Desolate Era

by RWX

  A cultivator had to start by nurturing earthfire, then slowly improve it step by step, painstakingly nourishing it to the point of it becoming Solar Truefire when the cultivator became a Celestial Immortal!

  “He’s almost finished,” the giant yellow bear said. Indeed. The Waterflame Lotus surrounding Ning was beginning to turn translucent; clearly, the truefire and truewater within had slowly been completely absorbed by Ning. The translucent petals of the Waterflame Lotus slowly opened, revealing Ning within the heart of the lotus. Every single part of Ning’s body was incomparably perfect; it was the body of a Fiendgod!

  Ning opened his eyes, and the fur clothes appeared on his body. They still appeared just like the ones his mother had made for him.

  “I broke through,” Ning said with a smile. What massive, majestic divine power. His entire body coursed with a flood of strength!

  At the ninth stage, he was only comparable to regular, early Wanxiang Fiendgod Refiners. But at the tenth stage, he was already comparable to late Wanxiang Fiendgod Refiners! Most importantly of all…after every three stages, there would be a major gap, and passing through each gap was extremely hard. The three mini-stages were much easier to advance through; one only had to absorb enough solar power and lunar power in order to break through. Thus, there would be no bottlenecks for Ning as he advanced from the tenth to the twelfth stage.

  “I have the Fiendgod body of a late Wanxiang Adept, and have mastered the third stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]!” Ning mused to himself, “And, with the divine ability, [Starseizing Hand]…my current level of power is significantly greater than it was back in the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains. If I were to once more encounter a Primal-level Dragonwhale Diremonster, it wouldn’t be too hard for me to fight against him head on. And, I most likely should be on par with senior apprentice-brother Bloodshadow,” Ning thought to himself delightedly.

  In terms of Fiendgod bodies, Bloodshadow was merely at the peak Wanxiang stage; Ning was comparable to being at the late Wanxiang stage, and was just slightly weaker. However, he had a far more powerful divine ability! And, with the help of his swordplay…

  “Given my current level of power, I can fight against Primal Daoists now. Even if I cannot overcome them, I should be able to escape,” Ning mused to himself.

  “Ji Ning.” The giant yellow bear spoke out. “Senior.” Ning looked towards him. “Since your foundation has improved, your power has naturally improved as well,” the giant yellow bear said. “If you were to go re-challenge the third level of the Wargod Hall, even without relying on archery, you would have a 100% chance of obtaining victory in close quarters combat.”

  Ning laughed. “Then if I were to go challenge the fourth level? Would I pass?” “The chances of passing are less than ten percent,” the giant yellow bear said. “Once your Fiendgod body reaches the eleventh stage, you should have a 30% or 40% chance of victory. If you were to improve in swordplay as well, then your chances would become still greater. To overcome the fourth level of the Wargod Hall…generally speaking, you’ll need to be powerful enough to defeat Primal Daoists.”

  Ning couldn’t help but secretly shake his head. Oh, Daoist Threelives…

  The bar he had set for his successors really was too high. Even someone as monstrous as Ning found it incredibly difficult; the former successor, Immortal Juhua, really was unfortunate! He ended up becoming a Loose Immortal, and only many years after doing so was he capable of defeating the seventh stage and selecting an extremely powerful Immortal-ranked magic treasure. Unfortunately…by then, it was too late.

  “No rush. I’ll challenge the fourth level of Wargod Hall next time,” Ning said with a laugh. “I just made a breakthrough as a Fiendgod; I can be considered to have reached the Wanxiang level formally now.”

  The giant yellow bear nodded. “Yes.” Ning’s eyes lit up, blazing with eagerness. “Then I now have another chance to choose a treasure from the Treasures Hall.”

  “Naturally. You will only have a total of three choices each time, so you must be cautious each time you do so; there’s no going back after you make your choice,” the giant yellow bear said. “Come. Let’s go to the Treasures Hall and slowly pick through the treasures.”

  …….

  An hour later. After having selected yet another treasure, and with his power greatly improved, Ning quietly returned to Serpentwing Lake. No one knew that within those two short hours, Ning had left Serpentwing lake. Naturally, no one knew that Ning’s power had greatly improved.

  Time continued to flow on. In the blink of an eye, a year had passed since Ninelotus had arrived at Serpentwing Lake.

  The distant Stillwater City. The Black-White College.

  “Junior apprentice-sister Qingqing!” In the skies above a mountain, a black-suited youth was calling out in a high voice.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud, it’s quite rare for you to come visit me here.” A tall, willowy, silver-robed, maiden, Luo Qing, walked out of her courtyard. Raising her head, she smiled towards the skies as she spoke. The black-suited youth in the air immediately landed in the courtyard.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud, please sit,” Luo Qing said. The black-uniformed youth sat down, then laughed, “I heard that recently, junior apprentice-sister Qingqing, you came back from your adventures, so I came to see how you are doing…as I recall, you and junior apprentice-sister Ninelotus went out together. Why is it that a year later, you returned but she did not?”

  Luo Qing hesitated a moment, then said, “Chen Jin!”

  The black-suited youth was startled. Chen Jin was his true name; however, Qingqing usually referred to him by his Daoist title, as ‘senior apprentice-brother Flowcloud’. For her to address him by his actual name…she most likely was going to discuss something important with him.

  “You, me, and Ninelotus, we all came to Stillwater City together,” Luo Qing said in a low voice. “You and I both know about her background.” Chen Jin nodded. “Of course I do.”

  “In the past, when senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus was in the Dongyan clan, you continuously wooed her. When she brought me to Stillwater City and the Black-White College, you decided to enter the Black-White College as well…I know that your heart has continued to be infatuated with her,” Luo Qing said.

  Chen Jin laughed. “Although Ninelotus has never nodded and accepted me, I’ll continue to wait. Ten years, a hundred years…I’ll slowly wait for her.”

  “There’s something…” Luo Qing gritted her teeth. “…that I think I must tell you about.”

  “What is it?” Chen Jin laughed. Luo Qing looked so unwilling to speak out; could it be that she was about to confess feelings for him?

  Luo Qing took a deep breath. “Senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has chosen a Dao-companion.”

  Chen Jin was stunned.

  “But unfortunately…it isn’t you.” Luo Qing looked at him.

  It was as though a thunderbolt had fallen out of the clear skies, completely stunning Chen Jin.

  * * *

  Book 9, Chapter 23 - Holyfire

  “What did you say?” Chen Jin stared at Luo Qing, an incomparably terrifying look in his eyes. “Say it again!”

  Luo Qing knew Chen Jin very well. She naturally could guess at what Chen Jin was currently feeling, and she immediately said with solemnity, “I said…that senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus has already chosen a Dao-companion. She’s chosen someone else, not you.”

  Chen Jin’s face was ashen, and his body swayed.

  “A pity,” Luo Qing murmured to herself secretly. They had been friends for many years, and so she couldn’t bear for Chen Jin to be kept in the dark. However, she also knew exactly what a blow this was for Chen Jin to hear. “He pursued her for so many years without success. In the end, junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning, who didn’t even pursue her, ended up attracting her attention.”

  Chen Jin shook his head. “Impossible. Ninelotus is the future Matriarch of the Dongyan clan; sh
e has tremendous expectations for her future. Not even the many geniuses of the Black-White College have ever attracted her attention. Soundless and silently, she suddenly selected a Dao-companion?”

  “His name is Ji Ning,” Luo Qing said. “He’s our junior apprentice-brother. His Daoist title is Darknorth.”

  “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth?” Chen Jin was stunned. Ji Ning, also known as Adept Darknorth, was quite resoundingly famous within the Black-White College. When this crazy junior apprentice-brother had first joined, in the Dao Debates, his performance had been such that the reincarnated Immortal, Rainbowflame Fairy Yu Wei, had been forced to personally intervene to overcome him. However, back then, Chen Jin had been carrying out a mission for the Raindragon Guard, and so hadn’t been in the College and hadn’t met Ning.

  But he knew very well…for him to have been so powerful immediately after joining the school, and to have been selected by Immortal Diancai as a disciple, this person, Ji Ning, would definitely be one of the most supreme disciples of the Black-White College.

  “Him?” Chen Jin couldn’t help but say, “How can that be? How long have they even known each other? Ninelotus is the future Matriarch of the Dongyan tribe; she’s extremely cautious by nature, and she considers all of her actions thoroughly. Even if truly she were to choose a Dao-companion, she would be more prudent than prudence itself in doing so. It is precisely this temperament of hers that has led the various Immortals of the Dongyan clan to jointly concur on her as their choice. Even though her background is astonishing, it alone wouldn’t be enough for her to be selected as the next leader. Given her temperament…she couldn’t possibly have chosen a Dao-companion this quickly!”

  Luo Qing nodded. “You understand her very well. The choice of a Dao-companion is a choice that will change one’s life. Indeed, she didn’t come to a decision this quickly. I’ll tell you something…she’s already spent an entire year with Ji Ning, in the secluded Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain.”

  “She’s spent a full year with Ji Ning in his secluded residence?” Chen Jin’s face changed. There was no man who could accept the fact that the woman he loved had been living with another man for a full year! The same was true for Immortal cultivators! In fact, the purity of an Immortal cultivator’s Dao-heart made it so that they were far more terrifyingly stubborn than most mortals.

  “So what if they were together for a year?” Chen Jin suppressed the rage in his heart.

  “When senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus and I first arrived there, we spent three months there, and I left,” Luo Qing said. “I’m a woman as well; I could sense what senior apprentice-sister Ninelotus was feeling. After just three months…she was already beginning to show hints of bashfulness on her face. Now that a year has passed…I can’t even guess at how far the relationship between her and Ji Ning has developed!”

  Chen Jin’s face was as lifeless as steel! He was completely dazed, and his mind was in a state of chaos.. Bashfulness? Three months? Now a year? How far the relationship had developed? What had happened? Could it be that the two of them had already…

  “IMPOSSIBLE!” Chen Jin let out a growl, then transformed into a streak of light, flying into the distance.

  Watching him fly away, Luo Qing couldn’t help but shake her head. “He actually lost composure this badly. It seems this truly was a major blow to him. I really didn’t want to tell you, but I had to…telling you now means that you’ll have a chance to fight for her. If I were to tell you in a few years…you would probably have no hope at all.”

  As far as she was personally concerned, given that she, Ninelotus, and Flowcloud had all come to Stillwater City together, she naturally felt extremely close to both of them. Between Ji Ning and Flowcloud…she naturally was biased towards Flowcloud, Chen Jin!

  Chen Jin flew blindly through the skies, confusion raging in his mind. “No, no, I can’t…I can’t continue like this. I need to immediately go to the place where Ji Ning is living, to that Serpentwing Lake place in Swallow Mountain. Right now! Immediately! This very moment!”

  Panic. Worry. Unease. These emotions tore at his breast.

  “Flowcloud, come in.” A voice suddenly rang out in his mind, carrying a hint of meditative dhyana; it actually was able to instantly suppress the turbulent emotions in Chen Jin’s heart.

  “Uncle Fire?” Chen Jin was stunned. He looked ahead of himself, towards a mountain peak and the scarlet red estate built atop it. This was the residence of one of the leaders of the third generation disciples of the Black-White College – Holyfire.

  “Earlier, my mind was in a state of chaos. I actually unconsciously made my way to Uncle Fire’s place. It seems as though…my heart subconsciously felt that this was the safest, most secure place for me in the entire Black-White College?” Chen Jin immediately flew into the estate below.

  Within a courtyard.

  A handsome, elegant looking bald youth, dressed in a fiery red robe, was seated in the lotus position, his feet bare. He seemed almost crystalline in his incomparable purity, and yet he also seemed to blaze like a flame, causing the temperature in the surrounding area to rise.

  “Uncle Fire.” Chen Jin walked in. Although both he and Holyfire were third generation disciples, in terms of age, Holyfire was more than a century older than him. When he was but a child, Holyfire had already been a prominent figure amongst the other third generation disciples of the Black-White College. Because Holyfire was on extremely good terms with his clan, the Chen clan, ever since Chen Jin had been young, he had addressed him as ‘Uncle Fire’. Even after he himself had joined the Black-White College, he continued to address Holyfire in this way.

  “I can tell that your aura is disturbed, and a look of chaos and wildness is in your eyes. If this continues, your Dao-heart will be damaged.” Holyfire shook his head. “What exactly has happened?”

  “Uncle Fire, I, I…” Chen Jin found it difficult to speak. Holyfire let out a calm laugh. In terms of Dao-heart and comprehension, there were actually even many Primal Daoists who were inferior to him. In terms of pure power, there were even some Primal Daoists who had been defeated by him! In addition, Holyfire had already made his preparations…in the next few years, he was going to make his breakthrough to the Primal Daoist level. In the entire Black-White College, of the third generation disciples, only the Sloppy Daoist was able to suppress him in might. This wasn’t because Holyfire wasn’t strong; it was because the Sloppy Daoist was truly too much of a monster.

  Even Wanxiang Adepts who were reincarnated Immortals were completely convinced of the Sloppy Daoist’s superiority. He, and he alone, was acknowledged by all as the number one figure amongst the third generation disciples.

  However, monsters like the Sloppy Daoist only came once in countless years. In addition, they had a chance at becoming Celestial Immortals. In any other era, someone like Holyfire, who was capable of defeating Primal Daoists as a Wanxiang Disciple, would have already been considered the number one figure amongst the third generation disciples.

  “Speak,” Holyfire said. His voice seemed to carry a power to calm the hearts of others. Chen Jin nodded. “It is because of Ninelotus. Uncle Fire, as you know, Ninelotus and I grew up together, and our parents are good friends with each other.” Having calmed down, Chen Jin began to slowly narrate everything, but towards the end, he couldn’t help but begin to grow frantic once more. “…but she’s now spent a full year at Serpentwing Lake of Swallow Mountain! That’s Ji Ning’s place. I, I…”

  “Don’t panic,” Holyfire said calmly. “Panicking won’t help solve the situation; thus, why panic? Your Dao-heart is insufficiently tempered. Romantic love between men and women can result in an emotional tribulation. If you trap yourself too deeply within it, then when you encounter the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations, you will most likely suffer greatly for it.”

  Chen Jin was shocked into awareness by these words.

  “I know that you can’t possibly wait, however, so…I’ll come
with you. Let me take a look and see what techniques this junior apprentice-brother Ji Ning has used to attract the attention of that child, Ninelotus,” Holyfire said with a laugh.

  “Uncle Fire, you’ll come with me?” Chen Jin revealed a look of joy. Chen Jin had joined the Raindragon Guard long ago, and was extremely powerful amongst the third generation disciples of the Black-White College; he was only inferior to the most monstrous of the other disciples. The reincarnated Immortal, Yu Wei, was slightly stronger than him as well; he could be considered to be one of the top ten disciples.

  This was, of course, in reference to real combat power. Thus, Chen Jin was actually quite talented…and why he was always extremely self-confident.

  “Come.”

  Very soon, a fiery cloud arose. Atop it stood two figures; Holyfire and Chen Jin. They rapidly soared into the skies.

  Serpentwing Lake.

  It was spring, now. The days were warm, and the flowers were blooming. A boat was lazily drifting atop the waters of Serpentwing Lake. Ning was lying down within the boat, sleeping blissfully. There was another person within the boat…Ninelotus, who was seated within it. Ninelotus sat there, looking quietly at the sleeping Ji Ning.

  A year…

  The two of them had become extremely familiar with each other, to the point where they could faintly sense the joy each felt for the other’s presence. But the selection of a Dao-companion…both Ninelotus and Ji Ning were hesitant. Choosing a Dao-companion was an incomparably important decision. Ninelotus was the next leader of the Dongyan clan, while Ning was the heir to the underwater estate; he had already cast his vision beyond the limits of this major world, and his goal was to roam the Three Realms and become a major power within them.