The Master looked at Lin Jiufeng in surprise, then smiled and said, "I certainly can't compete with you in a spar. Your martial arts cultivation and spiritual cultivation are far beyond mine. This would be a one-sided battle, and there's no point in it."
His direct refusal caused many of the onlookers to sigh in disappointment. They were hoping to witness a grand battle filled with the resonance of Dao, but it seemed that wouldn't happen.
If the Master were to spar with Lin Jiufeng, wouldn't they get to see a magnificent display of Dao? Sadly, the Master had declined.
Lin Jiufeng, after hearing the Master's words, furrowed his brows and didn't push further. The Master was right.
At this moment, Lin Jiufeng was focusing on martial arts and spiritual cultivation. If he were to unleash his full power, it would surely be world-shattering.
Against someone of the Master's level, there would be no chance of victory.
Lin Jiufeng sighed inwardly, realizing that he had lost the opportunity to activate his profound wisdom.
However, the Master suddenly spoke, "Young friend, let us communicate through our souls, sit down, and discuss the Dao. Let's see who has traveled farther, shall we?"
Without hesitation, Lin Jiufeng agreed immediately.
The Master then waved his sleeve, sweeping away the land around the ravine, and sat down directly. He extended a finger and said, "This is the world of mankind!"
Boom!
In that instant, centered around the Master, Dao's essence spread outward, covering the surrounding area within a hundred miles. The ravines transformed into a galaxy.
Lin Jiufeng stood quietly, watching as the Master's finger touched the ground, transforming the ravine into a galaxy. He found himself standing on it, his gaze shifting to a miniature human world that appeared beneath the Master's fingertip.
At this moment, the Master had directly manifested a world, and this world was lifelike, compressed and alive within the space under his finger.
Lin Jiufeng didn't understand, so he continued to watch.
The Master extended his hand once more and pointed three meters above the human world. "Here are the enemies!"
Boom!
Another world was born.
This new world was accompanied by endless sounds of slaughter: clashing metals, cries of agony, and the relentless sound of battle. The sorrowful cries were heart-wrenching, and the listeners were left in tears.
Lin Jiufeng furrowed his brow, still not understanding.
The Master then lifted his head, looking at Lin Jiufeng and said, "Young friend, you are a person of the human world. Now, you control this world of mankind, while I control the enemies. Let's see who can emerge victorious with our respective powers."
With these words, the Master pushed the human world into Lin Jiufeng's hands.
The tiny world of mankind appeared before him. Lin Jiufeng gazed at it, noting that it was no larger than a thumb and that its power was unbalanced.
Meanwhile, the enemies controlled by the Master were strong, equipped with weapons and treasures, making them vastly superior. The power disparity between the two sides was overwhelming, and Lin Jiufeng saw no chance of winning.
However, Lin Jiufeng did not refuse. Instead, he sat down and began to carefully examine the miniature world.
The onlookers watched, noting the vast difference in power. They were speechless.
The disparity in strength seemed so extreme, and some were muttering to themselves, "Isn't the Master bullying the God of the Human World?"
"Yes, the previous battles were fair, with real fights between the human world gods, but this... This seems too unfair."
"Not just unfair, this is downright disgraceful!"
"But some countered, "You can say whatever you like, but the God of the Human World accepted the challenge. That means he agreed to this method."
"Exactly. The Master didn't force him. Since the God of the Human World has agreed, the battle has begun."
The onlookers argued among themselves, but Lin Jiufeng, immersed in his thoughts, paid no attention to them.
Holding the small world in his hands, feeling its weak power, Lin Jiufeng couldn't shake the heavy feeling in his heart.
Suddenly, he heard something—voices?
Lin Jiufeng focused, straining to listen carefully.
"Kill!"
"The Hundred Races are too much! Our human race has barely managed to survive, and now they want to exterminate us?"
"I thought leaving the human world would take me to a higher realm for cultivation, but instead, I became food for the Hundred Races. We're just punching bags for them!"
"I refuse to accept this. I spent my whole life cultivating to the peak of the Tenth Forbidden, I grasped the Dao of the Human World, and thought the path to immortality was open, but I was gravely mistaken..."
"The path to immortality is a huge trap!"
"Don't come in! Don't come in!"
...
Sounds of slaughter, cries, wails, curses, warnings...
Lin Jiufeng listened, his heart shaken. A deep sense of sorrow welled up within him. He turned his gaze to the Master and asked, "What are these voices?"
The Master replied calmly, "Three hundred years ago, I broke through the Ninth Forbidden, and for these years, I've been focused on teaching and improving myself. Eleven years ago, when you destroyed the Supreme Dao with one sword, I finally realized my own method. My soul transcended the world and entered a realm beyond the ordinary."
"The voices you heard just now are the voices I've been hearing all this time."
"The world you hold in your hand is how the outside world perceives the human world."
"And the enemies I control? They may be even stronger."
"Young friend, in this situation, how do you plan to win?"
The Master's tone was low as he asked, though his face remained calm, his eyes filled with a deep sense of helplessness.
He had cultivated in the heavens for eleven years, and his cultivation was beyond the human world.
But what difference did that make?
The human world is still the human world.
To leave the human world was like a frog jumping from one pond to another, only to land under the butcher's knife, waiting to die.
Lin Jiufeng frowned and asked, "So, this is the attitude the outside world has toward us?"
"Above the human world lies the dimensional battlefield."
"And the rulers of the dimensional battlefield are the Hundred Races."
"The weak human race is nothing but meat for the Hundred Races. They keep us captive and use us as food!"
The Master nodded gently. "I've been watching you. The path to immortality is not viable. The only way to escape is to break through the Eleventh Forbidden, shattering the boundary between two worlds and escaping the grasp of the foreign races."
"And you, have you broken through the Eleventh Forbidden?" The Master asked seriously.
Lin Jiufeng shook his head slightly. He had not yet broken through the Eleventh Forbidden.
It wasn't that he lacked the ability; in fact, the method to break through had already been given to him by the White Fox.
Lin Jiufeng also had a path to the human world, one passed down by the Wood Daoist, which could help him break the boundaries of this world and enter the dimensional battlefield without relying on the path to immortality.
But he felt that using someone else's path to break through the Eleventh Forbidden didn't align with his own ideals.
So, Lin Jiufeng had not yet made a move, determined to find his own way and break through on his own, without relying on anyone else.
Suddenly, Lin Jiufeng turned to the Master and asked, "Is there more information?"
The Master sighed deeply. "No more. My time in the heavens was spent refining my soul, but I am still just a wisp of a soul detached from the human world. I have seen and heard many things, yet I refuse to leave."
"The outside world is not as ideal as you think."