Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Two million kilometers in the blink of an eye.” Ning had known what was going to happen, but after experiencing it for himself, he couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “I heard that some Immortals can instantly teleport a million kilometers. I wonder how long it will be before I have that ability.”

  “All of you, come out.” “Hurry up.” Two ancient voices rang out, and two plainly dressed elders outside the teleportation array waved towards them. Only now did the Immortal practitioners walk out from the teleportation array.

  “All of you, listen closely,” one of the white-haired, slightly-pudgy elders barked. “These are the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. As far as you should be concerned, the only safe spot in the entirety of the wild marshes is this spot, right here! There are always Raindragon Guards stationed here, and a grand formation has been laid down which no one dares to trespass through.”

  Ning and Northson all looked over carefully. They, too, had discovered that this teleportation formation was built atop a mountain peak, which was ringed with Immortal cavern estates. Most likely, quite a few people were stationed here.

  “There are a few other things to remind you of,” the fat elder said. “The first is that for three months, you are not permitted to come here. If you come here to avoid danger, you will have failed.”

  “The second is that while you are adventuring in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, you must be extremely careful; do not stay in any single place for too long, such as for a month or longer. You must know that there are far more monsters here in the wild marshes than there are humans, and they are far more familiar with the Gaol Mountains than you are. If you stay in one place for too long…you will make it easy for the monsters to join forces against you and attack you en-masse. However, staying in one place to rest for a day or two every so often is fine.”

  Ning and the others were listening carefully. This was all potentially life-saving advice.

  “The third is that although the monsters of the wild marshes are dangerous, the natural environment of the Gaol Mountains is even more dangerous. Some places might be filled with shattered space…if you aren’t careful, you might exit our world, at which point, given your current level of power, you will all die.”

  “The fourth is that due to environmental issues, getting one’s bearings is quite difficult in the Gaol Mountains region. Don’t just rely on your senses to judge directions! You need to judge the directions in accordance with the movement of the sun, the moon, and the stars in the skies. Otherwise, if you simply rely on your own senses…you will never be able to return, and will forever be spinning in circles within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.”

  “Alright. The four most important points have already been provided to you. Go. I hope that in three months time, I’ll be able to see you all return,” the fat elder said.

  Finally, the skinny elder spoke out as well. “If you discover that it is too dangerous and that you are unable to handle it, you’d best head back in a hurry. Although you will have failed, you will have at least preserved your life.”

  “Go, go.” The fat elder waved his hand. “Go,” the skinny elder said as well. Ning and the rest of the Immortal disciples all stared towards those hazy outlines of Immortal cavern estates ringing the mountain. They could all sense the surge of powerful energy surrounding this entire mountain peak. This was the power of that formation.

  And then…swish! Swish! One streak of light after another flew out from the peak at high speed, flying towards the outside. Some moved alone, while others moved in pairs or triplets.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, where shall we go?” Northson asked. “Every direction is the same,” Ning said. Sweeping the area with his gaze, he pointed towards the North. “There are many mountains over there. Let’s go over there.”

  “Alright.” Northson nodded. Whoosh! A dragon-headed ship suddenly appeared before them, and Ning and Northson boarded the ship. This dragon-headed ship was only thirty meters long; clearly, it was sized appropriately for roaming the wild marshes. If they made it too large…it would just make it easier for monsters to find them.

  Soon, the hundred Immortal cultivators had all spread out in each direction. The two elders responsible for guarding the formation had very complicated looks in their eyes. The skinny one sighed, “I really envy them. I can sense the vitality and energy just oozing from them. Clearly, all of them are very young. Youth is a form of wealth, you know; they have plenty of time to go fight, to struggle, and to go farther along their Immortal paths. As for us…we won’t have these opportunities.”

  “But at least we’ve lived a few hundred years,” the fat elder laughed. The skinny elder stared into the distance. “I wonder how many of this batch will make it back alive.”

  “If half can make it back, that’ll be pretty good,” the fat elder said. “However…this group knew exactly how dangerous things would be, and they still elected to go adventure. If they can become Raindragon Guards…they’ll be able to benefit from the vast Dao repositories and magic treasures which the Guard possesses, and their Immortal paths will become more surefooted ones. The particularly outstanding ones will even have the chance to go to the imperial capital of the Grand Xia Dynasty, where they will be trained at our Raindragon Guard’s headquarters!”

  …….

  The dragon-headed boat flew through the clouds in the sky. “These high clouds are actually the safest places, here within the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.” Northson was standing at the helm of the ship.

  Ning nodded. “However, we still need to be careful. Once we discover any spatial ripples, we need to immediately avoid them.” “I know,” Northson said. “The warship is flying quite slowly, actually.”

  “Alright.” Ning nodded. “Look.” Northson stared down through the thin clouds below at a large mountain. This mountain was particularly majestic in a queer way; it pierced straight through the clouds. In addition, one could see with the naked eye countless monsters atop the mountain. Some were monsters that were in human form. They appeared to be moving about in a manner reminiscent of an army.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, there must be Wanxiang-level monsters in that great mountain,” Northson said.

  “Based on what I know…Wanxiang-level monsters are extremely common in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, and Zifu-level monsters can be seen everywhere. As for Primal monsters…they are quite rare,” Ning said. “Some monsters have taken over a mountain and have proclaimed themselves the local king, while others travel by themselves. Those who have taken over a mountain are all extremely strong.”

  Northson nodded.

  “It’s quite hard to run into one of the Wanxiang-level monsters who are wandering about by themselves,” Ning said reflectively. “So, our target should be the monsters who have crowned themselves ‘kings’ of a mountain. But from far away, we aren’t able to tell exactly how strong those ‘king’ monsters are. If we are unlucky, we might run into a Primal monster.”

  “Then what should we do?” Northson asked. Ning had come up with an idea long ago. However, he looked at Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, do you have any ideas?”

  “I do have a few,” Northson said with a frown. “The first is to follow other Immortal practitioners about and let them be the ones to investigate. When the battle begins…after verifying that the target is a Wanxiang monster, we’ll attack.”

  “Not bad.” Ning nodded in praise. Northson continued, “The second method is to search for a mountain with monsters that don’t seem too strong. Nine out of ten, that mountain would be the territory of a Wanxiang monster.”

  “And the third idea?” Ning prompted. Northson’s eyes lit up. “As Master said, the hearts of men are difficult to fathom. Since that’s the case, I imagine that there will be cases where Immortal cultivators will attack other cultivators. Generally speaking, this would involve several of them joining forces. If several of them join forces against us
…I refuse to believe that not a single one of them will have acquired the corpse or the head of a Wanxiang monster. We can set up a trap…so if anyone comes to ambush us, we’ll counter-ambush and kill them.”

  “However, all three plans have their own flaws. I’m not confident in any of them.” Northson was quite irritated. “Still, we have three months. That should be enough.”

  Ning laughed. “Your methods are good, but I have an even simpler one.” Northson looked expectantly towards Ning. “What method?”

  “Search for a seemingly ordinary-looking mountain of monsters,” Ning said with a laugh. Northson stared. “Isn’t that my idea?”

  “After we find an ordinary mountain…I’ll sweep it with my divine sense!” Ning laughed. “If the opponent can sense my sweep, then it will most likely be a Primal monster. If they aren’t able to…then they will be Wanxiang monsters. Even if we are so unlucky as to run into one of the incomparably rare Primal monsters, we can immediately use our evasive techniques to instantly flee.”

  Northson said, startled, “Divine sense? Senior apprentice-brother, your soul has truly reached the divine sense level?” Ning nodded. “You really…” Northson was shocked. “When you joined and defeated senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow and the others, you demonstrated the ability to use multiple sword arts. Many of our senior fellow disciples suspected that your soul must be extremely powerful, perhaps at the divine sense level. Even more of them suspected that you were actually a reincarnated Immortal. So you actually have reached the divine sense level? In the past three years, you’ve never mentioned it!”

  “You never asked,” Ning grinned.

  “Then are you a reincarnated Immortal as well?” Northson’s eyes were shining. “I heard that as reincarnated Immortals grow older, they will gradually reawaken their memories.”

  Ning shook his head. “No clue. I haven’t awakened any Immortal memories, at least.” What a joke. Ning’s memories of his past life were perfectly clear; he wasn’t an Immortal at all.

  “Oh.” Northson nodded, then said excitedly, “This is wonderful. Joining the Raindragon Guards poses a great test to others, but for you, senior apprentice-brother, it’s far too simple. We can use your divine sense to run a test from far away…and after verifying things, can immediately act. If we are so unlucky as to run into a Primal monster, we can immediately flee with evasion techniques. This really is simple.”

  Ning laughed. “If even someone with a divine sense is unable to join the Raindragon Guard, that’d be quite bizarre, wouldn’t it?”

  “Badass,” Northson grinned widely. “Then I, your junior apprentice-brother, shall benefit from your strength, senior apprentice-brother.”

  “Junior apprentice-brother, no need to be so polite.” Ning turned his gaze downwards, beginning to search for mountains with monsters.

  ……..

  Just one hour later. Ning and Northston were standing within a desolate area, staring towards a towering mountain before them. Given Ning’s visual acuity, he was able to see that there were some monstrous figures within this mountain.

  “This one. Let me search it,” Ning said. “Alright.” Northson had already taken out a Dao-seal.

  Although the two of them were both capable of simple evasion techniques, and were able to move multiple kilometers away with a single movement, with the aid of a Dao-seal, they would be able to move a thousand kilometers away. Ning knew that even a Primal monster would find it hard to search a thousand kilometers with divine sense.

  “Whoosh!” With but a thought, Ning instantly sent a surge of power divine sense forward, enveloping this entire mountain.

  * * *

  Book 8, Chapter 13 - Two Humans Battle Three Monsters

  Ji Ning’s powerful divine sense thoroughly investigated the entirety of the mountain, inside and out. “Senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, what’s the situation?” Mu Northson asked.

  Ning cracked a smile, then looked at Northson. “Junior apprentice-brother Northson, need you ask? This mountain really does have quite a few monsters within it. Based on the aura of these monsters, there should be a single Wanxiang monster and around ten or so Zifu monsters. There are also some Xiantian monsters that can transform into human form, as well as a crowd of lesser monsters.”

  “Just one?” Northson chewed on his lips. “That’s it? There’s two of us though.”

  “Thus, your idea was the right one. We first find a seemingly-ordinary mountain of monsters, with the expectation that the monsters within won’t be too powerful,” Ning laughed. “A mountain like this, the two of us can flatten when we charge in. However, this is the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. Let’s be a bit cautious.”

  “I’ll listen to you in all things, senior apprentice-brother,” Northson nodded. “Let’s go. Let’s sneak up the mountain.” Ning pointed upwards.

  Northson said, worried, “There should be formations, right?”

  “Although there are formations on these monster mountains, with my divine sense spread out, I can see everything.” Ning had quite some experience in analyzing formations, after all, while his Uncle White was a Godbeast Whitewater Hound which was legendary for its intelligence and which was a master of formations. Ning would often chat with Uncle White; naturally, he would gain some pointers from him. Occasionally, Ning’s own thoughts would cause Uncle White to gain certain insights as well.

  “Let’s go.” Swoosh! Swoosh! The two stealthily slippd upwards through the wild grass, moving closer and closer to the mountain at high speed.

  A black-faced, muscular fellow was seated in the lotus position atop a jade bed, looking quite like an Immortal practitioner. The black-faced fellow suddenly opened his eyes, and a baleful aura shot out from his eyes, but then was quickly retracted.

  He stared towards the stone door in the distance. With but a thought, he made the stone door rumble open. Immediately, a small figure charged in from outside. It was a skinny underling, who knelt down and said, “Congratulations, Majesty, for having finished your meditations!”

  “Mm.” The large, black-faced man let out a grunt. “Go. Have the Madame come, and arrange for a table of food to be prepared.”

  “Yes.” The skinny little figure respectfully departed at high speed.

  The black-faced man left his jade bed, walking leisurely out of the hall of his cavern estate and moving outside the stone door. Standing outside, he seemed to be able to see all sorts of sights in the vast marshes outside, and a killing desire filled his eyes. “Humans often come in batches to attack these wild marshes of our the Gaol Mountains. the Gaol Mountains’s marshes belong to us monsters. If a human comes, we will kill him. Mm…it’s been quite a long time since humans have come to my place.”

  The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains were simply too vast. There were quite a few human Immortal cultivators who came to this place, but they were all spread out extremely sparsely throughout the wild marshes. A monster would only occasionally run into a human Immortal cultivator.

  “Thirty years ago, that human monster offered me quite the amount of liquefied elemental essence and magic treasures, which I traded for liquefied elemental essence as well. It allowed me to shave two centuries off of my training, while my power increased greatly.” The black-faced man was quite eager. “I wonder when I’ll met yet another foolish human.”

  Those who dared to crown themselves kings of a mountain in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains naturally laid down many traps around their nest, making it so that any humans who arrived would be unable to leave!

  “Your Majesty!” Suddenly, a soft voice rang out. The black-faced man turned to look. A seductive, green-clothed, devilish woman entered, carrying a jade platter with a beautifully carved beasthead goblet of wine, as well as a perfectly made bottle of wine.

  “Madame.” The black-faced man smiled. “Your Majesty, you’ve been training for many months now. You’ve worked very hard. This is the wine which I personally brewed, the ‘Immortal Moonspirit
wine’.”

  The green-clothed, devilish woman walked over while speaking. Monsters, after becoming Xiantian lifeforms, would gain intelligence equivalent to a human’s. This green-clothed, alluring woman was a Zifu monster, while the black-faced man was a Wanxiang monster.

  Training took up quite a time…and these monsters knew how to enjoy themselves. They, too, need companions. Although in this part of the world, the monsters were tremendously powerful, it was still the Grand Xia Dynasty which had truly unified the world, a dynasty of humans. Many of the major powers amongst the monsters had official positions within the Grand Xia Dynasty. This was actually the reason why monsters continued to exist.

  However, although the high-level individuals were on fairly good terms with each other, generally speaking, human Immortal cultivators and monsters fought quite fiercely against each other.

  A sumptuous feast of delicacies had been prepared, including meat, fruit, and wine. The black-faced man picked up a piece of meat and began to chew it, then frowned and barked towards the outside, “Go, go to rear mountains and to the place where we are raising humans. Catch a tender one and send it over. This meat is tasteless. Human flesh is much better.”

  “Yes.” The monster outside immediately replied in a high-pitched voice.

  “Those humans eat the flesh of us monsters, and in fact, some major power even created a ‘spirit-beast seal’ and other things to forcibly enslave us.” The black-faced man let out a cold snort. “We monsters naturally can eat humans as well, and in fact, we should enslave them as well! Since there’s a spirit-beast seal, why can’t there be a ‘human-slave seal’?”

  The alluring, green-clothed poured a goblet of wine for her king. “Your Majesty, I heard that beyond the greater worlds, there is are major powers amongst the monsters, capable of dominating the Three Realms, who are indeed capable of creating a method for enslaving humans. But unfortunately…in our greater world, the world is formally ruled over by the Grand Xia Dynasty. How can they possibly permit a technique allowing monsters to enslave humans be spread out?”