Desolate Era

by RWX

  “I understand,” Ning said. He had similarly had to pass some tests in order to acquire each of the sword-arts manuals he had chosen in the Divinities Palace.

  ……

  Crazy Ji watched as Ning entered the palace, a hint of light flashing through his half-asleep eyes. “This junior apprentice-brother…he has a pure and innocent heart, and is surrounded by karmic merit. And that sword-heart of his…ohoho, it really is not bad at all! But why has Master chosen him as a disciple?”

  Crazy Ji understood Patriarch Subhuti more than anyone else, and he had learned more of Patriarch Subhuti’s abilities than anyone else as well.

  When Patriarch Subhuti chose a disciple, he always had a reason for it; he wouldn’t just randomly pick someone. Perhaps the disciple was surrounded by tremendous karmic luck! Perhaps the disciple had an extraordinary heritage! Perhaps the disciple had an unearthly level of comprehension! There was always something!

  “But it seems this junior apprentice-brother doesn’t fit any of the usual criteria. Can it be that there is a huge secret regarding him?” Crazy Ji smiled, then walked in as well. He was going to see what Ning would choose.

  ……

  Upon entering the building, Ning saw three tables scattered within it. Theses tables all had various abridged books placed in a casual manner atop of them. In total, there were only nineteen books. There were divine abilities, there were formations, there were secret arts…

  “The complete [Torch Dragon’s Eye]?!” Ning immediately picked it up. Back in the world of the Grand Xia, Ning had only learned the first part of the technique. So the Three Divinities Palace had the full version!

  He flipped the abridged version open. Atop the first page was listed a simple trial: “Go and clean the mountain paths of Mount Innerheart and you can learn this technique.”

  “But but but…” Ning was speechless. “How can this be a trial?! And this is the same as for the techniques on the first level of the Divinities Palace!”

  A supreme divine ability that could rank in the top hundred of the Three Realms…could actually be so easily learned? Just by cleaning the mountain paths? That wouldn’t even take half a day!

  “It was Master who collected these divine abilities and secret arts in this Three Realms Palace,” Crazy Ji said as he walked in, a smile on his face. “He did this to teach them to his disciples. Naturally, he wouldn’t make the trials too hard.”

  “But…this is still too easy. Even the trials for the seventh and eighth floors of the Divinities Palace are far more difficult than this,” Ning said.

  “It is true that the ‘test’ for this [Torch Dragon’s Eye] is a bit too simple,” Crazy Ji agreed. “However, the Torch Dragon died a long, long time ago, after all. After he died, quite a few of the Daofathers acquired this divine ability! This is the first reason why the test is so simple. The second reason is that the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] is best-suited for Fiendgods like the Torch Dragon to train in. As for other living creatures…to this very day, I’ve never heard of anyone who could reach a level of power in the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] that the Torch Dragon had.”

  Ning now understood. This technique was not only difficult to train in, it was also fairly common amongst the various Daofathers, and so the ‘trial’ was made a simple one.

  “This is the easiest of all trials,” Crazy Ji said. “Junior apprentice-brother, keep looking at the others carefully. There are some truly supreme techniques here…and in fact, there are some that are unique in the Three Realms, to be found nowhere else.”

  Ning immediately began to look carefully at the others.

  Soon…

  Another manual suddenly caught his attention. The words atop the manual caused Ning’s pupils to contract. The words were: [Houyi’s Archery].

  “Houyi?” [2. As explained long ago, Houyi is a mythological Chinese archer and an incredibly famous god. According to Chinese legend, long ago there were ten suns that baked the Earth and nearly killed everyone. Houyi ended up shooting down nine of the suns, sparing only the last one. He was acclaimed by mankind as a hero, but was punished by the heavens because the suns were the sons of a powerful God, and was later banished from the heavens. He was also the husband of Chang’e, who later became the goddess of the moon. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houyi] Ning had naturally heard of this major power before. He immediately picked up the copy of [Houyi’s Archery] and started to flip through it.

  The name of this technique was very simple…but [Houyi’s Archery] was indeed an incredibly powerful divine ability! In fact, it was even more powerful than the [Torch Dragon’s Eye].

  “Ever since Pangu established the universe, this divine ability has always been ranked in the top ten,” Crazy Ji said. “This was created by True God Houyi, who used it to roam and dominate the Primordial World. However…the trial to acquire it is also the most difficult trial here in the Three Realms Palace!”

  “Master actually has the main divine ability of Houyi?” Ning was astonished. This was ranked in the top ten! That meant it was on the same level as Ning’s own [Starseizing Hand]?! Not even Patriarch Subhuti had ever developed a divine ability on this level.

  “This trial truly is difficult.” Ning immediately frowned upon seeing it. This trial was indeed the hardest of the nineteen trials here in the Three Realms Palace. Ning then looked at the contents of the abridged book. “So this is what [Houyi’s Archery] is all about…”

  Ning immediately understood. Although [Houyi’s Archery] and the [Starseizing Hand] both ranked amongst the top ten divine abilities of the Three Realms, they were diametrically different.

  The [Starseizing Hand] was used to make one’s hands even more terrifyingly powerful than magic items. By the Second Cycle, one’s hands would already be comparable to Immortal-ranked magic treasures. By the Third Cycle, they would be comparable to Pure Yang magic treasures! The raw power and strength of the [Starseizing Hand] was utterly astonishing!

  But [Houyi’s Archery] was a skill-type ability!

  It was just like the [Windwing Evasion], in that it was a matter of skill and finesse. It required enlightenment and it required slow comprehension. Although it did include some clever ways to use divine power…it was more about skill and technique! Even Ki Refiners were capable of learning [Houyi’s Archery], so long as they could comprehend the mysteries within it.

  “It is much simpler to train in the [Starseizing Hand]; all I need to do is procure enough Five Elements essence, and my hands can become even more terrifyingly powerful, to the point where in the future I will even be able to crush stars with my hands,” Ning mused to himself. “But this [Houyi’s Archery]…it requires enlightenment!”

  They truly were completely different. As a result, [Houyi’s Archery] was extremely hard to train in. To this very day, aside from Houyi who had dominated the Primordial World with this divine ability, there had never been any other individuals who had been able to completely master this divine ability.

  “Don’t read it,” Crazy Ji said, shaking his head. “Quite a few of Master’s disciples have chosen this archery technique, but most of them were only able to gain a basic understanding of it. None of them have reached the level which the primordial Houyi once did. Go look at the other techniques first…and in the future, when you have some more free time, you can try and learn [Houyi’s Archery].”

  “Alright.” Ning nodded.

  No matter what…this simple archery technique was still ranked in the top ten of the divine abilities created since Pangu established the universe! He had to learn it sometime! But of course, there was no rush.

  Ning immediately began to read through the other tomes…and suddenly, yet another technique caused his eyes to light up. The words written atop this abridged tome were: [Eight-Nine Arcane Art].

  * * *

  Book 13, Chapter 12 - The Choice Within the Three Realms Palace

  “The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] is the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the Tru
e God level.” This line of characters on the abridged version instantly drew Ji Ning’s attention.

  Number one in the three realms?

  Ning had never before heard anyone bold enough to claim that a particular divine ability was number one in the Three Realms. This claim couldn’t even be made regarding the [Starseizing Hand] or [Houyi’s Archery]. But this [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] actually dared to claim itself the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level!”

  “The [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], also known as the [Nine Cycles Arcane Art] or the [Seventy-Two Transformations][1. The Seventy-Two Transformations is the name of the legendary ability which Sun Wukong learned from Patriarch Subhuti and which made him into the badass that he was.]. This divine ability allows one to completely and perfectly control one’s Fiendgod body. A basic level of skill in this art allows one to transform into anything in the world; this is why this divine ability is also referred to as the [Seventy-Two Transformations].”

  Ning understood that this didn’t mean that the technique was really just limited to seventy-two transformations; rather, ‘seventy-two’ was another way of referring to the original name of ‘Eight-Nine’. It was a figurative number!

  “This divine ability allows one’s divine body to become akin to a magic treasure, to the point of being like an unbreakable vajra! At its peak of power, the user can allow Pure Yang magic treasures or even supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasures to chop against the user’s body. At most, there might be a few sparks; the body itself won’t be harmed at all!”

  Ning’s gaze turned heated as he read. Even Pure Yang magic treasures and Protocosmic magic treasures would only be able to cause a few sparks to fly? This was insane!

  “This divine ability places tremendous stress on the body. Thus, only Fiendgod Body Refiners can train in it. You have to at least have reached the Primal level as a Fiendgod before you can train in the First Cycle.”

  “At the Primal level, you can train in the First, Second, and Third Cycles.”

  “At the Void level, you can train in the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Cycles.”

  “At the Empyrean God level, you train in the Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth Cycle.”

  “Once the Third Cycle is mastered, then the body will be comparable to an Immortal-ranked magic treasure! Even ordinary Celestial Immortals would find it difficult to wound you.”

  “Once the Sixth Cycle is mastered, then the body will be comparable to a Pure Yang magic treasure! By relying on it, one can become truly famous in the Three Realms!”

  “Once the Ninth Cycle is mastered, the body will be comparable to the most supreme of Pure Yang magic treasures, comparable to a Protocosmic spirit-treasure! It can truly be described as an unbreakable vajra at that point, and one can truly roam about the Three Realms without fear. Aside from major powers, no one can harm you at all. Even major powers will have to use special techniques in order to break your vajra-like body.”

  The description on the manual caused Ning to pant in excitement. This was far too formidable. Manmade magic treasures were divided into Mortal-rank, Earth-rank, Heaven-rank, Immortal-rank, and Pure Yang rank, with the Pure Yang rank being the limit. Above Pure Yang magic treasures were Protocosmic spirit-treasures!

  Protocosmic spirit-treasures were born from the natural universe itself. However, this didn’t necessarily mean that all Protocosmic spirit-treasures were superior to all Pure Yang magic treasures. After all, amongst manmade Pure Yang magic treasures, there were treasures which truly possessed insane levels of power. In fact, some were created by fusing the extracted essence of multiple Protocosmic spirit-treasures, such as the Starseizing Manor itself, which had used quite a few Protocosmis spirit-treasures in the forging!

  Thus, there were grades of Protocosmic spirit-treasures as well. They were also divided into low-grade, middle-grade, high-grade, and top-grade.

  Supreme Pure Yang treasures were generally comparable to middle-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures!

  Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “Protocosmic treasures!” To make one’s body comparable to a Protocosmic spirit-treasure! No wonder one’s body could be described as unbreakable as a vajra, and why even major powers of the Three Realms would have to use special methods in order to break past this divine ability.

  Whoosh! Ning continued to flip through the pages and read.

  “This divine ability was jointly developed by the spiritual leaders of both Buddhism and Daoism, who wished to create a divine body that was comparable to that of the great god Pangu’s.”

  “Per the predictions of the spiritual leaders of Buddhism and Daoism, this arcane art should have a total of Twelve Cycles.”

  “The first three were for the Primal level; the next three were for the Void-level, and the Seventh to Ninth Cycles were for the Empyrean God level, while True Gods would train in the Tenth to Twelve Cycles. The True Gods of the Three Realms, when using this divine ability, should theoretically have divine bodies that were comparable to Pangu’s. Unfortunately, although their predictions were idealistic, despite spending countless amounts of effort and time on this technique, they were still unable to come up with anything past the Ninth Cycle…”

  “And so, this divine ability only has Nine Cycles!”

  Upon seeing the description within the tome, Ning couldn’t help but sigh in amazement yet again. So the [Seventy-Two Transformations] had such an illustrious history. It had been jointly developed by the spiritual leaders of Buddhism and Daoism!

  “Pangu…the same Pangu who established the universe?” Ning sighed in amazement. If one could use a divine ability to strengthen one’s body to Pangu’s level, that would be utterly insane. However…even the most supreme of experts in the Three Realms were only able to develop a total of nine of these Cycles. Mm…it truly can be described as the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level.” Ning couldn’t help but nod to himself.

  It lived up to its reputation!

  ……

  After reading the description, Ning noticed that the [Seventy-Two Transformations] was quite similar to his own [Starseizing Hand].

  The Second Cycle of the [Starseizing Hand] made one’s hands comparable to Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

  The Third Cycle, Pure Yang magic treasures.

  The Fourth Cycle, supreme Pure Yang magic treasures or middle-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasures.

  The Fifth Cycle, supreme Protocosmic spirit-treasures.

  The Sixth Cycle…it allowed a pair of hands to effortless seize and crush stars! One truly could use one’s bare hands to annihilate an entire world. As far as the major powers of the Three Realms were concerned, the reason why Daoist Threelives had become so famous and powerful was only because he had managed to develop the Sixth Cycle of his [Starseizing Hand]; only then had he been able to kill so many Fiendgod Daofathers during that great tribulation!

  “My [Starseizing Hand] only focuses on a pair of hands, while the [Seventy-Two Transformations] trains the entire body.” Ning realized what the difference was.

  Because the [Seventy-Two Transformations] was only designed for the Empyrean God level, it could only be described as the number one divine ability in the Three Realms for those below the True God level.

  The [Starseizing Hand], however, had a level meant for True Gods. Thus, it could be described as one of the top ten divine abilities in the Three Realms.

  After reading this [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] tome, Ning set it aside and began to flip through the other books.

  [Xingtian’s World-Destroying Axe] [2. Xingtian is one of the early gods in Chinese mythology. He was decapitated by the Yellow Emperor, the legendary forefather of the Chinese race, but he remained alive and continue to fight with axe and shield, transforming his nipples into eyes and his navel into his mouth – seriously.]

  This was an axe-technique developed by one of the major powers of the Three Realms known as Xingtian, the Castigator of Heave
n. However, it was ranked as a divine ability, because just like [Houyi’s Archery], it largely involved profound and arcane ways to apply divine power. This complicated way of applying divine power, when matched with the axe technique, would produce the true power of [Xingtian’s World-Destroying Axe]!

  This divine ability was ranked as one of the top hundred in the Three Realms.

  ……

  [Vairocana Guardian Halo].

  This was a protective divine ability developed by the spiritual leader of Buddhism, Lord Buddha. It was extremely powerful, and at the True God level it was even slightly more powerful than the [Seventy-Two Transformations]. However, the [Seventy-Two Transformations] required a large amount of magic artifacts, and so the number of people who had ever trained in the [Seventy-Two Transformations] all the way to the Ninth Cycle was very low. Although at the same level, this [Vairocana Guardian Halo] was a bit weaker in power, it didn’t require as many magic treasures; one only need to focus on comprehending and mastering it.

  ……

  [Thundergod’s Eye].

  This divine ability attracted Ning’s attention as well. This was because Ning had previously trained in the [Divine Thunderbolt Eye], which was a simplified version of the [Thundergod’s Eye]. Upon training in the [Thundergod’s Eye], when the user unleashed the eye, it could be used to see even the ghosts in the Netherworld Kingdom. Nothing could escape the gaze of this divine eye, and when mastered to an extremely high level, one could unleash ‘Divine Lightning of the Violet Skies’. Not even someone with an unbreakable, vajra-like body would dare to take a blow from this divine lightning!

  But of course…just like the other supreme divine abilities, to train in this one to the point of unleashing the ‘Divine Lightning of the Violet Skies’ was harder than hard.