Desolate Era

by RWX

  “What fine fellows!” Ning was instantly shocked. The region with the twelve monster kings was completely filled with limitless amounts of bloody light. The bloody sin light surged and swelled like the waves of the sea, and the twisting waves of bloody sin light even formed illusions of ghosts who had died wrongful deaths.

  “Wait. They aren’t all like that.” Ning took a careful look. “Eleven of these twelve monster kings are surrounded by hundreds of meters of bloody sin light. But…that monster king with the head of a golden-furred grizzly bear actually is only wreathed by a bit of corrosive black light?”

  Indeed. The only one of the twelve not wrapped by the bloody aura of sin was actually the most famous of the twelve, the Goldfur Bearking. This caused Ning to feel extremely startled…and also even more wary. For this Goldfur Bearking to set up an alliance of twelve monster kings and be acknowledged as the most powerful amongst them, but possess the lowest amount of sin…one had to be wary of him.

  “Twelve Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows,” Ning called out loudly, “Per Master’s orders, I am here protecting the imperial Qi clan. If you are wise, you shall immediately retreat. Otherwise, when Master returns, all of you shall perish!”

  “Who is your master, exactly? Give us his name!” The Flamewing King barked from far away.

  “He dares be so arrogant? The master of this Primal Daoist must be a powerful figure.”

  “With all of us brothers present, we wouldn’t feel fear if even Celestial Immortals came.”

  The monster kings silently sent mental messages to each other, trying to guess at who Ning’s master was. They paid no attention to Ning himself; given their power, they could naturally tell that Ning was merely at the Primal Daoist level! A mere Primal Daoist…although they noticed through their divine sense sweep that his soul was fairly powerful, he was still merely a Primal Daoist!

  As they saw it, there was no way a Primal Daoist could kill hundreds of Flamewing Guards without letting a single one escape!

  “Brothers, watch from the sides for now,” the Flamewing King said.

  “Don’t worry, third brother. If a Celestial Immortal Patriarch comes, we will intervene.”

  “Third brother, go and capture those imperial Qi clansmen.”

  The other monster kings all spoke out in support. A minor matter like capturing the imperial Qi clan wasn’t something which required all twelve of the monster kings to join forces in carrying out.

  ……

  “Little child, hurry up and beat it,” the Flameking King barked flatly. At the same time, he waved his arm, and with a whoosh, a massive fiery palm suddenly appeared above the mount peak. This massive fiery palm clawed towards the Immortal estate below it, terrifying the imperial Qi clansmen and Xiaoyu into fleeing into the estate.

  “Come in.” Ning willed it, and the Immortal estate instantly returned to his side.

  “You dare interfere in my matters?” The Flamewing King was instantly enraged, and the massivey fiery palm in the sky slammed towards Ning instead. “Since your master has not arrived, I shall take your life first and calm myself down a bit.”

  “You monster!” Ning pretended to be enraged. His body instantly transformed and became three hundred meters in size, and he also executed the [Three Heads, Six Arms]. In his arms were the three Darknorth swords and three Heaven-ranked flying swords.

  “I’ll chop you down!” Ning’s swords were like silken light as they chopped down wildly towards the massive fiery palm. The level of swordplay Ning was currently displaying was merely on the level he had displayed back during the Conclave, comparable to a supreme Loose Immortal.

  Boom boom boom…with a series of massive exploding sounds, the massive fiery palm was completely destroyed, but part of the mountain peak was torn apart as well. The three-headed, six-armed Ning appeared to be quite angry as he said, “You monster, you actually dare to try to pick on me, your grandpa? If Master was here, you’d already be dead!”

  “Ahahaha…”

  “This human Primal Daoist is quite arrogant in the face of death.”

  “This human is pretty powerful. He’s a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and was able to use [Heavenly Transformation] and [Three Heads, Six Arms]; he is indeed able to give Loose Immortals a fight. His swordplay is also at the level of a supreme Loose Immortal…he does indeed have a supreme Loose Immortal’s combat potential.”

  “Right. Although he is a Primal Daoist, he does indeed have the power of a supreme Loose Immortal.”

  “Third brother, if you want to annihilate a supreme Loose Immortal at such a great distance just by controlling the natural elemental energy of the world…you’d need to do some more training first,” another monster king teased.

  Indeed. If the Flamewing King was to use magic treasures, it would naturally be very easy for him to kill a supreme Loose Immortal. But to annihilate a supreme Loose Immortal just by using a fiery palm formed from the natural elemental energy of the world? He was indeed not even close to being at that level yet.

  “Hmph.” The Flamewing King’s face sank as he flew forward. Six fiery-red scimitars suddenly appeared before him, each one carrying a powerful presence; clearly, all of them were Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

  “Die, brat.” The Flamewing King was using his true power now.

  “You monster!” Ning let out a roar, then moved forward like a giant Roc, flying at high speed towards the Flamewing King and seeking to engage him in close combat.

  “This human is pretty powerful. His agility technique would be exceptional even amongst Loose Immortal monsters,” the Skysoar King evaluated.

  “He does indeed have some potential. When he reaches the late Void level, he’ll probably be comparable to us.”

  “Unfortunately, he’s going to die now.”

  “Still, we need to be careful. His master might suddenly appear.”

  The monster kings chatted amongst themselves lazily as they watched the battle.

  The six scimitars of the Flamewing King formed into an enormous fiery serpent in mid-air. The fiery-red serpent was filled with unearthly savagery as it pounced towards the three-headed, six-armed Ning, who also flew forward to meet it.

  Swish swish swish. The swords in Ning’s hands suddenly changed!

  Previously, he was wielding three Darknorth swords and three Heaven-ranked flying swords. But suddenly, he put away his three Heaven-ranked flying swords and pulled out the Thousandbull Sword and two Immortal-ranked flying swords!

  Riiiip! The giant serpent of fire flashed like lightning, pouncing towards Ning. But what welcomed it was a terrifying sword blow!

  Ning’s sword-light had transformed into a divine black dragon. The terrifying divine black dragon sword-light chopped through it like rotting wood, instantly breaking it apart and knocking the six scimitars aside.

  “What?!” The Flamewing King was instantly shocked.

  “Die.” Ning, who had previously appeared ‘enraged’, now let a hint of a killing intent flash through his eyes. With a swoosh, he reached the Flamewing King’s body.

  Six streaks of sword-light simultaneously transformed into six divine black dragons, filling the world with their power.

  “Quick, go save third brother!” The face of the Goldfur Bearking instantly changed.

  “Not good!” The Skysoar King’s face changed as well.

  “How can this…”

  “His power…”

  “This human…”

  The monster kings had been watching from far away, ready to ward off a Celestial Immortal. None of them had expected that this clearly puny Primal Daoist would suddenly explode forth with such power! Ning’s aura increased explosively, and the power of his swordplay reached an extremely profound level as well.

  Swish swish swish…the black dragon sword-light slashed forth with irresistible power.

  “No…”

  Engaged in close quarters, the Flamewing King had no chance to flee at all. In but an instant, Ning’s six streaks
of sword-light completely surrounded the Flamewing King and killed him!

  The surrounding area turned silent. The entire world seemed to freeze. The many monsters watching from far away were still in a state of amazement…but looks of seriousness appeared on the faces of the monster kings.

  Ning stood there in midair. Waving his hand, he collected the magic treasures of the Flamewing King, a smile on his face. “I’m ashamed to say that I played a little trick on you just now. There was nothing I could do; the twelve of you are simply far too famous, and given that you have dominated the Star continent for so many years, I imagine you definitely have a formation which is extremely well-suited to the twelve of you. That’s why I had to kill one of you first.”

  * * *

  Book 13, Chapter 24 - The Sword as the Rake, the Heavens as the Field

  The eleven remaining monster kings were so angry, their teeth hurt from gnashing. The reason they were so famous was naturally in part because they had developed a ‘Grand Soaring Bear Formation’ which was very well-suited to the twelve of them. The Goldfur Bearking was the heart of the formation, and the other eleven monster kings served to support him, transforming into a single massive flying bear. It was well-suited for both attack and defense, and in the face of it even Celestial Immortal Patriarchs would choose to flee. Once formed, even Ning fighting at full-strength would probably be forced to flee.

  However…the Flamewing King was now dead. He had been responsible for the ‘central wing region’ of the formation; without him, there was naturally no way to execute the incomparably complicated and powerful ‘Grand Soaring Bear Formation’ to its full power.

  “He tricked us.”

  “Damn him.”

  “How is this little human kid so powerful? I’ve never heard of someone like him in the Star, Cloud, or Flame continents.”

  The monster kings really were tricked in a rather unfair manner. Only someone with the power of a Celestial Immortal would be able to kill the Flamewing King in an extremely short period of time! Those with the power of a Celestial Immortal generally were all quite famous. In addition, Ning had just recently reached the early Void stage; naturally, his level of insight wasn’t much higher than back when he was a Primal Daoist, and his elemental ki was three levels lower than that of the twelve monster kings, who were all comparable to the peak Void stage. All of the monsters had Immortal-ranked magic treasures as well!

  The combination of all of these factors was what let Ning catch them off-guard with his successful sneak attack!

  ……

  “Hahaha, without the Flamewing King, I imagine you are now unable to form your formation. If you want to kill me…I’m afraid you won’t be strong enough.” Ning stood there in the air as he said leisurely, “I urge you to depart right away. In the future, you can at least term yourselves the Eleven Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows. However, if we truly were to fight each other…under the merciless exchange of blows between swords and sabers, you might end up the Nine Monster Kings or the Eight Monster Kings of the Eastern Flows.”

  “Damn it.”

  “Human, report your name!”

  “Who in the world are you?”

  The monster kings were utterly infuriated. Although they were very much on their guard now against Ning, none of them chose to leave. After all, he had just killed one of their brothers; if the remaining eleven fled without even choosing to fight, that would cause their reputations to be truly tarnished. For Loose Immortal monsters like them, given that the Three Calamities and Nine Tribulations were growing increasingly powerful and that they would eventually die, their reputation was extremely important!”

  Ning secretly felt resigned as well at their decision to stay. If the monster kings had chosen to leave, he would’ve secretly gone to their headquarters and slain them all, one by one.

  “Listen up,” Ning said with a laugh. “I am Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning.”

  “Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning?” The eleven monster kings all quietly memorized this name. As they did so, they continuously reflected on it, but no matter what, they couldn’t recollect having heard of such a monstrously powerful genius on the Star, Cloud, or Flame continents who was known as Immortal Darknorth or who was known as Ji Ning.”

  “I made a promise to the survivors of the imperial Qi clan. I will hold to it and protect them,” Ning said with a laugh. “I urge you all to leave.”

  The eleven monster kings stealthily sent messages to each other, but their decision had been made long ago. Leave? What a joke. Even if this was a Celestial Immortal Patriarch, they would still attack. One of their brothers had just died; how could they possibly choose to flee without even fighting?

  “Assemble the formation!” The Goldfur Bearking ordered mentally.

  Rumble…

  Formless strands of glowing elemental ki sprang up around the bodies of the eleven monster kings. They used just a very rudimentary sort of combination technique, a technique that was similar to the [Netherwyrm Heavenlock Formation] in that it allowed them to pool and share their elemental ki! The elemental ki of eleven monster kings merged together…this allowed the power of their attacks to rise to a brand new level.

  “Use all abilities you have to kill him,” the Goldfur Bearking sent mentally.

  Whooooosh. Instantly, one Immortal-ranked magic treasure after another appeared in front of the eleven monster kings. As for the Goldfur Bearking, a total of ninety-nine pearl-type magic treasures appeared around him, each one with the aura of an Immortal-ranked magic item. Clearly, this was a set of items. As the leader of the twelve monster kings and the only one truly comparable to a Celestial Immortal, someone capable of forcing even Celestial Immortals to retreat, the Goldfur Bearking naturally had some truly extraordinary Immortal-ranked magic treasures.

  Boom! As they joined into their formation, Ning charged forward as well.

  “Kill!”

  “Kill him.”

  “Damn him.”

  The eleven monster kings shared their elemental ki together, using all of their specialized techniques. After all, if they didn’t have a truly supreme formation like the ‘Grand Soaring Bear Formation’, it was better to just share and pool their elemental ki as they used their own best techniques.

  Streaks of light appeared in the skies. Enormous flaming phoenix wings that blazed for thirty thousand meters…a black deluge of water that surged towards Ning…boundless amounts of golden light that streaked and stabbed towards Ning…

  ……

  Both Ning and the eleven monster kings had a degree of insight into the Grand Dao of Qiankun. They all activated the power of the natural world, freezing the local space with the intention of binding their opponents, preventing them from teleporting away.

  Of course, one could still use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to flee…but who would choose to flee at a time like this?

  “The monster king died.”

  “That human is actually this terrifyingly powerful.”

  The vast horde of monsters that had been led here by the monster kings primarily consisted of the most talented and skilled monsters within the court of the Flamewing King! They numbered tens of Loose Immortals as well as many Primal Diremonsters and Wanxiang Diremonsters. However, even their king had been killed by this human youth in a single exchange; how would they possibly dare to charge forward?

  And now, the other eleven monster kings were attacking the human youth together. A battle at this level was something which fodder like them would play no role in.

  “The surrounding space has been locked. There’s no way to teleport.”

  “It seems the monster kings aren’t willing to let the human escape. They insist on killing him.” As the monsters saw this, their eyes lit up. As they saw it, the eleven monster kings, when fighting in unison, would definitely have the upper hand. As to whether or not they would be able to kill this human…that was hard to say.

  ……

  The three-headed, six-armed Nin
g was three hundred meters tall, and his six swords were also three hundred meters long now. Whirling his six sharp swords, he sent sword-light criss-crossing across the sky, resisting the attacks of the eleven monster kings!

  “Kill!” While blocking attacks, Ning continued to move closer and closer towards the monster kings. However, given that he was under heavy attack, how fast could he possibly move? The monster kings were able to easily pull away from Ning, and the pearl-type magic treasures of the Goldfur Bear King were particularly fierce. Every single pearl was like a miniature star that smashed down towards him with the weight of a massive mountain, causing Ning to feel very taxed when blocking them. Another monster king, the Mountback monster king, controlled a mountain-type magic treasure that smashed down with even greater power than the pearls. Fortunately, however, he only possessed a single such treasure.

  The sword is an agile weapon. In the face of other attacks, Ning was able to deflect with a degree of ease, but he was at a disadvantage when faced with these heavy smashing blows.

  “Hahaha, big brother, although this human has the power of a Celestial Immortal, you also have the power of a Celestial Immortal. Although the rest of us are a bit weaker, when we join forces we can completely suppress him. However…he is a Fiendgod Body Refiner with extremely powerful recuperative abilities. Still…that will only allow him to delay the inevitable.”

  “If this continues, he will definitely die.”

  “My brothers, be careful; don’t let him use a Greater Teleportation Dao-seal to escape.”

  “Don’t worry, big brother; we are using many Immortal-ranked magic treasures to attack him. How can he possibly have the time to pull one out and activate it?”

  The monster kings were filled with an aura of explosive might.

  Ning was being assaulted by dozens of Immortal-ranked magic treasures, and every single wielder was an expert who was at least comparable to a Loose Immortal who had lived for five hundred thousand years. The Goldfur Bearking was comparable to a Loose Immortal who had lived for over a million years.