Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Master-uncle.” Nong Zidao frowned as he stared towards the distant nether fog. “Even Ji Ning was no match for you, master-uncle. The Ji clan has already run out of options. Thus, all they are trying to do now is to waste time and impede me from breaking their formation.”

  Adept Xu nodded. “Zidao, just focus on analyzing how to break the formation. Just now, I was caught offguard. Now that I am prepared, I definitely won’t let the Ji clan’s ambushes affect you.”

  Whoosh.

  Adept Xu waved his hand, and a black cord rapidly expanded to a length of hundreds of meters. It swirled around the snowy white Flood Dragon, while the grand seal returned to Adept Xu.

  “As long as that Netherwyrm dares to appear, I will instantly shatter it.” Adept Xu said.

  Just moments later.

  Whoosh!

  A blur suddenly appeared. It was the draconic tail, once more striking.

  “Boom…” The black cord suddenly lashed out. The whipping strike from an Earth-ranked magic treasure that a Wanxiang Adept was personally directing was enough to cause the draconic tail to instantly crumble.

  Nong Zidao, within the snowy white Flood Dragon, finally let out a relieved sigh. He closed his eyes, once more focusing on analyzing the formation. The simple sounds and ruckuses of the outside battles didn’t have much of an impact on him.

  ………

  Halfway up the mountain.

  Ninefire, Ning, Yichuan, the Fairy Crane, and the Whitewater Hound were all present.

  “Just relying on the Netherwyrm won’t do.” Ninefire shook his head. “Adept Xu, by himself, is enough to cause the Netherwyrm to disperse. There’s no way to impact Nong Zidao. We still have to rely on everyone going all out.”

  The Netherwyrm was just an energy construct, after all. As for monsters and humans, they were living creatures; they could use certain tricks, such as releasing Dao-seals, etc…

  “Landwyrm!”

  Ninefire sent mentally. “Go!”

  ……..

  The Landwyrm, in the shape of that azure-armored man, glanced at the corridor that had appeared in the nether fog before him. A hint of bitterness was in his eyes.

  “Alas, alas…”

  When he thought back to what he had experienced in his life, his heart was filled with grief.

  Upon becoming tamed as a spirit-beast, one’s only hope was to encounter a kind owner. Otherwise, life would be miserable. For example, after Jadechild died, he had been forced to submit yet again, and now he was being forced to go to his death.

  But even though he was being sent to his death, he didn’t dare to resist at all. This was because, if he died here, he would still go to the Netherworld Kingdom. Given the power of his soul, as a Zifu-level Diremonster, he would definitely be a powerful ghost that would find it easy to join the army of ghosts. But if he were to resist…his soul would be destroyed.

  “How hateful!”

  The azure-armored man immediately transformed into his true form, an enormous, clawed Landwyrm. The enormous body of the Landwyrm moved across the mountain, rapidly passing through the corridor within the nether fog and moving towards Adept Xu.

  Moments later.

  The Landwyrm could vaguely see, through the corridor, the faint contours of a snowy white Flood Dragon, as well as the figures within the Flood Dragon’s body.

  “Swoosh!”

  The Landwyrm suddenly flew forwards.

  Whoosh!

  He instantly charged forward. Nong Zidao was within the snowy white Flood Dragon, analyzing the formation. The other Zifu Disciples were staring at the surrounding areas, while Adept Xu was riding atop his magic treasure, prepared to attack at any moment.

  “The Landwyrm.”

  “Landwyrm?”

  The Zifu Disciples all immediately recognized it.

  “Roaaaaaar!” The Landwyrm charged forward, but before Adept Xu even had a chance to attack with his magic treasure, it raised its head, letting out a grieving, furious howl which shook the heavens.

  And immediately afterwards, a terrifyingly powerful energy blast exploded forth from the body of the Landwyrm, causing Adept Xu’s face to change.

  “Careful!”

  Rumble…

  As a peak Zifu-level Godbeast, its Zifu lake was far vaster than the Zifu lake of a human Zifu-level practitioner. The amount of elemental ki it contained was also boundless and deep. In terms of amount of elemental ki, this Godbeast’s Zifu lake was not inferior to an early Wanxiang Adept’s.

  All of the elemental ki that it had accumulated over so many years suddenly exploded, causing an incomparably powerful blast to instantly ripped out, tearing the Landwyrm’s body to pieces and wildly shooting in every direction.

  “Block.” Adept Xu hurriedly controlled that grand seal to serve like a rampart, blocking in front of him.

  Rumble…

  The terrifying explosion blasted out in every direction, blowing aside that Earth-ranked magic treasure, ‘Earth Garrison Seal’. But after it sent the seal flying, the remaining amount that struck against the ‘body’ of the snowy white Flood Dragon was greatly reduced, causing the snowy white dragon to roll over a few times, but be completely undamaged.

  “What’s going on?” Nong Zidao opened his eyes.

  “Self-explosion.”

  “It was a Landwyrm which blew itself up.” The Zifu Disciples said.

  Nong Zidao said, astonished, “Landwyrm? That was senior apprentice-brother Jadechild’s Landwyrm.”

  Adept Xu’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the enormous crater in the ground. HE said in a low voice, “This Landwyrm was a Godbeast amongst monsters. The amount of elemental ki in its Zifu lake was incomparably vast. This self-detonation…truly was astonishingly powerful.”

  …….

  Halfway up the mountain. Ninefire looked at the Fairy Crane, currently in the form of a white-robed maiden. “The Landwyrm is dead. Fairy Crane, your turn.”

  “Yes.”

  The Fairy Crane didn’t hesitate at all, immediately departing towards the tunnel through the nether fog that had appeared in front of her.

  But just a few moments after she had left…

  BOOM!

  A rumbling explosion which they seemed to be able to feel.

  “That fast?” Yichuan frowned.

  “She didn’t go to Adept Xu.” Ninefire growled. “That Fairy Crane…she was formerly the mount for Nong Zidao. Most likely, she had a deep relationship with Nong Zidao. I forced her to go blow herself up, and so she blew herself up midway, not disturbing Nong Zidao in the slightest.”

  Ning shook his head gently.

  Upon accepting an owner…

  In the spirit-beast’s heart, it would naturally feel very obedient to it’s owner. For the Fairy Crane to act in such a way was a testament to how deep the affection she bore for Nong Zidao was.

  “Nong Zidao.” Ninefire bellowed loudly. “Your former spirit-beast mount, the Fairy Crane. I ordered her to go attack you, but she actually blew herself up midway, before she had even reached out. It seems as though the relationship between you and the spirit-beast was quite close.”

  ……

  His voice transmitted far away.

  Adept Xu and the others all fell silent. They looked towards Nong Zidao, who opened his eyes, staring into the distance with a pained look. “Crane…child…Crane…”

  Previously, when he chose to flee, he had only a single Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal, and so he hadn’t taken his Fairy Crane.

  He had released her from his bond, in the hopes that the Fairy Crane would be able to continue to live…but now, his Crane had actually blown herself up in the distance, for the sake of not disturbing him.

  “Crane…”

  “Crane.” Nong Zidao wanted to forget about her, but images from the past welled up, causing his mind to be unable to calm down.

  “Apprentice-nephew Zidao.” Adept Xu barked. “This is a psychological ploy of the Ji clan. You cannot be affected by it
. Hurry up and focus on breaking the formation; that’s what matters.”

  Nong Zidao nodded. “Right.”

  Although he understood this principle, how could he so easily discard and forget about the hundreds of years of friendship between him and the Fairy Crane? How could he truly calm down? The impact the Fairy Crane’s self-detonation had on him was far greater than the impact which Ji Ning had when he had attacked earlier.

  ………..

  Halfway up Oxhorn Mountain.

  Ning was incomparably nervous. He stared at his father. Based on the Patriarch’s original plan, after the Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane perished, it would be his father who would go!

  “The amount of time needed to brew a pot of tea has passed.” Ninefire suddenly said. “The Fairy Crane’s self-detonation had a major impact on Nong Zidao. But now that some time has passed, I imagine that Nong Zidao has calmed down. Yichuan…your turn now.”

  Yichuan nodded.

  “You need to come up with a way to disturb Nong Zidao and prevent him from concentrating on analyzing of the formation.” Ninefire said. “The Landwyrm and the Fairy Crane were only recently tamed, after all; they weren’t fully loyal to our Ji clan. Thus, both of them were used to self-detonate, the simplest, fastest method to disturb the enemy. There was a limit to how long those two were able to delay. In the end, we mainly have to rely on our own people, of the Ji clan.”

  “I know.” Yichuan nodded. “Leave it to me. But before this. Ji Ning!”

  Yichuan looked at his son.

  Ning raised his head, looking at his father.

  “You can leave now.” Yichuan looked at his son, then said, “You are useless here. If you wait too long, more variables might come into place. Leave, now.”

  “I should leave now?” Ning stared, wide-eyed. His father was about to go risk his life in battle. He was supposed to leave now?

  “Go.” Yichuan barked.

  Ning, looking at his father’s facial expressions, understood. His father, in his heart, had always been a proud, arrogant person. Even as he went to welcome death, he wouldn’t want to let his son see it.

  “Ji Ning.” The nearby Ninefire understood Yichuan’s intent as well. He immediately said, “Go, hurry and go.”

  The nearby Whitewater Hound walked over as well, raising its head and looking towards Ji Ning, eyes filled with longing and love.

  “Uncle White.” Ning moved forward to embrace the Whitewater Hound.

  This time…

  The others, including Uncle White, were unable to leave. This was because there was a grand sealing formation outside! Only Ning would be able to escape.

  “Father. Uncle White.” Ning held Uncle White, looking at his father, his eyes filled with rare tears.

  “Go!!!” Yichuan barked furiously.

  Ning was in agony.

  He didn’t want to go! He truly didn’t want to go!

  He wanted to stay, to battle to the death by their sides!

  “It takes courage to fight to the death.” Ninefire looked towards Ning. “But to choose to leave on one’s own requires even greater courage! Ji Ning…don’t disappoint us!”

  The Whitewater Hound gently raised its head to look at Ning as well, also urging Ning to leave.

  Ning looked at his father, looked at the Whitewater Hound, looked at his Patriarch…

  “I’ll go!” Ning said hoarsely.

  He turned and walked out through a corridor that had appeared through the nether fog.

  In his heart, he was howling to himself that he truly didn’t want to leave. That he wanted to stay here with his father, with his Uncle White, and fight with them.

  But his rationale mind told him that he had to go. Otherwise, the Patriarch and the others would all die with their eyes open, filled with resentment.

  …………..

  The light of the sealing formation was everywhere, and it rippled like water, locking the entire region in.

  “Break.”

  “Break.”

  Ning utilized his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] and his Darknorth swords, but wasn’t able to damage the sealing formation at all.

  “Why. Why.” Ning was howling in agony in his heart. If he was able to break this grand sealing formation, he would be able to lead his father, the Patriarch, and the Whitewater Hound in a retreat! But there was some distance between the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation and this sealing formation; Ning was without the assistance of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, and so the power of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] immediately decreased to a lower level. He wouldn’t even be able to fight against Jadechild right now.

  Although the Darknorth swords were somewhat more powerful, they were still far from being able to break through this grand sealing formation.

  “Xu Li! Nong Zidao! Snowdragon Mountain!” Ning turned to look at the coiling Netherwyrm, hidden within the vast, endless nether fog. “I, Ji Ning, swear that in my lifetime, I will eradicate you all!”

  The Traceless Talisman appeared in Ji Ning’s hands.

  Whoosh.

  The space around him rippled, and Ji Ning disappeared, having gone far away.

  * * *

  Book 6, Chapter 28 - The Seven Great Divine Abilities of the Divine Abilities Hall

  “Eh?” Adept Xu Li, standing within the draconic head of the snowy white Flood Dragon, frowned. The grand sealing formation was under his control, and thus, he could clearly sense…

  “Someone is attacking my grand sealing formation from within? It seems as though someone from the Ji clan wishes to flee. Unfortunately, without the assistance of the Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation, even Ji Ning, the most powerful of them, wouldn’t be able to break through the formation!”

  “They need to just obediently wait for death.”

  Adept Xu’s cold, insidious gaze held a hint of a killing intent.

  Although he had used his Earth-ranked magic treasure, ‘Divine Blackblood Needle’, to wound Ning, in reality, he wasn’t able to sense Ning’s location at all. Previously, when he had loudly said that he could sense Ning’s location, he was completely bluffing! After all, he wouldn’t feel much pressure if other members of the Ji clan came and attacked, but an ambush from Ning put him under great pressure. He trusted that the Ji clan definitely treasured Ning, and so intentionally put on an act, shouting loudly…

  And the effect was excellent. The elders of the Ji clan, no matter what, refused to let Ning go risk himself again.

  ……….

  Serpentwing Lake. Within the icy waters of the lake.

  Rustle…

  Deep within the waters of the lake, space rippled and Ning appeared out of nowhere.

  “This is…?” Ning looked at the boundless lakewater above him. He could sense the presence of the aquatic estate. “This is Serpentwing Lake?”

  Previously, he had completely relied on a general sense and feeling to activate the Traceless Talisman to teleport him towards the general direction of Serpentwing Lake. Serpentwing Lake was a hundred kilometers in circumference, and so Ning’s teleportation had resulted him being thrown deep into the waters of the lake.

  “The aquatic estate. Inwards!” Ning willed it.

  As long as he could sense the presence of the aquatic manor, he would be able to enter it.

  The enormous phantom of a grizzly’s head appeared in the lakewaters around him, swallowing Ning within its maw.

  ………..

  Within the ancient aquatic estate. The enormous prayer mats lay scattered in the main hall. Everything was just as Ning had left it.

  “Eh?” Ning appeared out of nowhere within the main hall. He immediately saw the old black bull and giant yellow bear in the distance.

  “I can sense that you have already broken through, as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, to the ‘Blood Drop Rebirth’ level. Have you come to enter the Divine Abilities Hall?” The giant yellow bear looked at Ning, a hint of doubt suddenly appearing within its eyes. “Ji Ning, I can sense that you
r heart is filled with boundless rage, panic, and a murderous intent. What did you encounter, exactly?”

  Ning’s heart was still filled with concern for his father, Uncle White, the Patriarch, and the others on Oxhorn Mountain, who were at the brink of death. Upon hearing the words from the giant yellow bear, a light suddenly flashed in his mind!

  Right!

  The spirit of the aquatic estate!

  The old black bull was the spirit of an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, while the giant yellow bear was even more unfathomable; it didn’t even pay much attention to Immortal Juhua. In addition, the giant yellow bear seemed to carry with it an aura of eternity, very similar to the eternal, unextinguishable aura that the image of Lady Nuwa which Ning visualized had.

  This aquatic estate, even without his active control, could allow him to go through spatial teleportation? This sort of ability…was simply inconceivable.

  “Senior.” Ning gave a brief explanation. “My Ji clan is currently facing a great tribulation. We face a powerful foe, roughly at the early Wanxiang Adept level of power, who has at least three Earth-ranked magic treasures! By relying on my Windwing Evasion, I was able to fight against him, but in the end, I was still defeated by him and forced to flee…senior, dare I ask, can you suggest any method by which I can defeat this Wanxiang Adept, and save my family?”

  The giant yellow bear glanced at Ning. “Although you have the Windwing Evasion ability, that’s simply a very crude divine ability which has undergone a simplification process. It only allows your speed and agility to increase! Your actual power, however, is not increased…and so, your flaw is quite evident. If a Wanxiang Adept were to use a large number of magic treasures to attack you and limit your agility, you would definitely be defeated.”

  Ning nodded. “Senior, your words are correct. But what should I do to defeat him? If I go to the Divine Abilities Hall and acquire a divine ability, would I be able to defeat that Wanxiang Adept?”

  “The Divine Abilities Hall has many divine abilities.” The giant yellow bear said. “If you are able to learn a high-class divine ability, it would be simplicity itself for you to kill even a middle-stage Wanxiang Adept.”