the traits.

Without wisdom, how could it possibly triumph over intellectual existences that know how to think?

Thinking about this, Li Jing found things more and more suspicious.

Even though the Destruction Spore Group can spread as wildly as a plague, as long as one doesn’t stubbornly try to confront it and seek its complete destruction, there should be methods to contain it if one can’t prevent its endless spread.

The decision of Star Cloud Heavenly Path to seal the Upper Three Realms and the Immortal Realm is an effective practical method.

But when it made this decision, the Upper Three Realms and the Immortal Realm had already completely fallen.

If it’s merely a case of realizing too late, Star Cloud Heavenly Path wouldn’t have made this decision when it was pushed to such an embarrassing situation.

The possibility is that it was deceived.

Or to put it in other words.

It was trapped in a scheme.

Only after the complete fall of the Upper Three Realms and the Immortal Realm, did it realize that the spread of the Destruction Spore Group could not be contained.

Behind all this.

It implied that an extremely cunning intellectual existence was hidden behind the Destruction Spore Group, which supposedly didn’t have a brain.

Naturally.

Li Jing remembered the Void Worm Mother he had encountered in the past, which co-existed with the Void Dark Spirit.

That thing.

Was equally creepy and cunning.

But only the Void Worm Mother truly possessed high intelligence, while the Void Dark Spirit acted purely out of instinct, bringing nutrients back to it and was driven by the Worm Mother when necessary.

Reflecting on this,

The Destruction Spore Group resembled the Void Dark Spirit, didn’t they?

Except that they seemingly didn’t have the function of bringing back nutrients for the Worm Mother like the Void Dark Spirits, and simply spread endlessly.

Is it possible...

Like the Void Dark Spirit, the Destruction Spore Group also has a high-intelligence entity, similar to the Void Worm Mother, acting as the brain and overall coordinator from behind?

Li Jing looked up, towards the dumbstruck Ancestral Dragon.

This possibility is really quite high.

As he pondered silently, Li Jing spoke up.

"Do you believe me, senior?"

The stunned Ancestral Dragon paused slightly after hearing this, then a spark flashed in his eyes.

"I believe."

As he spoke, the clouds in the sky began to churn.

The Ancestral Dragon’s massive body shrank rapidly. Countless Destruction Spore Group humanoid hosts screamed as they fell, having lost their safe haven. Then, without hesitation, they chose to flee far away.

As countless humanoid hosts of the Destruction Spore Group fled, the Ancestral Dragon transformed into a handsome youth and landed gently on the ground.

As soon as he stood firmly, he frowned at his own hands.

Seeing this, Li Jing squinted his eyes.

"If I’ve guessed correctly, the Destruction Spore Group didn’t send any individual spores into your body, did they, senior?"

Hearing this, the Ancestral Dragon was taken aback once again, then looked up with a strange expression.

"Did you anticipate this outcome?"

"I did suspect something like this might happen."

Li Jing nodded, saying,

"Various signs indicate that the Destruction Spore Group has high intelligence, but such a group has no reason to have a ’brain’ like ordinary creatures. Thus, there is only one possibility that there is a highly intelligent entity behind the Destruction Spore Group manipulating the dissemination of the spores."

Confronted with these words, the Ancestral Dragon fell silently, and his expression gradually became serious.

"I understand what you’re saying, but whether it’s me or the Star Cloud Heavenly Path, or any other intelligence that has struggled against the Destruction Spore Group, we have not discovered who controls it."

"No one has discovered it, doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist."

Li Jing whispered, saying,

"From what I can see now, its intelligence is terrifyingly high. It has obviously noticed the test I did a while ago."

Having said that, he continued,

"After I drove the spore group from the bird brother’s body, the detached Destruction Spore Group directly left without parasitizing you, obviously because it didn’t want me to have a further chance to discover the characteristics of the Destruction Spore Group."

Being called ’bird brother’, the golden-winged Roc’s sharp eyes twitched at the edge, and transformed into a complete young man’s figure.

"What you’re saying makes sense. To prevent you from having more opportunities, the Destruction Spore Group didn’t take advantage of the Ancestral Dragon’s change in shape to invade his body. But how do you explain that after making similar decisions, the ’mastermind’ behind the spore group didn’t let the massive Destruction Spore Group on Ancestral Dragon’s body leave immediately?"

"Simple."

Li Jing turned his head, saying,

"I am observing the Destruction Spore Group, and it is observing me. It wants to see where my limits are, whether I can drive away the Destruction Spore Group from the Ancestral Dragon in his massive original form, but it didn’t expect that the Ancestral Dragon would trust me and take the risk to become a human."

Hearing someone say this, the golden-winged Roc silently pondered, saying,

"There is a point in what you’re saying, but to me this is just your explanation."

Li Jing laughed at these words.

"Bird brother, it’s pointless to argue with me. I’m just making a hypothesis. No one knows what’s going on until it’s confirmed. The key is, if there’s a hypothesis, how can we discover the truth that may exist behind it?"

Before the golden-winged Roc could speak, Li Jing said,

"There’s nothing else for you to do now, you can go."

???

Golden-winged Roc.

This unexpected remark from Li Jing, really caught him by surprise.

Burning the bridge after crossing the river.

The golden-winged Roc had seen this a lot.

In the old days, he often burnt bridges himself.

But the simple way Li Jing burnt bridges, was truly an eye-opener.

Speaking of which.

He had already "sacrificed" once for this matter, shouldn’t he be allowed to participate until the end?

They clearly talked about it in advance, that everyone together would receive the gratitude of the Star Cloud Heavenly Path...

Damn it...

Just as things were beginning to turn around, Li Jing was itching to kick him out.

Did he think he was easy to bully?

Just as he was about to speak, Li Jing turned his head to the Ancestral Dragon.

"Ancestral Dragon, now that you’ve escaped from difficulty, you should leave first."

The Ancestral Dragon was taken aback by these sudden words, furrowing his eyebrows.

But Li Jing continued,

"You two don’t have the ability to protect yourselves against the Destruction Spore Group, and I not only have God Power, but also a high-ranking divine position which restrains the parasitic form of the Destruction Spore Group. I can protect you two with the King’s Power domain, but I can’t keep it open all the time."

Having said that, he paused, and then added,

"What’s most important is that you two need to understand that this world is completely separated from the Star Nebula Great World. The theoretically infinite God Power in my body can’t be replenished. Therefore, I can only let you two leave first, so as not to become a burden."

The Ancestral Dragon was a reasonable master.

Upon hearing Li Jing’s explanation, he nodded to show his understanding.

Seeing the Ancestral Dragon nod, the golden-winged Roc, despite reluctance, could only accept it.

"I’ll wait for your good news on Earth."

The Ancestral Dragon spoke.

The golden-winged Roc managed to mutter a sentence,

"I bid you farewell, hoping never to meet again."

While talking, the Ancestral Dragon and the golden-winged Roc opened a spatial rift and entered, not taking the same path.

Where the golden-winged Roc went, Li Jing didn’t care.

He took this bird man back a hundred years ago, and now he has at least played a bit of a role. He is expected to find a place to sleep next, so it’s not necessary to pay too much attention.

As far as today is concerned,

He no longer needs to be wary of the one who was the latter in the beginning.

Watching the two leave, Li Jing looked around and softly called out,

"Star Cloud Heavenly Path, are you there?"

No answer.

The world that was already a barren wasteland was quiet.

Faced with such a situation, Li Jing spoke again.

"If you don’t show up, I’m going to wash my hands of this mess."

As he was speaking, a white-haired loli, who was no more than 1.2 meters tall, quietly appeared in front of him.

Seeing this, Li Jing became stunned.

Response to his call, this had to be the Star Cloud Heavenly Path...

So.

Why does it present itself as a white-haired loli?

As if knowing what Li Jing was thinking, the white-haired loli spoke calmly.

"The form doesn’t matter to the Will of Heaven. What you see is just the image I think is suitable for communicating with people."

Li Jing was speechless.

He understood the reasoning.

However, he wondered.

Why is the form suitable for communication with people was that of a loli?

Just as he figured out what to say, the Star Cloud Heavenly Path voiced out its confusion.

"Rather than that, how did you know I was here?"

"Seeing how you didn’t directly approach me when I was on Blue Star, where else could you be?"

Li Jing shrugged.

"If I’m not mistaken, you’ve isolated yourself along with the Upper Three Realms and Immortal Realm."

With that, he took a deep breath.

"How serious is your situation?"

Caught off guard by such a question, the Star Cloud Heavenly Path was slightly stunned, then replied.

"No signs of deterioration for now, but if the situation doesn’t get resolved effectively, the Star Nebula Great World wouldn’t return to normal."

While talking, she turned around and untied her shirt.

What was revealed was not her skin, as white as mutton fat, but the Destruction Spore Group.

Li Jing was not surprised to see this.

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path isolating the Upper Three Realms and Immortal Realm had effectively contained the spread of the Destruction Spore Group.

If the situation was already contained, there was no need for her to trap herself here too.

Since she was doing so, there must be a reason.

The Destruction Spore Group was indeed strange.

Even the Will of Heaven was affected...

Without trying, Li Jing could tell that his King’s Power couldn’t solve the current condition of the Star Cloud Heavenly Path.

The lump parasitizing the Star Cloud Heavenly Path was fundamentally different from the Destruction Spore Group he had previously encountered.

Starting with the color.

It was not black, it was dark purple.

Then there was the fact.

There was no Health Bar on the lump on the back of the Star Cloud Heavenly Path.

This didn’t mean that the Destruction Spore Group parasitizing the Star Cloud Heavenly Path was powerful, it meant that they didn’t exist in the form of life.

As for the specifics, Li Jing couldn’t say.

But he thought the features that allowed it to directly parasitize on the Will of Heaven was due to its non-existence in the form of life.

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path was obviously aware that the Destruction Spore Group that was parasitizing her was different from the norm. No matter what Li Jing thought or could do, he was helpless. She dressed neatly and turned her head calmly.

"I’ve heard everything you said earlier, interesting hypothesis. But even if there is a mastermind behind the Destruction Spore Group, you alone probably won’t be able to find it. I can’t help you since I can’t perceive its presence... "

Before she finished speaking, Li Jing interjected.

"If my hypothesis is correct, finding that thing is quite simple."

?

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path sent out a question mark.

"Lend me your power."

Li Jing smiled and said.

"Let me destroy the Upper Three Realms and Immortal Realm completely, and it’ll have nowhere to hide."

"... "

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path fell silent, then said incredulously.

"I’ve heard from Huan Yu before that you’re a person full of surprises and quite audacious, but to be this audacious... Destroying the Immortal Realm is feasible – you could just create another Ascension Transfer Station like Huan Yu did. But the Upper Three Realms isn’t something you can just casually destroy."

With that, she explained.

"You may not know, but though the Upper Three Realms stand as an independent world outside the myriad of worlds, they serve as the source of all the immortal breaths that exist within the myriad of worlds. All the environment elements needed for high-dimensional life forms beyond the ordinary are based upon the immortal breaths that fell from the Upper Three Realms."

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path’s words were indeed beyond Li Jing’s knowledge.

But he didn’t think this was fatal.

Unchanging expressions, Li Jing said.

"Since you’re here, it shows that the separation of the Upper Three Realms is just superficial, and it is only due to your status as the Will of Heaven that you cannot control all the happenings in the Upper Three Realms like you do with the Star Nebula Great World. It’s not a question of the cost, but the fact that the Upper Three Realms are not within your jurisdiction unless necessary. Am I right?"

Upon hearing Li Jing’s words, the Star Cloud Heavenly Path’s eyes flickered with surprise and she nodded silently, acknowledging the correctness of his conjecture.

Getting acknowledgement, Li Jing showed no surprise.

He had a solid reason to make that guess.

The fact that the Star Cloud Heavenly Path could appear in the Upper Three Realms was just one of them.

The more important reason was.

Ever since arriving in the Upper Three Realms, he had felt that the Heavenly Path here was the same as the one he could feel in the Star Nebula Great World.

Until now.

The level Li Jing was at was indeed different.

In reality.

From the moment he broke free from the boundary, he had been able to clearly feel the Heavenly Path, which usually eluded ordinary perception.

However, for a regular cultivator, this acute perception of the Heavenly Path could bring many rewards but he, as an unorthodox cultivator, did not have such resources and abilities.

It was a shortcoming caused by his unorthodox way of advancement.

It was incurable.

Even though he had tried to explore the path of cultivation over the past century ...

But a hasty century in terms of the level he had now attained was truly nothing.

You would think ...

Those who managed to reach his level had definitely lived through endless ages ...

They had walked far more paths than him.

It was not just about eating a few more bites of rice ...

Those who had achieved such a level by relying on their own efforts had uninterruptedly stumbled in the dark on the path of cultivation throughout their endless years, gaining countless experiences and accomplishments.

Back to the main topic.

Having received the approval of the Star Cloud Heavenly Path, Li Jing spoke.

"The Upper Three Realms only do not fall under your jurisdiction when it is not necessary. You just said it is an important cornerstone. If it is blown up, you should have the right to intervene, right?"

"That’s what I said, yes."

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path could not deny it.

"But by that time, all I can do is to minimize the loss as much as possible. If the Upper Three Realms are completely destroyed, the outcome would be the Heavenly Path breeding a new Upper Three Realms that can serve as a cornerstone, and this period could last millions of years ..."

Before she could finish her words, Li Jing waved his hand.

"Don’t get me wrong. I don’t want to fully return to the Upper Three Realms. My aim is simply to leave the Destruction Spore Group nowhere to hide. In essence, it’s about destroying all tangible objects in the Upper Three Realms, including the earth, but not the world itself."

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path paused at these words.

"In that case, it might not be impossible. It is not very difficult for me to simply rebuild the Upper Three Realms after I can intervene. But after the Upper Three Realms and the Immortal Realm are destroyed all at once, the Destruction Spore Group will inevitably absorb a tremendous amount of external force and proliferate further. How will you cope then?"

In response to the question, Li Jing was exceptionally bold.

"I haven’t thought that far yet."

"..."

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path.

Seeing the expression on the face of the little girl Heavenly Path that seemed to be mocking him, Li Jing smiled and said,

"Anyway, let’s give it a try first and see if we can find the mastermind behind the Destruction Spore Group. If it really exists, it’s more practical to try to resolve it than to worry about how to deal with the countless Destruction Spore Group that has already spread in the Upper Three Realms and the Immortal Realm."

As he was speaking, a glint flashed in Li Jing’s eyes.

"Normally, it is indeed better to have a thorough plan when doing things. But when the enemy is in a completely unknown state, pondering too much is pointless. It’s better to play it by ear under the present circumstances. After all, it’s been quite some time since the Destruction Spore Group’s invasion. Nobody knows when there will be further mutations. Even you, as the will of the Heavenly Path, have been invaded. If the situation worsens, it’ll be too late for you to regret."

The Star Cloud Heavenly Path listened to his words silently for a long time.

Suddenly.

Her figure disappeared.

?

Li Jing.

Why did she suddenly run away?

Is the problem not going to be solved?

Just as he was complaining, the slightly childish voice of the Star Cloud Heavenly Path sounded in his ear.

"Be gentle, I’m afraid of pain."

"..."

Li Jing.

Hearing her words, his first reaction was: is this the right setting for her to confess her fears?

But then he realised.

Although the Upper Three Realms were not within the jurisdiction given to the Star Cloud Heavenly Path by the Heavenly Path, guarding the order of the Star Nebula Great World was her duty.

The destruction of the cornerstone needed to maintain the environment for high-dimensional life forms would inevitably have a significant impact on the order of the Star Nebula Great World and substantial repercussions on her.

She just hadn’t mentioned it ...

Even as he was pondering this, Li Jing shuddered.

An indescribable, boundless, mighty force attached itself to his body.

The intensity of this force gave him a clear comprehension.

The destruction and continuation of the entire Star Nebula Great World were now entirely within his thoughts.

Li Jing was stunned.

This was a typical case of actions speaking louder than words from the Star Cloud Heavenly Path!

She said no verbally, yet the power she lent him was without reservation.

It was as if she was afraid he wouldn’t be able to completely pulverize the Upper Three Realms and the Immortal Realm, which were near obsolete after being fully occupied by the Destruction Spore Group ...

As he was contemplating, Li Jing noticed that all the data displayed on his status bar had changed into ???

Without having time to ponder further, Li Jing closed his eyes.

This truly world-shattering power, capable of annihilating the entire Star Nebula Great World, was far more overwhelming compared to the bewitching feeling brought about by merging with Ling Ling.

He couldn’t hold it much longer.

"Woosh!"

Accompanied by a gust of chill wind.

The aspect of the wind and cloud changed.