Desolate Era

by RWX

  “In addition, Mu Northson isn’t at Swallow Mountain. Nor is he in Stillwater City.” Violetgrass waved her hand, and a leather scroll appeared. She tossed it to Patriarch Arcanum, who hurriedly accepted it.

  “Mu Northson’s exact location is here on this map,” Violetgrass said. “As long as you keep an eye on him, within a short period of time you shall probably see Ji Ning going to visit him! In fact, if you are in a hurry…you can even kidnap Mu Northson and force Ji Ning to show himself. It’s entirely up to you how your Youngflame clan wishes to proceed.”

  “Thank you, Envoy.” Patriarch Arcanum was overjoyed as he stared at this leather-bound scroll.

  “Our Seamless Gate has helped your Youngflame clan once again,” Violetgrass said calmly. “Although our Seamless Gate is patient…our patience has a limit. If you continue to refuse to support us…then we will be forced to view you as loyal to the death to the imperial Xia clan. In the future, when we act against the imperial Xia clan…we might very well strike first against your Youngflame clan.”

  Patriarch Arcanum’s face changed. He said hurriedly, “Don’t worry, Envoy. I can sense how sincere the Seamless Gate is. There is a good deal of debate within our Youngflame clan about what to do, but of one thing you can be assured; we are definitely not loyal to the death to the imperial Xia clan. Definitely now.”

  “What wonderful words.” Violetgrass waved her hand. “Go.”

  Only now did Patriarch Arcanum depart.

  Soon, the only figures left on that solitary, icy mountain peak were Violetgrass and the ten Celestial Immortals.

  “Milord, to have the Youngflame clan deal with Ji Ning…are they strong enough? He’s trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art],” a golden-robed Celestial Immortal whispered.

  “Don’t underestimate the Youngflame clan.” Violetgrass shook her head. “The Youngflame clan has existed since the era of Pangu’s World, eventually migrating here to the world of the Grand Xia. Ancient clan like this all have extremely formidable tools at their disposal. Consider this; in the past, the Kindwater clan fought with the Xiamang clan over the Emperorship of the Grand Xia. The Kindwater clan is a branch of a major clan of Pangu’s World which had a group of True Immortals and Empyrean Gods backing them. And yet, although the Kindwater clan and the Youngflame clan have been struggling against each other for so many years, the Youngflame clan has never been wiped out, even though they’ve suffered a bit. In fact, on the whole, the Youngflame clan has been full of vigor. How can you underestimate the Youngflame clan?”

  “Mm.” The many Celestial Immortals all nodded.

  “Watch and see,” Violetgrass said calmly. “We’ll let the Youngflame clan use their resources to fight first, while we’ll keep watch from the shadows, learning more about Ji Ning’s powers and tools. If the Youngflame clan truly is unable to wipe out this Ji Ning, then by then we will still have a high level of information regarding him. Naturally, at that point, we can lay a trap for him, then wipe him out with a single lightning-fast strike.”

  “If my belief is correct…given that the Youngflame clan is willing to fight against the Kindwater clan to such a degree, they must have an astonishingly formidable background. So long as the Daofather behind Ji Ning doesn’t interfere, it shouldn’t be hard for them to kill him,” Violetgrass said with a laugh.

  ……

  The Youngflame clan began to deliberate in secret, coming up with numerous scenarios for killing Ji Ning, in accordance with the intelligence reports they had received.

  “This time…let the four of us join forces. Arcanum, Deadwood, Goldclock, and myself, Infatuation, shall fight together.” The ancient elder swept the others with his gaze. “The three of you shall be under my command.”

  “Alright.” Patriarch Arcanum nodded.

  “Infatuation, we trust you,” the man who held a large clock in his hand agreed.

  “Right.” The white-haired Patriarch Deadwood nodded as well.

  Patriarch Infatuation was an ancient man who had a look of hidden grief within his eyes…but his power was truly enormous. Celestial Immortal Infatuation was fairly famous within the Three Realms, and was one of the truly top-tier Celestial Immortals.

  “Sunfish, I’ll leave you to protect this tower,” Patriarch Infatuation instructed.

  “Fine.” Patriarch Sunfish nodded.

  “Let’s go,” Patriarch Infatuation said.

  Instantly, Patriarchs Arcanum, Deadwood, and Goldclock followed him in departing.

  ……

  It was nighttime. These four Celestial Immortals stealthily made their way to Stillwater Commandery. All four of them were extremely powerful, with Patriarch Infatuation being the strongest. Patriarch Deadwood possessed powerful spells, while Patriarch Goldclock had a powerful magical item; the two were roughly on par with each other. Patriarch Arcanum was actually ranked as the weakest, but he was still quite an excellent Celestial Immortal.

  Within Stillwater Commandery. A wild region. Four figures stealthily appeared in the air above a lake.

  “Look. Over there.” Patriarch Arcanum pointed towards the distance, where a wooden house could be seen next to a lake. Outside the wooden house, a white-robed youth with some white hair was seated on the stairs, head raised as he stared at the bright moon. He was holding a jade globe in his hands. “Little Xia, today is the sixteenth, right? The moon is actually even rounder than it was yesterday.”

  “It really is round. According to the legends, the Fairy of the Moon Palace, Chang’e, lives upon the Lunar Star which is located outside of the Three Realms.” The maiden in the jade globe spoke with some envy. [1. Chang’e was the wife of the legendary archer, Houyi. Their story is a famous myth in China, with her in most stories (accidentally) betraying her husband by eating/overdosing on the pill of Immortality and thus floating away to the moon, leaving her husband behind.]

  “Right. In the future, when I grow powerful, I’ll take you, Little Xia, to pay a visit to the Lunar Star. We’ll see for ourselves if there really is a Moon Palace, and if there really is a Chang’e,” the white-robed youth said, nodding his head.

  The four distant Celestial Immortals had hidden themselves long ago.

  “It really is Mu Northson.”

  “The Seamless Gate’s information is accurate.”

  “Prepare the formations now. After preparing everything, leave the formations un-activated; after Ji Ning arrives, we’ll activate them,” Patriarch Infatuation immediately ordered.

  “Actually, why do we even need formations? Once this greatclock of mine is unleashed, he will perish,” the man holding the greatclock said confidently.

  “Although this golden clock of yours was transported to this world of the Grand Xia long ago by our Youngflame clan from Pangu’s World, and although it is extremely powerful and a top-grade Pure Yang treasure…this Ji Ning was was able to escape from even Bloodcloud Hall’s assassination attempt. We absolutely must not be careless. We have to prepare everything perfectly,” Patriarch Infatuation instructed.

  And so, the four Celestial Immortals began to prepare their ambush by this lake. Given their abilities, Northson was completely unable to detect them.

  Celestial Immortals possessed infinite lifespans, and so they possessed exceptional patience.

  ……

  The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. King Yan’s Estate.

  The second day after Ning took up residence within King Yan’s Estate. He was accompanying his cousin, Yuchi Xiyue, in strolling about the streets of the estate.

  “Leaving? So soon?” Yuchi Xiyue was rather reluctant to let him go. “Didn’t you say that Swallow Mountain is protected by layers of formations, and that it is like an impregnable fortress? Isn’t it very safe?”

  “I’m going to go see my junior apprentice-brother. I feel uneasy,” Ning said.

  “What do you feel uneasy about?” A voice suddenly rang out.

  From around the corner of the stone path, a tall, muscular figure appeared, dre
ssed in loose robes.

  “Respectful greetings to you, King Yan,” Ning said hurriedly.

  “You came to my place, but you plan to leave without even coming to see me?” King Yan said with a laugh. “Come, let’s take a walk and have a talk.”

  Ning and Xiyue both moved to accompany King Yan on the walk, chatting about various important current affairs regarding the Grand Xia as they did. Ning suddenly said, “Senior King Yan, I heard that Daofather Crimsonbright has set up a miniature cycle of reincarnation for his major worlds. Do you know of this matter, senior?” Ning had been wanting to learn more about his parents this entire time.

  King Yan was of the imperial clan; he naturally should know about the miniature cycle of reincarnation.

  “Of course I do.” King Yan nodded, then suddenly said with a chortle, “Could it be that you have forgotten my nickname?”

  “Nickname?” Ning was startled.

  King Yan’s nickname was ‘Yama-King’. [2. As explained in Book 11, Chapter 22, in Chinese myth, the Ten Yama Hell-Kings ruled over the netherworld and judged the dead, sending them on their way in the cycle of reincarnation.]

  “After the Daofather rebuilt the cycle of reincarnation, he set it to encompass tens of major worlds and countless minor worlds,” King Yan said with a laugh. “His cycle also has ten Yama-Kings, and I am one of them, the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell.”

  * * *

  Book 15, Chapter 11 - The Youngflame Clan Strikes

  “Ah?!” Ji Ning revealed a look of joy.

  “Grandpa, you are one of the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell?” The nearby Yuchi Xiyue was startled as well.

  King Yan laughed loudly. “Merely one of the ten that are assigned to this minor cycle of reincarnation; we’re only in charge of this region controlled by Daofather Crimsonbright. There are currently many Yama-Kings in the world; there’s nearly a thousand of us. They are not, however, the ten original ones that governed the Netherworld Kingdom…those ten were all at the True Immortal or Empyrean God level.”

  “Grandpa, how did you end up as one of the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell?” Yuchi Xiyue asked curiously.

  “When the Daofather first re-established the cycle of reincarnation, he needed candidates for the Ten Yama-Kings and for the First Judge of the Dead, and so the various worlds began to propose people. The Grand Xia had to propose a person as well. Because I am of the imperial clan and just became a Celestial Immortal, his Imperial Majesty had me take up the position of Yama-King,” King Yan explained.

  Ning understood. Given that he was of the imperial clan and that he had just become a Celestial Immortal, it made sense that he had been chosen to become one of the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell.

  Positions such as this, within a minor cycle of reincarnation, actually weren’t that exalted in status. But of course, back in the Netherworld Kingdom, the original Ten Yama-Kings of Hell were in control of all living creatures within the entire Three Realms; their power was truly enormous.

  “Ji Ning, why are you asking about the minor cycle of reincarnation? Is there something you need?” King Yan looked at Ning.

  “Yes.” Ning nodded. “Senior King Yan, this junior has a matter that I would beseech your assistance with.”

  “Speak,” King Yan said.

  The imperial clan had always been quite close-knit. Given that the world of the Grand Xia now had several powerful organizations hidden within it, the imperial clan had only become even more close-knit due to the pressure! Since the Xia Emperor had designated Ning as someone that could ‘only be befriended, not be made an enemy’, and since he felt very certain that Ning was most likely the disciple of a Daofather, he had naturally spread the word to all the Celestial Immortals within the imperial clan. King Yan’s attitude towards Ning was now much different compared to the past, prior to the Conclave of Immortal Destiny. Back then, he treated Ning as he would any other junior, but now he treated Ning as someone on the same level as him.

  “I trust you know, senior King Yan, that my father Ji Yichuan and my mother Yuchi Snow have already passed away many years ago,” Ning said. “I dearly desire to learn about how my mother and father are currently doing.”

  “What’s the point of investigating this?” King Yan looked towards Ning. “After being reborn, they won’t have any memories of their past life.”

  “If they are living good, happy lives after their rebirth, I won’t disturb them,” Ning said. “I just want to see for myself…to see if they are doing well and to see if there’s anything I can do for them.”

  “Mm.” King Yan nodded. “Fine. Leave this to me. I expect that in a few months, I’ll have an answer for you.”

  “A few months?” Ning was startled.

  “Do you feel that is a long time?” King Yan laughed.

  Ning nodded.

  King Yan asked him, “Do you know how many how many living creatures die every day across these dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds?”

  “But I heard that in the Netherworld Kingdom, such investigations are very fast,” Ning said.

  “That’s because that place is the Netherworld Kingdom. It was built by Mother Nuwa herself, and it also holds the treasured Book of Life and Death, which is one with the Dao of the Heavens,” King Yan said. “The Book of Life and Death can duplicate itself into trillions of copies, and so it controlled the reincarnation, karmic merit, history, and life of all living things. But what we have here is merely a minor cycle of reincarnation established by Daofather Crimsonbright. We don’t have a Book of Life and Death! Thus, our minor cycle of reincarnation is actually even busier than the old one.”

  “The process of simply recording the countless deaths and rebirths of the world, as well as karmic virtues and demerits, requires enormous amounts of information to be recorded every single day on magic books,” King Yan said. “And we only have roughly a hundred years of information; anything beyond that is completely lost.”

  “Completely lost?” Ning was stunned.

  “Right. There’s no way for us to investigate the records that existed before the Six Paths of Reincarnation were destroyed. Although we can go to the Netherworld Kingdom to seek out the First Judge of the Dead, Judge Cui, in order to investigate the history of a soul across a thousand lifetimes…the amount of information and history regarding every single person is simply enormous. There’s simply no way for us to record all the history regarding the countless living creatures that exist across countless millions of worlds. And so, we don’t even bother with it,” King Yan explained.

  “In fact, nowadays the Judges for the various minor cycles of reincarnation don’t even bother with wasting time on examining the past lives of the souls of the dead. They just look at karma, then based on positive karma or negative sin, decide if a person will be reincarnated as an animal or as a person, and if the person will be reincarnated with wealth or into poverty.”

  Ning was speechless.

  When he had met Judge Cui, Judge Cui had instantly known everything that had happened to him during his previous life.

  But the judges of this minor cycle of reincarnation only looked at karma and sin; they didn’t even look at a person’s life history! Still…this did speed things up considerably.

  “I’ll send someone to help investigate on your behalf. Still…to search through the sea-like mass of records to find the specific history-tablets pertaining to your parents will indeed take some time,” King Yan said.

  “Thank you, senior,” Ning said hurriedly with gratitude. Only now did he understand the magnitude of his request to search for someone who had been reincarnated.

  Several months? So be it.

  “Senior, where can one find the First Judge of the Dead of the Netherworld Kingdom, Judge Cui?” Ning asked.

  “You want to find Judge Cui? He might be in the Heaven Realm, or he might be in the Netherworld Kingdom, or he might be somewhere else.” King Yan shook his head. “Ever since the Six Paths of Reincarnation were destroyed, Judge Cui no longer had a
ny tasks shackling him to a specific place. Given that the Book of Life and Death protects him, he can go wherever he pleases. If you want to investigate his whereabouts, you’ll need to ask the Immortals of the Heaven Realm or the Netherworld, I imagine.”

  It was a dark, gloomy day today. Ning departed from the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, returning to Stillwater Commandery.

  “In a few more months, I’ll be able to know what happened to Mother and Father after they were reborn.” Ning’s heart was filled with hope. “I wonder if they are doing well. Are they Immortal cultivators in this life as well? Which world are they living in, in this new life? Is it still the Grand Xia?”

  The skies were desolate and bleak.

  Ning flew towards a distant lake. From afar, he could see the wooden house that was located next to it, the residence of his junior apprentice-brother, Mu Northson.

  “Alas.” Ning sighed to himself.

  His junior apprentice-brother had no family to begin with…and now, his one and only Dao-companion had been trapped within that jade globe. Every day, Northson hugged that jade globe and talked to it. Ning was very worried for his junior apprentice-brother’s Dao-heart. If this were to continue long-term…eventually, his Dao-heart might crumble, at which point he might go crazy and be unable to control his elemental ki, possibly resulting in self-detonation and death.

  ……

  “He’s coming.”

  Within the wild grasses next to the lake, the four Celestial Immortal Patriarchs that were seated in the lotus position all opened their eyes to stare at that figure that had appeared in the distant horizons.

  It was a youth who was riding the winds…Ji Ning, the source of trouble which their Youngflame clan had come for!

  “He came so quickly. It seems this Ji Ning has a very deep relationship with Mu Northson,” Patriarch Arcanum sneered. “I had thought we’d have to wait for a year or two. The Heavens truly are helping our Youngflame clan!”