Seized by the System

Everyone present discussed the matter for a while. The Bodhisattva was finishing up; the upgrade on the space control from white to gold was finally complete.

Fang Ning said, “Bodhisattva, will there be any problem if I connect the Land of Sanguinity to this portal?”

The Bodhisattva, who was in a daze, immediately came to a realization. He nodded. “The Venerable One’s methods are exceptional. As it is, the two destinations must be surrounded by magic formations, lest some devils sneak out from the cracks.”

“Exactly. I’ll have to trouble you for your spell.” Fang Ning pleaded.

“This is easily done.” The bodhisattva nodded.

The two of them worked together. One went to the Land of Sanguinity to open a portal while the other stayed and readied a protection spell.

The others could not do anything except watch.

Those standing behind Ren Ruofeng took advantage of the break to hold an informal meeting of theirs.

The bosses had their own ideas, but the young had their opinions too.

Someone complained, “Sister Xu, you really… Why would you deliberately nit-pick on the Venerable One when you could’ve sucked up to him instead? It’s just like what Dualism Society did! If he decided to give up on us in a fit of rage, what should we do? Isn’t it us who’ll take the brunt of it?”

Xu Qing refuted earnestly. “I’m not unreasonable. Now we’re only starting to establish large-scale contact with the devils, so our attitude towards them is crucial. If we start our relationship with them with a killing spree, both sides will definitely be at odds in the future. Lifelong feuds passed down from one generation to another… How should they be resolved? As the most powerful person present, The Venerable Dragon God has the most say on this, but then he proposes to resolve this matter simply by way of murder, which is somewhat extreme.”

Qiao Zijiang, who also had followed her superior here, suddenly said, “You’re thinking of possibilities so far away! The Venerable Dragon God’s methods weren’t extreme; he just said that the good can stay while the evil will be decimated. Isn’t that good enough?”

“They are evil and violent only because they’re born in the Underworld. After their living environment is improved, I believe that they will turn over a new leaf. How could we not give them even a single chance? They kill Earthlings, but we too commit murder amongst ourselves. If we have to treat every human equally, we should give those otherworldly devils equal treatment too — those two concepts are the same.”

“Uh, we’re not the same. You have a problem.” Qiao Zijiang rolled her eyes and pointed to her head.

Xu Qing did not reply. She still believed that she was right. As God had said, “Devote the same love to every person and every single entity.” What she was doing was fulfilling the doctrine of God.

After a long time, Fang Ning reappeared in the cave.

He had gone to the Land of Sanguinity to inform Xing Xi, the Chief of the Realm, of the recent happenings. He also commanded Sir System to cultivate the Heavenly Axiom of the Realm. There would be buildings concealed underground and well under protection.

Only after he completed those deeds did he open the light gate and layer it on the space control.

The golden arch was covered by a fiery red light gate.

An azure circular ball of water, which materialized from the finger of the Bodhisattva Spirit King when he pointed it at the arch, wrapped around both doors tightly, leaving no cracks.

Witnessing this familiar scene immediately brought a memory to the forefront of Fang Ning’s mind, one of Ren Ruofeng and others escaping from the World of Deadly Souls. In retrospect, it was thanks to this magic formation.

If it could resist the advances of countless strange beings in the World of Deadly Souls, it would surely fare well in this case.

The previous formation was presumably laid out by Chong Daqing, unlike this time when the Bodhisattva did the work himself. He was the real deal that learned from the creator, too; the power of this formation would be increased by quite a few times.

“Everything is ready. Dragon Carp, open the gate and let the flood rush in.” After double-checking everything, Fang Ning said to the Dragon Carp.

“Yes, Master.” Dragon Carp jumped three feet high and snapped its tail in the direction of the arch. Drops of water were splashed on the door.

Immediately after, everyone heard creaking sounds coming from the door as if it was an old-fashioned wood gate slowly opening from both sides.

The devils’ howls were clearer.

“*#$#$…”

Snippets of indecipherable noises drifted in from the doors, disrupting the minds of those in the cave, lighting up their internal fury, addling their brains. It was as if they were on the precipice of psychosis, especially for those of weaker strength, who felt dizzy and stumbled on their feet.

Even Ren Ruofeng himself was affected, if milder.

The only people who managed to retain their composure were Vigilante A, the Bodhisattva, Tianjin Fawang, and several other people including Qiao Anping.

“Tsk… such level of strength even after three layers of protection. If we are to face those devils directly, how many human powerhouses could even fight against them?” Ren Ruofeng fought off the noise disturbance with difficulty. Shocked, he asked everyone, brows furrowed throughout.

The juniors discussing amongst themselves at the back all shut up. They could only do as they were taught — cultivate techniques and protect their souls so that they would not really descend into psychosis.

They were too shocked out of their skins. This was not a frontal battle, yet they were disoriented only by the noises and slight presences. If the battle had really commenced, there was no doubt that it would morph into a one-sided massacre.

Many of them were not novices in warfare, but far from it. Ever since the Era of Mystery had started, they were all in the frontline dealing with special cases, and they saw a lot of the world. Qiao Zishan and his sister were examples.

It was on this day that they truly understood that the Upper Realm was far from unleashing the power it held and that the horrors they had gone against were only mere ripples compared to this enormous wave in the ocean.

Fang Ning had retreated into the system space, as per his habit, and gave his body to the System. He later observed his surroundings casually.

“Hmmph, they only lament when they realize how serious the situation is. We have protected them too well!” He said resentfully. “Now they should understand the magnitude of the situation. Hoping to guide those devils to the light… How childish they are! Do they fancy themselves as Anderson? Even the teachings of love and justice in the penitentiary could not succeed in doing so, much less these people!”

“Why do you care? These people aren’t any of our business. They don’t affect us anyway. Now, I want to go farm in the Land.”

And then everyone saw The Venerable Dragon God open a light gate and vanish.

Tianjin Fawang suddenly said, “Bodhisattva, it is best if we head there too, lend the Venerable One a hand.”

And the two of them walked into the light gate together.

Qiao Anping wanted to follow after them, but Ren Ruofeng stopped him.

“Anping, wait a moment. We have too little intel on these devils from the Upper Realm. We’re not like the three of them, so we should not enter without preparation.”

Qiao Anping knew that the other man meant well, so he halted in his steps. He was somewhat upset, though. The disparity between the three men and himself was too big.

The insurmountable difference existed not only in their potential and lineage but also in their resources, destiny, and luck.

The Venerable Dragon God was the strongest. He was a manifestation of a divine dragon’s spirit, and he alone owned the three main realms. He was destined to be great; he worked for the Heavenly Axiom. Even the gates to Heaven was opened by him.

Bodhisattva Spirit King was a bodhisattva from the Upper Realm. He not only owned the Insect Realm but also controled the destiny of the insect race.

Tianjin Fawang was the weakest. He was only the temporary guardian of the Buddhist faction in the Upper Realm, but his resources and destiny were also of incomparable amounts.

He compared himself to the many powerhouses on Earth and found that he was probably only a smidge stronger than the recently childless Old Master Ma.

While his thoughts strayed, that voice seemed to whisper beside his ear. “Do you want to be a true powerhouse? Do you want to understand the truths of the world?”

‘No, I can’t rise to the bait. That voice was only trying to make me descend. The way to cultivation must be walked by me alone without relying on anyone else.’ Qiao Anping regained his composure with this thought and looked at the golden arch in front of him.

After that fat carp’s actions, the space control was fully open.

Tendrils of black smoke were emanating from within the arch and disappearing. This cycle seemed to be endless.

He could feel that a great number of those devils were weaker than him, but there were also many that were stronger. In average, there was one stronger than him out of ten.

It was obvious that he would be instantly drowned if he was in a battle with those creatures.

In battle, a ten-to-one showdown always ended in a massacre, unless the outnumbered side had power that far surpassed the other.

This was akin to a nuclear weapon against normal infantry. Even a hundred thousand armed soldiers were no match for a single nuclear missile.

The former needed only a few people to operate them. This was because vast resources from entire countries were concentrated on them.

How many humans were like him?

Those juniors were not wrong; they should pool their resources and focus on training a select number of people. How else could they face those devils?

How would humans win when it came to numbers?

That was why Senior Ren did not put a stop to it when he got word of those opinions.

Qiao Anping glanced towards Ren Ruofeng at this thought. The other man’s gaze wavered as if he was thinking hard about something else.

He focused his thoughts. The resident strategist of the Truth Department must surely have had arrangements, so he would not need to worry.