Beginning with the Five Animals Fist to Become a Saint

Below the square.

In the dried-up pool of blood.

The lingering smell of blood still hung in the air.

"The Land of Ruins," Jiang Ning murmured to himself, a thoughtful look in his eyes.

next moment.

He opened the panel.

[Authority]: Flesh and blood regeneration (in perfect condition)
[Divinity]: 863 points

“Flawless status. 863 points.” A strange light flashed in his eyes.

He instantly recalled that as the body of the God of Flesh and Blood disintegrated, a dark red crystal flew towards him and then vanished without a trace.

"That must be the manifestation of flesh and blood authority!" The thought flashed through his mind, and then he closed his eyes.

now.

Within his body, the primordial spirit of the Ninefold Yin-Yang Mystic Light resided high atop his spiritual platform.

His left eye seemed to contain the sun, its white light blazing intensely.

His right eye seemed to contain the Yin energy, cold and deep.

Under the illumination of his primordial spirit, he could see every minute change in his body, down to the smallest cell.

Even so, he scanned his entire body but could not find the dark red crystal that had entered his body.

That object, in his eyes, represented the manifestation of flesh and blood authority.

"It seems my level is still too low!" Jiang Ning slowly opened his eyes and murmured.

At this moment, he was perfectly clear that the fact that his flesh and blood authority could become completely intact in an instant must be related to that dark red crystal.

The moment the dark red crystal left the God of Flesh and Blood, the God of Flesh and Blood perished completely, turning into ashes.

Without a doubt, that dark red crystal is the manifestation of flesh and blood authority.

The existence of any deity is based on authority.

Only when authority is completely relinquished will the flesh-and-blood god's body fall.

It was the infusion of that dark red crystal into his body that made his flesh and blood power completely intact in an instant.

He was also certain that the dark red crystal was now inside his body.

Even with his primordial spirit, he still couldn't find any trace of the dark red crystal within his body.

"It must be because my level is too low! That's why I can't find the source of that power!" he thought to himself.

Then, he looked up at the edge of the plaza above the blood pool.

As the dust settled from the battle, several heads began to peek out from the edge of the plaza above the dried-up blood pool.

Those are the uniforms of the soldiers and officers in this city.

When the soldiers saw Jiang Ning, they immediately shrank back in fear.

next moment.

Jiang Ning rose into the air from the dried-up blood pool, the Yin-Yang Xuan light around him receding into his body, and the spreading pressure dissipating without a trace.

Jiangning landed on an open space in the square on the edge.

The leading military officer stepped forward, steeling himself, and was about to question them when Jiang Ning spoke first, his calm yet clear voice reaching everyone's ears:

"I am Jiang Ning, Marquis of Dongling, and concurrently the second-rank Inspector of Zeshan Prefecture."

As soon as he finished speaking, the entire room fell silent.

The military officer stood frozen in place, while the surrounding officers and soldiers exchanged bewildered glances, their expressions turning to surprise and awe.

The name of the Marquis of Dongling has spread throughout the Great Xia in recent years, not to mention his position as Inspector, which is a real regional governor with the power to supervise and manage the officials of a state, and even the power of life and death to execute first and report later.

Although this place is not located in Zeshan Prefecture, it is not under the jurisdiction of the Zeshan Prefecture Inspector.

But in reality, there is no difference.

Just then, a figure swept in from afar like a gust of wind, arriving in front of them in the blink of an eye.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man dressed in a light blue casual robe. He had a sharp and capable appearance, but at this moment he showed obvious anxiety and respect.

He strode up to Jiang Ning and bowed deeply without hesitation:
"Your humble servant, Lin Yuan, is the Prefect of this County Inspection Office. I pay my respects to Your Excellency! I was unaware of Your Excellency's arrival and have failed to greet you properly. Please forgive me!"

Jiang Ning glanced at Lin Yuan, then at the soldiers who were peeking around, still shaken, and asked, "Where is the magistrate? With such a thing happening in the city, why hasn't the magistrate come yet?"

Lin Yuan hurriedly replied, "Reporting to Your Excellency, the magistrate... the magistrate should still be on his way! I have just sent someone to invite him here."

Jiang Ning nodded, not pressing the matter further.

He then gave a brief order: "The evil spirits here have been eliminated, but the blood pool is filthy and the ground is littered with corpses. It needs to be dealt with properly. You must immediately gather people to clean up this place and give the innocent dead a proper burial. Also, maintain order and appease the people."

"Your subordinate obeys!" Lin Yuan bowed and accepted the order, feeling somewhat relieved.

With the renowned Marquis of Dongling in charge, the subsequent matters had a clear direction.

At this moment, looking at Jiang Ning in front of him, his thoughts were in turmoil.

He had long heard of Jiang Ning's formidable reputation.

But unexpectedly, this renowned Marquis of Dongling possessed such terrifying strength.

Just now, blood stained the sky red, and divine power spread—that was the descent of a god.

But after a simple collision, everything returned to calm.

At this moment, he understood that the evil god had undoubtedly been defeated by the Marquis of Dongling, and Jieshan City had survived this calamity.

At this moment, Jiang Ning nodded slightly, about to leave, when suddenly a thought struck him.

In his primordial spirit's perception, he sensed that the countless points of light representing the life force throughout the city were gradually dimming and going out.

It wasn't just a few dozen or a few hundred points of light, but tens of thousands of points of light representing life going out.

The disappearance of these vital energies is not a sudden death, but a rapid decline after life force is suddenly withdrawn, like a candle flickering in the wind, quietly extinguished.

In the past, relying solely on natural perception, he might have only been able to detect some changes in the city, but he wouldn't have been able to instinctively and instantly perceive the passing of every life with such precision.

But things are completely different after one achieves the primordial spirit.

The primordial spirit merges and interacts with heaven and earth.

With sheer instinct, one can perceive all the changes in the surrounding world.

As a thought struck him, he immediately understood that these dead people had been secretly bewitched by the God-worshipping Cult for a long time, or simply lived within the aura of the God of Flesh and Blood, their bodies and minds deeply corrupted by the power of that evil god.

Their life force was already subtly connected to the evil god, like a parasitic vine.

Now that the God of Flesh and Blood has completely perished and his authority has been seized, these mortals who were parasitized have lost their last support and are like trees without roots, withering away in an instant.

He sighed inwardly, but his emotions remained largely unmoved.

This was not his fault, but a sin committed by the cult of worship and that flesh-and-blood god. All he could do was eradicate the source of the disaster and prevent more people from suffering.

Now that he has killed the God of Flesh and Blood and stripped him of his authority, the God of Flesh and Blood will be gone forever and will never again be able to bring disaster to the Great Xia.

Then, his divine sense swept across the city again like an invisible tide, this time with even greater detail.

He saw that in the houses where the signs of life had dissipated, corpses lay quietly, some old and some young, some with peaceful expressions as if asleep, while others had lingering expressions of pain and distortion.

“Lord Lin,” Jiang Ning withdrew his divine sense, his voice calm and even, “When cleaning the blood pool, send people to patrol the entire city. Many people have just died. Collect them all, ascertain their identities, and if they have relatives, provide them with compensation and give them a proper burial. Do not let this cause panic.”

As soon as he finished speaking, Jiang Ning raised his hand and waved.

Some silver notes flew to Lin Yuan's front.

"This is the compensation money. I hope you'll be smart and not do anything foolish!" Jiang Ning said calmly.

His gaze swept over Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan shuddered instantly, feeling as if ice water was poured over his head, as if he had fallen into a freezing cave.

"Yes!" Lin Yuan's throat bobbed, and cold sweat instantly soaked his back.

He trembled as he accepted the thick stack of silver notes, feeling as if they weighed an ounce.

Although the marquis's gaze was calm, it seemed to see through everything, and all the subtle thoughts and fleeting moments of luck in his mind seemed to have nowhere to hide.

Jiang Ning said no more, and with a slight movement, he disappeared from the spot.

In the sky, only a faint, almost imperceptible black and white streak of light remained.

Lin Yuan stood there for a moment, until his soldiers cautiously approached, before he suddenly came to his senses.

He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the tremor in his heart, and turned around, shouting sternly, "What are you all standing there for?! Immediately do as the Marquis orders! Mobilize all manpower and divide them into two teams! One team will clean the blood pool and collect the corpses. The other team will accompany me to patrol all the wards of the city and register all the deceased!"

His voice trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.

He knew that from this day forward, the world of Jieshan City had completely changed.

The dark cloud that had previously hung over the city from the worship of the gods was casually brushed away by the Marquis of Dongling.

He had known for a long time that there had been extensive activity by the Cult of God in the city.

But he only dared to turn a blind eye, because he had already experienced the coercion and power of the God Worshipping Cult.

He knew that if he acted impulsively at that moment, he would die suddenly at home.

After today, none of that will be a problem.

He glanced down at the silver note in his hand, not daring to have any other thoughts in his mind.

the other side.

Jiangning has not gone far.

Instead, it stopped directly on a mountaintop a hundred miles away.

Even from a mountaintop a hundred miles away, he could still sense all the changes in Jieshan City.

“I don’t know about the Land of Return to Nothingness, but Senior Sister Shen and the others should know!” He stood on the hilltop and murmured softly.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, the Ten Domains Sky Patrol Token that Hao Yang had previously distributed appeared in his hand.

He had always carried this token with him as Haoyang Zhenren had instructed, allowing it to absorb the energy of the Great Sun. However, he later found it troublesome and simply put it back into the mustard leaf.

At this moment, holding the Ten Domains Sky Patrol Token, a wisp of divine thought merged into it.

In an instant.

He saw a chat window and saw Shen Yueru, Lu Xun of Jiuhua Mountain, Ning Ke, Shi Jun of Diyuan Sect, and the chat messages left by Lin Yuexi and others.

Lin Yuexi was the one who chatted with them the most frequently.

Apart from that, only he and Bai Li did not exchange a single word.

"Information exchange, sharing resources!" he murmured to himself.

Then, with a thought, his divine thoughts manifested as words.

[Jiangning]: Senior Sister Shen, are you there?

His words appeared in the chat, like a pebble thrown into a lake, remaining silent for a few breaths.

[Lin Yuexi]: Senior Brother Jiang, what do you want with Senior Sister Shen?

Seeing that it was Lin Yuexi who took the initiative to break the silence, Jiang Ning's mind stirred, and his divine thoughts once again manifested as words.

[Jiang Ning]: It's Junior Sister Lin! I want to ask Senior Sister Shen some questions. Senior Sister Shen is the leader of the Crimson Blaze Sword Sect, so she should be very knowledgeable.

[Lin Yuexi]: Senior Brother Jiang, you are underestimating me! I, Lin Yuexi, am known as a walking encyclopedia in Hundred Flowers Cave.

[Jiangning]: Does Junior Sister Lin know about the "Guixu Land"? I just came across a place called "Guixu," which is not mentioned much in ancient books. I would like to learn more about the Guixu Land.

Lin Yuexi:
After Jiang Ning finished speaking, the chat window fell silent for a moment.

Just when Jiang Ning thought Shen Yueru wouldn't respond for the time being, a name that had never spoken in the chat suddenly popped up.

【Bai Li】: I know about the land of Guixu.

This short sentence seemed to surprise the other people in the chat.

[Lin Yuexi]: Senior Brother Bai?! You're actually online?

[Ning Ke]: Strange, Bai Li actually spoke up!

Bai Li ignored the surprise of the others and continued to send messages, keeping them concise and to the point.

【Bai Li】: The Land of Return to Nothingness is not a place in the ordinary sense. It is the lowest level of the river of time, a place where the concepts of time and space tend to become nothingness.

[Bai Li]: There is no distinction between time and space, no boundaries of up, down, left, right, or the four directions. If we compare our present world to a flowing river, then Guixu is the bottom of that river, a place of utter silence, undefinable, and immeasurable nothingness.

[Bai Li]: Any living being or consciousness, without an external anchor or strong guidance, is extremely prone to getting lost once it ventures deep into the Ruins. The lack of time means that consciousness will gradually become confused due to the loss of reference, and the lack of space means that the loss of orientation will lead to complete disorientation.

[Bai Li]: For this reason, since ancient times, during certain calamities, some extremely powerful beings would choose to actively enter the Ruins of Return in order to avoid calamity, disaster, and suffering. This also includes certain special beings who cannot appear in the world, who would hide in the Ruins of Return. For them, it is an excellent sanctuary, but also a cage. Once they are completely immersed in it, it means that it is very difficult to return to the Ten Directions Realm.

[Jiang Ning]: I see! Thank you for your explanation, Senior Brother Bai Li. But what about the River of Time you just mentioned, Senior Brother Bai?

[Lin Yuexi]: It seems that Senior Brother Jiang is ignorant. I also know about the River of Time.

[Jiangning]: Please enlighten me, Junior Sister Lin.

[Lin Yuexi]: Since Senior Brother Jiang asked, then I shall make a fool of myself! The foundation and veins of the Ten Directions Realm where we live, and all existences, whether tangible or intangible, born or not, are all based on the "River of Time".

[Lin Yuexi]: Senior Brother Jiang can imagine the "River of Time" as a vast and endless river. It is not water in the ordinary sense, but a flow that carries the fundamental laws of "existence" itself. The Ten Realms we inhabit, whether it is the Great Xia in the mortal world where Senior Brother Jiang is located, or the blessed lands where our sects are located, are all "waves" in this river.

[Lin Yuexi]: It can be said that without the River of Time, there would be no basis for the existence of the Ten Directions Realm.

[Lin Yuexi]: As for living beings, whether mortals, cultivators, demons, or gods, we are essentially "fish" swimming in the river of time. We are born in the river, grow up in the river, and our thoughts, actions, and existence are all swept along and nourished by the river. We are currently at the very end of the river of time; the past is the past that the river has flowed through; and the future is the direction that the river has not yet reached, but is destined to rush towards.

[Lin Yuexi]: But the vast majority of living beings, throughout their entire lives, are unaware that they are in a "river," let alone able to perceive its shape and flow. Only those beings who understand the essence of heaven and earth—the true immortals of the previous era—can perceive this truth of the "river of time." What is truth? It is to see the truth of the world. The title "true immortal" signifies being able to truly transcend the constraints of heaven and earth, discovering that one is merely a fish swimming in the river of time, and seeing the origin of the world.

Lin Yuexi paused here, seemingly giving Jiang Ning time to process her words. (End of Chapter)