“Such abundant and rich spiritual energy…”
Qin Ning sat up, looking inside his body.
His Star Gate had been taken, and his body was severely injured!
But the Divine Seal Pearl was emitting abundant spiritual energy, which was now permeating everywhere, healing the four damaged qi whirlpools in his body.
The Northern Underworld Empire possessed immense power, and martial artists were its backbone.
Martial artists cultivated by relying on the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to enter their bodies.
The human body could be said to be a treasure trove, and the journey of cultivation would open each gate of that treasure trove.
Therefore, initially, martial artists all relied on the Nine Gates Realm to embark on the path of martial arts.
It was divided into Open Gate, Rest Gate, Life Gate, Harm Gate, Block Gate, View Gate, Death Gate, Shock Gate, and Heaven Gate.
Among them, the three realms of Open Gate, Rest Gate, and Life Gate relied on spiritual energy to impact the main acupoints in the hands, arms, and legs, opening qi whirlpools and guiding spiritual energy to penetrate the body, thereby strengthening it.
As for Harm Gate, Block Gate, and View Gate, they relied on spiritual energy from the four limbs to permeate the internal organs, making them as hard as iron and as tough as steel.
Reaching Death Gate and Shock Gate already meant one was a master in Ling Yun Inner City.
And reaching the ninth gate, the Heaven Gate Realm, was an extremely rare existence.
To this day, in the entire Ling Yun Inner City, only Ling Shi-cheng, the clan head of the Ling family, was a martial artist of the Heaven Gate Realm within the Nine Gates Realm.
The realm above the Nine Gates Realm was the Spirit Sea Realm. Martial artists of the Spirit Sea Realm were incredibly powerful in the Northern Underworld Empire, as elusive and powerful as divine dragons.
Previously, when Qin Ning was 16, he had already reached the fourth gate, the Harm Gate Realm, and could be called a heaven-defying genius. He had awakened his Star Gate, possessing limitless potential.
Not everyone possessed a Star Gate.
When martial artists were born, there were countless mortal beasts and spirit beasts between heaven and earth, and humans could only rely on cultivating their own bodies, with no other way.
Later, some martial paths gradually formed, and some cultivators, at the Open Gate Realm, used their bodies to connect with the power of the Nine Heavens' stars, opening their Star Gate.
The Star Gate did not belong to the Nine Gates cultivation system but was a unique miracle bestowed by heaven and earth.
Martial artists who opened their Star Gate could, during cultivation, rely on their connection with the stars of heaven and earth, with their Nine Gates body and the celestial stars remotely supporting each other, to gain the power of the stars, allowing for highly efficient cultivation in a short period.
Furthermore, after their cultivation base became stronger, they could obtain more powerful Star Spirit Mortal Arts and Spirit Arts, transform their bodies, and achieve many other wonders.
Therefore, martial artists who could awaken their Star Gate would cultivate faster, far surpassing ordinary people, and were undoubtedly geniuses among geniuses.
But now, the Star Gate within Qin Ning’s body had been usurped, leaving him severely injured; his very survival was a miracle!
Suddenly, Qin Ning felt two chaotic streams of memory completely merge together.
The merged memories surged back, leaving him momentarily stunned.
“I am Qin Ning, son of the Supreme God Emperor, the Nine-Fated Son of Heaven, destined to experience nine lives and nine worlds to become an emperor…”
“No wonder, no wonder I felt something strange in my head ever since I started cultivating. So it was this pupil; the Divine Seal Pearl had sealed my memories of nine lives and nine worlds!”
“I am still Qin Ning, the Son of Destiny with nine lives and nine worlds, and also the Third Young Master Qin Ning of the Qin family. I am now in my tenth life!”
In this instant, Qin Ning was completely lucid!
He was originally the son of the Supreme God-Emperor, a Nine-Lives Son of Heaven, destined to undergo nine lives and nine generations to seize the imperial throne. But in his ninth life, he was framed by a villain, and his great endeavor failed.
However, before he died, he entrusted his entire nine lives and nine generations into the Fengshen Pearl, defying heaven and changing his fate, relying on the Fengshen Pearl to reincarnate and live again, experiencing a tenth life.
But because the Fengshen Pearl had always been suppressed by the Star Gate, he had not yet awakened his own memories since he began cultivating.
But now, the Star Gate was gone, the Fengshen Pearl had fully activated, awakening his true self from all his previous nine lives and nine generations!
Qin Ning clearly recalled the memories of his nine lives and nine generations, like a vast ocean, surging back and merging with his body.
At this moment, his eyes became profound and distant, like an ancient monster awakening, and his demeanor also changed dramatically.
The fourth gate in his body had now been completely healed by the spiritual energy within the Fengshen Pearl, returning to the fourth stage of the Cangmen Realm. Qin Ning clenched his hands, feeling the abundant power in his body, spreading throughout his limbs and internal organs.
In an instant, he was no longer a sixteen or seventeen-year-old youth, but calm and dignified, like a seasoned, ancient overlord.
Just then, a commotion suddenly erupted outside the courtyard.
“Slow down, will you? Everyone, be careful!”
A voice rang out, saying: “Even if my Brother Ning wants to die, he should die with dignity. I spent a lot of money on this coffin. Consider it sending Brother Ning off on his final journey. Be careful with it!”
The voice continued, speaking non-stop as it approached the room.
The door creaked open. A chubby youth strode in, then plopped down beside the bed, throwing himself onto Qin Ning and weeping uncontrollably.
“Oh, Brother Ning, my Brother Ning, why did you leave like this…”
“That wretched Chu Ningxi! I’ll die before I believe Brother Ning would do such a thing!”
“Brother Ning, rest assured, I, Qin Xin'er, will definitely avenge you, absolutely. Brother Ning, close your eyes in peace, but please don’t come back to haunt me!”
“Xin'er, what are you doing?”
But a voice suddenly echoed in the room.
Qin Xin'er, with tear streaks still on his face, looked up at the bed.
At this moment, Qin Ning was sitting up, looking at him. His face was slightly pale, his eyes were unfathomably deep, and his handsome features now carried a sense of worldly vicissitude.
“Urk…”
Seeing the person sitting up on the bed, Qin Xin'er let out a gasp, then suddenly his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.
At this, Qin Ning also got out of bed and kicked the chubby youth awake.
“Brother Ning, even if you’re a ghost, you shouldn’t bother me. It was those two bastards, Chu Ningxi and Ling Tian! The Ling family and Chu family said you humiliated the Ling family’s Third Young Miss, Ling Feifei, that’s why Ling Shicheng crippled your Star Gate. They spared your life out of respect for the Qin family!”
“Now, everyone in Lingyun City is saying that you already had the number one beauty, Chu Ningxi, but you weren’t satisfied and still went to provoke Ling Feifei, so having your own Star Gate crippled serves you right!”
“Now the Ling family hasn’t stopped yet; they still want our Qin family to compensate them for their losses and pay one million gold for Qin Feifei’s honor!”
“The Chu family has also stepped forward, saying they will cancel all business cooperation with our Qin family, and annul your engagement with Chu Ningxi!”
Qin Xin'er spoke through tears, truly heartbroken and wishing he were dead.
“Get up!”
A flat voice rang out. Qin Ning said, his tone distinctly cold, “Look closely, am I alive or dead?”
Hearing these words, Qin Xin Xin looked up at Qin Ning. Under the sunlight streaming in from the window, a silhouette was cast on the ground.
“Brother Ning, you’re not dead?”
“Would you be happy if I died?”
“Of course not!”
Qin Xin Xin said excitedly, “Haha… Brother Ning, I knew it! How could you die? It must be Grandmaster Du Zhe spouting nonsense, claiming to be a top-tier alchemist. Pah!”
“Alright!”
Qin Ning still spoke indifferently, “Just now, was what you said true?”
“Of course it’s true!”
“Haha…”
A vicious glint flashed in Qin Ning’s eyes as he spoke, “It seems the Chu family has long colluded with the Ling family. Chu Ning Shi… Ling Shi Cheng… Ling Tian…”
These were the people who had brought him the greatest humiliation of his life, and their names would, of course, be called out!
Looking at the smile on Qin Ning’s face, Qin Xin Xin didn’t know why, but he only felt that Qin Ning, though smiling at this moment, was terrifying…
Qin Xin Xin immediately said, “Right now, the Qin family is in a heated debate in the deliberation hall. The First Elder and Second Elder are convening a family meeting, wanting to… remove the patriarch!”