Desolate Era

by RWX

  Rumble!

  A fur-clad youth appeared within the teleportation array. On his arm was a little azure serpent, while by his side was a large, snowy white dog.

  “Ji Ning!” The ten servants responsible for maintaining the teleportation array, as well as the distant, lotus-seated white-robed elder, all called out in shock.

  A fur-clad youth? An azure snake? A large, snowy white dog? This was… a perfect match! And he looked identical to Ji Ning as well!

  “He, is he Ji Ning?” The white-robed elder couldn’t help but look towards those ten servants of the array. What his thinking was, even if Ji Ning was going to use the teleportation array, he would most likely do it in secret! For example, he might change his appearance, change his clothes, and temporarily hide his spirit-beasts, making others unable to see that it was him. For Ji Ning to suddenly appear without any disguises at all… this actually made it so that he couldn’t believe what he was seeing.

  “Could it be a fake?” The white-robed elder suddenly had this thought.

  “That’s him. He’s Ji Ning.” Those ten servants of the array all spoke out. “We met him several times before. There’s no mistake.”

  “Yes. I am Ji Ning.”

  The fur-clad youth stood there within the formation, sweeping those ten with his gaze. The ten were so frightened, they hurriedly took several steps back. This was a branch of the Raindragon Guard; if Ji Ning dared to kill someone, he would become a wanted criminal and be pursued! They all knew that the chances of him attacking were very low, but when they thought about the fact that he was already being pursued by the Youngflame clan, they felt that he might be capable of doing anything. Naturally, these ten servants felt a bit of dread.

  “Everyone,” Ning said. “I am going to the imperial capital. Please activate the teleportation array.”

  “The imperial capital?” The ten servants were amazed. He wasn’t going to flee to a distant place; instead, he was going to the very heart of the Grand Xia Empire?

  “Are you going to activate it or not?” Ning barked.

  “Alright.” After a brief moment of surprise, the ten calmed down. No matter what, the grudge between the Youngflame clan and Ji Ning was a private matter. Ji Ning was still nominally a Raindragon Guard; they could not bar his way to the imperial capital. The ten immediately began to make minor adjustments to the teleportation array.

  “Wait a moment. I’m going to the imperial capital as well.” The white-robed elder immediately walked over, stepping into the teleportation array.

  Within the array.

  Ning and the white-robed elder exchanged glances.

  “You are quite bold,” the white-robed elder said in a low voice. “It’s been more than a year, but you actually have dared to return in Stillwater Commandery!”

  “This is my homeland. Why wouldn’t I dare to return?” Ning gave him a sidelong glance. “Did you actually wait here for me this entire time? Poor bastard.” This man’s strength was ordinary; after scanning him with divine sense, Ning estimated that he probably should be a Wanxiang Adept. It was also possible that he vastly surpassed Ning, causing Ning to be completely unable to tell how terrifyingly strong he was.

  Given the attunement towards the Dao which Ning’s divine sense now had, to make it so that even he couldn’t discover anything at all… the man would have to be at least at the Celestial Immortal level.

  But clearly, there was no way this watchman could have been a Celestial Immortal.

  “You’ve returned to Stillwater Commandery. And now, after revealing your whereabouts, you plan to go straight to the imperial capital? Hmph, hmph. Ji Ning, you won’t be able to escape. Those who my Youngflame clan wish to kill will definitely die,” the white-robed elder said.

  “Oh, is that so? Then hurry up and kill me,” Ning smirked.

  “The two of you, we’ve finished our adjustments to the teleportation array. We will send you to the imperial capital now.” The ten servants, while speaking, stepped back and activated the array.

  Soon, the teleportation array lit up.

  Whooooosh.

  The array was now empty. Everything inside had vanished.

  ……

  The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. This was the very core of this entire major world. It was truly a place where the fish swam with the dragons, where experts were as common as the clouds. In terms of size of commandery cities or number of experts, compared to the imperial capital… Stillwater Commandery was nothing more than a backwater town.

  Within a tall, towering mountain within the imperial capital. This was the tallest mountain within the imperial capital, and its name… was Raindragon Godpeak.

  The Raindragon Godpeak was the most towering edifice present. Even the tallest building of the imperial citadel, the Skylight Palace, was slightly lower.

  Raindragon Godpeak was ten thousand kilometers high, while the Skylight Palace of the imperial citadel was 9999 kilometers high! These were the two most towering structures of the imperial capital… and in fact, there were no buildings in the entire Grand Xia Empire which were taller than these two. Correct – buildings! In truth, the Raindragon Godpeak, while nominally a ‘mountain’, was actually an enormous magic treasure building!

  Halfway up Raindragon Godpeak, there were numerous, enormous teleportation arrays. This was the center of this major world, and in fact, it was to here where those from other major worlds would come!

  Whoosh.

  In one of the many teleportation arrays halfway up the mountain. Suddenly, a number of people appeared. There was a white-robed elder, a fur-clad youth, a little azure snake, and a large snowy white dog.

  “He’s Ji Ning. Hurry up and make the report.” As soon as the white-robed elder appeared, he turned his gaze to two armored men in a higher part of the mountain and sent a mental message to them. These two armored men were on permanent station here, and were responsible for welcoming the guests of the Youngflame clan.

  “Ji Ning?” The two armored warriors were shocked. They exchanged a glance, and then one of them immediately flew down from his position.

  Ning, with Little Qing and Uncle White by his side, leisurely strolled over towards the edge of the cliff. From this position, he could stare down and marvel at the vast, endless imperial city. As he stared down… there was actually not a cloud to be seen. Although he was more than three thousand kilometers in the air, when he looked downwards, he didn’t see any clouds at all, nor was there any smoke or dust; nothing hindered his vision.

  From their vantage point, an enormous, awe-inspiring commandery city could be seen, a city that seemed to have no end. Far away, there was a towering, massive Immortal palace that was as large as this mountain. This was the place the Emperor of the Grand Xia normally resided; the Skylight Palace. The Skylight Palace, 9999 kilometers tall, was a single massive magic treasure. It emanated all sorts of brilliant, blinding light; golden light, silver light, red light, azure light, violet light…

  The streams of light shone over the entire imperial capital.

  At the highers point of the Skylight Palace, starting at roughly six thousand kilometers or so, fog and mist could be seen, as well as a layer of incomparably beautiful red clouds.

  “It is said that the Skylight Palace of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia is 9999 kilometers high. At 6000 kilometers, there is a layer of red clouds, with multiple other layers of clouds beyond that, for a total of nine layers! In terms of power and prestige… it can absolutely compare to the Sacred Palace of the Skies [1. This is where the Jade Emperor of Chinese mythology resides in Heaven] of the Heaven Realm. That’s what is said… and today, I can see that it truly is extraordinary.” Ning sighed in amazement.

  “They are so high. Everyone says that both the Skylight Palace and Raindragon Godpeak are magic treasures,” Little Qing called out in amazement. “Look at the infinite light the Skylight Palace is giving off… that power and might… if such a massive palace is actually a magic treasure, wh
at level of magic treasure is it?!”

  “Immortal-ranked at the very least, and most likely Pure Yang-ranked,” Ning said softly.

  “Let’s go down.”

  Ning led Little Qing and Uncle White, flying down from the mountain. Whoosh! They flew along the wind, staring down at the seemingly endless imperial capital and feeling completely stunned. This was no mortal city… this was a city which should only exist in the Heaven Realm.

  “According to legend, Immortal Eastroam, ‘Dong You’, once led the Immortals and Fiendgods of a major world to assault the Heaven Realm, forcing that power of the Heaven Realm to lower their heads and allow him to reunite with his beloved.” Ning sighed, moved. “As I look at the power of the imperial capital of the Grand Xia… I now believe that an emperor of a major world does indeed have this level of power.”

  Ning had realized some time ago that in the books regarding the Heaven Realm and the Netherworld Kingdom, it seemed as though the Celestial Emperor wasn’t viewed as being tremendously important. It seemed as though the emperors of major worlds were completely qualified to sit down and chat with the Celestial Emperor as equals. This was the feeling which Ning had after reading those books.

  ……

  They flew down Raindragon Godpeak, landing on a long street that seemed to be made from clouds. They saw, atop this massive street, countless people either flying on magic treasures, riding flying carriages, or mounted on spirit-beasts. Not a single mortal could be seen.

  Ning turned his head to look backwards; behind him was the seemingly infinitely tall Raindragon Godpeak. “Raindragon Godpeak is actually slightly taller than even the Skylight Palace. The Skylight Palace is the place where the Emperor of the Grand Xia resides, whereas Raindragon Godpeak is nothing more than the headquarters of the Raindragon Guard. Why have they been raised to such an exalted status?

  Ning was secretly puzzled. The height of a building had to conform to exacting requirements; for the Skylight Palace to be 9999 kilometers tall meant that no one in any of the other commandery cities would dare to construct a building of such heights. But Raindragon Godpeak was actually slightly higher…

  “The imperial capital lives up to its reputation,” Ning said. “Come, let’s go wander about the city.”

  Ning no longer pondered this matter. He immediately produced a construct-carriage. It appeared, surrounded by mist, with a black dragon construct pulling it. This carriage had been left behind by Youngflame Nong! Although Immortal Juhua had left behind far more treasures than Youngflame Nong, including fine Immortal carriages as well, Ning decided it was best to be a bit low-key.

  Whoosh. The black dragon carriage flew forward, with Ning seated in the carriage, an azure snake on one side and the Whitewater Hound on the other. Soon, the carriage reached the walls of the imperial city.

  The imperial city was surrounded by a wall that was more than thirty thousand meters high. It had an enormous gate, and the gate was guarded by four human-shaped Fiendgods that were also thirty thousand meters tall. Of the four Fiendgods, the first had red skin and flames coming out of his nostrils, the second had azure skin and was surrounded by watery mist, the third gleamed with golden light and had a sharp golden gaze, while the fourth was completely pitch-black and had a giant snake wrapped around its body.

  These four Fiendgods guarded the city gate. Regardless of entry or exit, they had to first give permission.

  “My God.” Ning stared at these four titanic Fiendgods. He couldn’t help but shake in amazement.

  “Master, those four Fiendgods, it, it feels as though each of them are comparable to that one from the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains.” Little Qing and Uncle White sighed in amazement as well.

  * * *

  Book 11, Chapter 11 - A Major Business Deal

  The imperial capital. Within the Youngflame clan’s estate.

  “Clan leader.” An azure-robed middle-aged man flew in a rush into a study, then knelt down, unable to mask the excitement on his face. “We’ve found Ji Ning.”

  The Godplume Duke, who was seated behind a table, flipping through a book, was stunned upon hearing this. And then, he called out in delight, “Found Ji Ning?”

  It had been more than a year.

  Per the orders from Patriarch Arcanum, the Godplume Duke had been searching for Ji Ning’s traces this entire time, but Ji Ning seemed to have completely disappeared, leaving no traces behind at all. In fact, the Godplume Duke actually believed that Ji Ning had perhaps hidden himself within another lesser world or major world. In fact, he had thought that ten or twenty years might go by without any traces of Ji Ning being discovered. For Ji Ning to kill the successor to the Youngflame clan and then leave completely unhindered was a humiliation to the entire Youngflame clan… but if they couldn’t find him, what could they do about it?

  And yet, they actually found him!

  “Where is he?” The Godplume Duke immediately asked.

  “Ji Ning has already arrived here in the imperial capital. We followed him the entire time,” the azure-robed man said hurriedly.

  “The imperial capital? He came to the imperial capital?” The Godplume Duke frowned. The imperial capital was tightly guarded, and here in the imperial capital, without a shadow of a doubt the most powerful organization was the imperial clan of the Grand Xia. For Ji Ning to come to the imperial capital actually made things more difficult.

  “He actually came to the imperial capital. Fighting is forbidden in the imperial capital… what should we do about him, then?” The Godplume Duke continued to frown. In some other commandery cities, the Youngflame had quite a large amount of influence, but in the imperial capital, there were quite a few clans more powerful than the Youngflame clan… and in the end, there was the Imperial Xiamang clan, which had completely unified this major world.

  In the face of the Imperial Xiamang clan, even the supremely powerful clans such as the Youngflame clan, the Kindwater clan, and the Skyfarmer clan had to tread carefully.

  “Ji Ning must be followed continuously. Keep a close watch on his movements,” the Godplume Duke ordered. “Don’t do anything else for now; just await my orders.”

  “Yes.” The azure-robed man immediately acknowledged the order.

  It was true that Patriarch Arcanum had originally ordered for Ji Ning to be killed immediately upon him being found, but this was the imperial capital! To kill someone inside the capital… this was a challenge to the Imperial Xiamang clan! The only way to do it was to send out Deathsworn, Deathsworn who wouldn’t betray the Youngflame clan even after being captured.

  “Given how tightly guarded the imperial capital is, once the battle started, most likely in the space of a single breath, the Imperial Guard of the Grand Xia will immediately arrive,” the Godplume Duke pondered to himself. “To find a Deathsworn who can kill Ji Ning in just the space of a single breath… where am I supposed to find such a Deathsworn? Ji Ning has acquired many of Youngflame Nong’s treasures!”

  Ji Ning was powerful to begin with. Given that he had protective treasures on him as well, even Loose Immortals would find it hard to defeat him in such a short period of time. A Deathsworn like this would be very difficult to find.

  “I’ll go see the Patriarch.” The Godplume Duke no longer hesitated.

  Soon, the nine Flood Dragons flew outwards, pulling an Immortal carriage behind them with the Godplume Duke seated within it. They howled through the air, leaving the imperial capital and entering the azure skies.

  ……

  Filled with curiosity, Ning continued to stare at the imperial citadel, and also at the distant Skylight Palace. Alas, given Ning’s status, how could he possibly be allowed to enter the imperial citadel? And so, a few moments later, his black dragon carriage flew away.

  “Master, there are three people behind us now,” Little Qing glanced backwards. Ning, seated within the carriage, glanced backwards as well. There was a long shuttle behind them, with a white-robed elder and two others on it. Earlier, t
he only one following them had been the white-robed elder, but now, there were three in total.

  “One is a Primal Daoist.” Ning could feel those behind him reaching out through divine sense, and he immediately sent his own divine sense crushing backwards as well.

  BOOM.

  [Soulshaker Art]! Their divine senses collided, and instantly, the face of the tall, thin, azure-robed man changed. “This Ji Ning actually has such a powerful soul?”

  After the divine sense collision, the three behind Ning immediately grew much more ‘obedient’, no longer trying to challenge him.

  “Ning, son, where shall we go next?” The Whitewater Hound sent through their spirit-link.

  “To the Heavenly Treasures Mountain,” Ning sent back through their spirit-link as well. “I’ve acquired quite a few treasures this time; the amount of magic treasures alone is quite astonishing. With so many magic treasures… I should go to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain to exchange them for liquefied elemental essence, then trade for treasures I actually need.”

  Right now, what Ning needed the most desperately was treasures which contained the purified essences of the Five Elements, so that he could begin training on the second Cycle.

  Whoosh.

  The black dragon carriage advanced at an astonishing speed through the wide streets. The streets of the imperial capital were all extremely wide. The several major thoroughfares were actually built and ‘tiled’ with clouds, causing them to seem extraordinarily beautiful. Even the ordinary streets were tiled with incredibly rare and precious stones.

  “The main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain lives up to its name.” Ning’s eyes lit up as he stared into the distance. The other Heavenly Treasures Mountains in the various commandery cities were merely local branches; this one here in the imperial capital was the true center. Many of the most rare and precious curios were all stored here in the main headquarters. Many Immortals would come to the imperial capital expressly for the purpose of purchasing items at the main headquarters of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain that could not be found elsewhere.”