Desolate Era

by RWX

  “The Darknorth swords are weapons that have undergone the Fiendgod Bloodforging rites! They are able to absorb baleful auras, murderous auras, necromantic auras…but you have to personally kill someone.” Ning understood this. The boundless earth was filled with baleful auras in many places; for example, when Bei Zishan had tortured countless people to death, that place became filled with a tremendous amount of baleful auras and murderous auras. But because those countless people hadn’t been killed by Ning, Ning hadn’t been able to absorb those baleful auras.

  But Ning had personally killed all eight of these Zifu Disciples.

  The Darknorth swords were able to actively draw from them.

  “How strange. Why is it that they can only absorb the baleful auras created by those I personally killed, and not other baleful auras?” Ning shook his head inwardly. He thought back to the Fiendgod Rites of Bloodforging, and to that ancient, powerful aura which descended that was unfathomably more exalted than even the ‘Dao’. “It makes sense. If it can grow just by absorbing any type of baleful aura, then it would be far too easy for Bloodforged weapons to grow in power.”

  “Eh? In my body…?” Ning lowered his head.

  Surges of savage auras were constantly entering his body; or, to be more precise, Ning’s Zifu within his body was drawing it all in.

  Within the Zifu, that region which was filled with violet energy in the shape of a lake. That lake was formed from elemental energy, and above that lake of elemental energy there were various magical treasures, such as a flying boat, flying swords, and other items that temporarily didn’t need to be used. Amongst them was one of the Darknorth swords, which hovered there…

  Given that he was holding two of the Darknorth swords in his hands, there was one of them that was still stored within his body.

  Before establishing the Zifu, there was no way for a person to store magic treasures within the body! But upon doing so, ranked magic treasures and the Bloodforged weapons could be stored into his body. As for those unranked magic treasures, there was no way they could be drawn in.

  “Crackle…”

  The three Darknorth swords. Two were outside, one was within his Zifu.

  They shared the baleful auras, wildly devouring them. As they did so, on the surface of the Darknorth swords there appeared a common character, from the Fiendgod language…‘Kill’. The Darknorth swords themselves were evolving; after they had undergone the Rites of Bloodforging, this was the densest collection of baleful auras which the Darknorth swords had ever devoured.

  After all, the baleful aura generated from killing a Zifu Disciple was far denser than the aura generated from killing ten thousand ordinary mortals.

  “All done.” Moments later, the three Darknorth swords all emerged to hover in front of Ning.

  The glow of the Darknorth swords seemed to be even deeper.

  He used his divine will to control those three Darknorth swords to slice through the air. Swishswishswish…

  Ning even stretched out his palm to allow the Darknorth swords to slice against it. Three wounds appeared, then rapidly closed.

  “They did indeed grow much sharper.” Ning revealed a look of surprise and delight. “It seems that to nurture these powerful Bloodforged weapons, there really is a need for much slaughter.” Ning, by nature, disliked wanton killing, but if someone was to violate and offend him and give his Ji clan no chance for survival, Ning wouldn’t show a hint of pity.

  “Patriarch.” Ning said. “How should I attack the other group of Zifu Disciples?”

  “Ji Ning.” Patriarch Ninefire sent back. “The other group has a total of seven Zifu Disciples and two Zifu spirit-beasts. The most powerful of them are Nong Zidao and Jadechild. Nong Zidao is a formations expert; he isn’t frightening in open battle. The other Zifu Disciples, even combined, are unable to do anything to you. The biggest problem for you will be that Jadechild.”

  “Jadechild?” Ning nodded lightly.

  “Jadechild should be an Fiendgod Body Refiner. I am always watching him. From their conversations, I can tell…that they are very confident in Jadechild. They know that twelve Zifu Disciples have died, yet still have full trust in Jadechild! I also heard those Zifu Disciples mention the phrase ‘divine ability’. If my guess is correct, Jadechild should be a peak Zifu Disciple who has learned a divine ability.” Ninefire sent. “A peak Zifu Ki Refiner who has a divine ability…his power will absolutely be at the Wanxiang Adept level. You must be careful.”

  Ning nodded.

  Wanxiang Adept level?

  By relying on an elemental energy that was more powerful than the peak Zifu level, the Rainwater Sword Domain, and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…Ning, too, could be said to have the combat ability of a Wanxiang Adept!

  The enemy was a Fiendgod Body Refiner and had a divine ability?

  “If you can’t kill Jadechild, do your best to kill Nong Zidao.” Ninefire sent. “Nong Zidao is their one and only formations expert. As long as Nong Zidao dies, there is no way they will be able to defeat our Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation. We will still be able to hold on until the Grand Xia Dynasty’s Celestial Envoy arrives.”

  “Fine.” Ning nodded. “I understand.”

  Whoosh!

  Ning waved his hand, and a large number of storage-type magic treasures, flying swords, wings, banners, and other magic treasures appeared. These were all magic treasures that had been left behind by these eight Zifu Disciples.

  “I’ll first retrieve all the ranked flying swords these people carry. After I bind all of them, perhaps my [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] will gain further in power. And then, at full strength, I will go battle that Jadechild.” Ning’s eyes were filled with a killing intent.

  * * *

  Book 6, Chapter 17 - Ji Ning Battles Jadechild (Part 1)

  A sailboat was sailing through the endless horizons of the sky.

  Adept Xu Li, Dong Fanyu, and Wu Qi were seated in the sailboat. Dong Fanyu suddenly pointed in surprise towards the distance. “That’s junior apprentice-brother Lu.” From afar, a ray of light was advancing at high speed, but clearly it was far slower than them.

  “He seems to be headed towards Swallow Mountain as well?” Wu Qi was surprised.

  “Apprentice-nephew Lu?” Adept Xu Li revealed a rare smile on his face. Instantly, that flying sailboat drew closer to the ray of light. A few breaths later, it had moved next to it.

  The ray of light had a middle-aged man standing atop it.

  The middle-aged man had a hint of urgency in his eyes. Upon seeing the sailboat block his way, he was forced to slow down. But upon seeing Adept Xu Li standing atop the sailboat, he immediately bowed with respect. “Lu Huang greets uncle-master Xu. I didn’t imagine I’d run into you here, Uncle-Master.”

  Upon seeing Dong Fanyu by Adept Xu’s side, Lu Huang’s eyes instantly turned red, and he roared angrily, “You old bastard, Dong Fanyu!”

  “What’s this about, apprentice-nephew Lu?” Adept Xu asked.

  “Junior apprentice-brother Lu, previously, I went to visit you and we chatted happily. Why do you curse at me upon seeing me now? I came to deliver to the Lu clan a chance to obtain a great merit.” Dong Fanyu felt completely puzzled.

  Lu Huang was enraged. Pointing at Dong Fanyu, he said furiously, “Uncle-Master Xu, this Dong Fanyu previously came to my place to tell me about the elemental ore mine. Thus, our Copperwater branch sent two Zifu Disciples, one from my Lu clan and one from the An clan. But just a short time ago, the life tablets of both the member of the Lu clan and the nearby An clan were both suddenly shattered. My own little sister died. Dong Fanyu claims that this is a chance to render great merits, and claims that the puny Ji clan isn’t worth worrying about. But in reality? Two of the Zifu Disciples of our Copperwater branch are dead! I’m heading straight for Snowdragon City to investigate this clearly and get some answers!”

  “What, all dead?” Dong Fanyu was shocked.

  “What’s going on?” Adept X
u frowned as well, and the nearby Wu Qi was growing angry as well.

  If this matter grew nettlesome, it would no longer be a chance to render a merit; it would be a calamity.

  Dong Fanyu said frantically, “I didn’t lie. It really is just the Ji clan. There are no other enemies. In addition, our Swallow Mountain branch invited quite a few Zifu Disciple comrades of our organization. How can…how can…”

  “But it is a fact that the two Zifu Disciples which our Copperwater branch sent both died!” Lu Huang roared.

  “I, Dong Fanyu, swear that if I lied to you, junior apprentice-brother Lu, then let my soul be shattered and never return to the cycle of reincarnation.” Dong Fanyu said frantically.

  Only after hearing this oath did Lu Huang’s face become less ugly.

  Immortal practitioners wouldn’t easily swear oaths.

  “Hmph.” Lu Huang let out a cold snort.

  “It seems Dong Fanyu didn’t lie.” Adept Xu said calmly. “That means something happened at Swallow Mountain. Apprentice-nephew Lu, follow me there.”

  Adept Xu no longer seemed as casual as before; instead, he was a bit cautious.

  Swish!

  The sailboat immediately pierced through the skies, advancing towards Swallow Mountain at high speed.

  ……

  Oxhorn Mountain. Within the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation.

  Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position.

  Flying swords were hovering around him. When he had previously killed those eight Zifu Disciples, he had searched their storage magic treasures…and had found fifteen flying swords. The most pleasant surprise for Ning was that hawk-nosed cultivator; the hawk-nosed cultivator’s storage treasure actually held a total of nine flying swords…and it seemed as though those nine flying swords came from the same source. They all carried a frigid, icy aura.

  Upon finding this, Ning was immediately overjoyed. “Good, good, good. They come from the same source. The formation base they can create will be much stronger. This hawk-nosed man…was the hardest to kill of the eight. I didn’t expect he would have so much treasure.”

  Although Ning didn’t know the hawk-nosed cultivator’s name, he knew that when he had first launched the assassination attempt against them, the hawk-nosed man seemed to have sensed the oncoming danger and had suddenly used a giant umbrella to protect himself. Ning had planned to make him the first target, but was forced to instead switch to a different one. Afterwards, when they fought head on with their most powerful attacks, Ning had to release three sword lights to kill him.

  “Prior to this, I had thirteen ranked flying swords. Now I acquired fifteen more ranked flying swords, and have a total of twenty eight…that’s enough to create three formation bases.”

  Ning naturally immediately began to bind these flying swords, wasting no time.

  Without question, his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] would now have those nine frigid flying swords that came from the same origin as the core.

  “Whew.” Ning opened his eyes. “Done.”

  The fifteen new flying swords had all been bound.

  “Let me test them.”

  Ning willed it…

  Whoosh…

  Seven hundred-plus flying swords appeared in the air, with twenty seven of them being ranked that formed three formation bases! The nine frigid flying swords formed the core, controlling and guiding the entire [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation].

  “Eh?” Ning’s face changed; his head hurt as though it were about to split apart.

  To divide one’s mind sufficiently in order to control so many flying swords and to set up the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] simply required too much out of the soul, especially with ranked flying swords involved…to control a single ranked flying sword was more difficult than controlling ten unranked flying swords!

  “There’s no way I can activate the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]?” Ning’s first attempt resulted in failure. He was unable to activate it fully. “I simply added eighteen more ranked flying swords, but I’m unable to use the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]?”

  “That’s not right.”

  Ning continued to test it.

  The flying swords around him began to move about, changing their locations.

  “Yin and Yang transform, endlessly engendering each other!” Ning suddenly thought of the critical barrier needed to break through the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. The book discussed ‘Yin and Yang transforming, endlessly engendering each other’. Now, while analyzing this formation…he suddenly began to understand this principal. If he were to focus on gaining insights at this moment, in perhaps just an hour or just a few days, he would break through to the seventh stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]!

  But Ning didn’t choose to meditate, because even if he rose in strength as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, it wouldn’t increase his power much!

  This was because he was borrowing the power of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation…his elemental energy was a good deal stronger than even a peak Zifu Adept’s. He also borrowed from his Sword Domain and the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], which was why he was capable of such power. Even if he rose in power as a Fiendgod Refiner, it wouldn’t help him much in battle. Moreover, he didn’t have the time at all to leisurely meditate on these matters right now.

  “Yin and Yang transform, endlessly engendering each other.” Ning stared at those twenty seven flying swords.

  The nine frigid flying swords served as the core.

  The other flying swords in the formation bases swirled around these nine frigid flying swords. They slowly swirled about them, and even began to slowly intersect with them. The power of the formation began to activate, and two formation bases slowly merged into one.

  “Right.”

  “Yin and Yang mutually transform…” Ning’s eyes lit up. “One serves as the core. Two serve to supplement. The others serve as everything else.”

  Rumble…

  The seven hundred-plus flying swords hovered around Ji Ning. A faint, incomparably powerful ripple suddenly formed. In front of Ning, an incomparably fierce, sharp sword light had taken shape. This sword light was now completely in the shape of a flying sword; it was nothing more than a flying sword that flashed with light.

  “Ahhhh!” Ning felt his head hurt, as though he were being stabbed. Still, his face had an excited smile appear on it. “Hahaha, success, success.”

  Although he had gained insight into the mysteries of how Yin and Yang transform and endlessly engender each other, making it possible for him to use the now much stronger ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]…Ning was still at his absolute limit. Clearly, his soul felt tremendous pressure right now.

  “Best to use the eighth level.” Ning quickly removed eighty one ordinary flying swords, but continued to maintain the hovering formation.

  “Sword light.”

  Ning once more formed a ray of sword light.

  This was sword light formed from the eighth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation]. The sword light still appeared like a flying sword, except the sword was not as clear as before.

  “I feel as though the power is still a bit greater than it was when I used the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] to kill Dong Ziqi’s group.” Ning revealed a hint of joy on his face. When he had killed Dong Ziqi’s group, his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] had nine ranked flying swords, but he now had twenty seven…back then, he was using the ninth level of the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], but he was currently now using the eighth.

  The current eighth level was even more powerful than the former ninth level.

  Actually, the reason why the improvement was this noticeable was primarily because…the core was now those ranked frigid flying swords that came from the same location.

  “Swoosh!” Ning collected the flying swords, then hurried at high speed towards t
he Patriarch.

  He quickly arrived.

  “Ji Ning.” Ji Ninefire and Ji Yichuan both looked at the suddenly arrived Ning.

  “Patriarch, these are the magic treasures, Dao-seals, medicine pills, and other items that belonged to those Zifu Disciples I killed.” Ning said. “I’ve kept these things, but the others are useless to me. I’ll give them to you, Patriarch…some of these spirit pills are able to replenish elemental energy. They are very useful to us.”

  Ninefire nodded. Not hesitating, he accepted the bracelet that Ning handed over.

  “I’ll go deal with Jadechild now.” Ning said.

  “Be careful.” The nearby Yichuan warned.

  “Don’t worry, Father.” Ning cracked a smile, then turned and, under the guidance of Ninefire, moved through the parted black fog and hurried towards Jadechild.

  …..

  The Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation was filled with that abyssal aura.

  “Why hasn’t he come yet?” Jadechild stood there like a Fiendgod, his aura rising to the heavens, his long azure hair unbound, and surges of divine power thrumming through him. He was currently in the formation of the enemy, after all; he had to keep his divine power flowing, so as to be able to release his most powerful combat abilities at any moment.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Jadechild, Ji Ning is only sixteen years old. Prior to this, when he killed our other fellow apprentices, he must have used some tricks. But you, senior apprentice-brother, are a Fiendgod Refiner and have a divine ability. Those tricks will be useless against you. He’s probably afraid.”

  “He is almost certainly afraid and hiding.”

  Those Zifu Disciples all agreed.

  Jadechild just stood there, his gaze sweeping into the darkness ahead of him. He couldn’t help but wonder as well…was Ning truly afraid? If he wasn’t, given that he knew that Nong Zidao was currently analyzing how to break the formation, why had so much time passed after Ji Ning killing Dong Ziqi’s group of Zifu Disciples? Why hadn’t he come?