Desolate Era

by RWX

  These flames were the flames of the void, flames that burned away at the soul, at the heart!

  They actually weren’t that harmful to the physical body; after all, the heavens always gave one at least a slight chance for survival. If karmic sinflames were to burn away at the body as well, then Fiendgod sinners would have too much of an unfair advantage compared to Ki Refiner sinners.

  But although it didn’t harm the body that much…it was utterly terrifying in turns of the damage it did when burning the soul! Even someone like Ning, who had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], had no advantages whatsoever in facing these karmic sinflames…

  When facing karmic sinflames, all cultivators were treated absolutely equally. The only test right now was of one’s Dao-heart. Would one’s Dao-heart be able to survive while being incinerated by karmic sinflames?

  Once one’s Dao-heart crumbled, the soul would be unprotected and would be instantly burnt to ashes and dissipated.

  Luckily enough, Ning had just come up with the tenth stance of the [Three-Foot Sword]. His Dao-heart now contained the resolve that was embodied in the lines, ‘Where the Dao is, though ten million soldiers bar my path, I shall relentlessly advance!’ This allowed Ning’s Dao-heart to survive the first round of punishment unleashed by the karmic sinflames; ‘Agony’.

  “He actually…hasn’t…hasn’t died…what a monster!” Old Demon Windraiser’s entire body was wracked by pain as he stared downwards at the fallen Ji Ning.

  Old Demon Windraiser’s Dao-heart was extremely strong.

  He had already lived for a million years. Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations…every three hundred years, a calamity; every nine hundred years, a tribulation. He had endured countless cycles of the Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations over the past million years. Under this sort of constant pressure, his Dao-heart had actually transformed and grown incredibly powerful, with the result being that he had found even the Three Calamities, Nine Tribulations at the million-year mark to be quite easy to overcome.

  Clearly, his Dao-heart was far more powerful than Immortal Northwalker’s had been. It was comparable to that of many Celestial Immortals…and even amongst Celestial Immortals, he would probably be ranked at the very top.

  Although the first round of punishment brought by karmic sinflames, ‘Agony’, was extremely painful…he was still able to maintain consciousness. He was even able to open his mouth and speak, albeit haltingly; clearly, he was far more powerful than Ning in this regard.

  ……

  “What?!”

  Within their ten thousand kilometer formation, the Whitewater Hound, Little Qing, and Mu Northson were completely stunned.

  They stared at the blood-red skies, as well as the blood-red karmic sinflames that had appeared around Ning’s body. Upon seeing the karmic sinflames appear…they all immediately were able to guess at what had happened. They watched as Ning had let out an agonized, frenzied scream, then collapse from the skies…and their hearts became filled with despair.

  “Karmic sinflames…how could Master have caused karmic sinflames to descend?!” Little Qing was utterly horrified.

  “How could…senior apprentice-brother…senior apprentice-brother Ji Ning…” Northson was so frantic, he was shaking. “It’s all because of me…because of me…no…don’t…”

  The Whitewater Hound stared at Ning, who had fallen down from the skies. Watching the karmic sinflames roast Ning, Uncle White’s tears instantly began to streak down his face. “Ning, son…son…”

  Despair!

  They were all Immortal cultivators; they knew how terrifying karmic sinflames were, as well as the fact that when they descended, nobody could help out at all. To survive the descent of karmic sinflames was simply far, far too difficult; only truly powerful figures with incomparably mighty Dao-hearts would be able to survive.

  But Ning had only trained for less than a century! Although he was publicly acclaimed for having a firm Dao-heart, having a strong sword-heart, and being a born Sword Immortal…he simply hadn’t trained for long enough.

  The punishment brought by karmic sinflames would come in repeated waves that only increased in power and terror.

  “Ning, son, you have to endure it…you have to.” The Whitewater Hound stared towards Ning. “I promised Big Brother to take care of you, to always protect you.”

  ……

  Atop the flying shuttle. The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan and his six mighty Celestial Immortals were also watching the fallen Ji Ning.

  “He actually didn’t die right away from the descent of karmic sinflames.” Patriarch Arcanum said hurriedly, “Ancestor, the punishment brought by karmic sinflames will grow increasingly powerful…but to prevent a miracle from happening which results in this punk surviving, let’s suppress him right away. He’s completely unable to fight back right now; this is the perfect time to trap and suppress him.”

  “Right.” Celestial Immortal Infatuation nodded as well. “Although I don’t believe Ji Ning will survive, if by some miracle he does survive…it’s best to suppress him now.”

  “Supress him.”

  “It’s a shame that Goldclock died, and his divine greatclock was stolen by Ji Ning as well.”

  “I naturally have other suppressive treasures. Although they aren’t comparable to the divine greatclock, one is still a middle-grade Pure Yang treasure; there’s no way he can escape.” The Youngflame Ancestor suddenly waved his hands, producing a pair of copper cymbals. He threw them out, and the pair instantly expanded in size, transforming into copper cymbals that were more than three hundred meters long.

  The copper cymbals split apart, one flying to be above Ji Ning while the other flew underneath him. Once the pair of copper cymbals came together once more…there would be no way for him to escape.

  Ning’s eyes were completely red, and his face was completely distorted with agony. He couldn’t help but let out roars of agony…

  …but his Dao-heart hadn’t dissipated yet!

  He still maintained a single thread of consciousness. He could see what was going on in the outside world, but everything he saw was twisted and blurry. This was because his eyes were too bloodshot right now; if they were just a bit more bloodshot, he would probably be completely blind! When these two giant copper cymbals came to surround him, Ning immediately struck out with his two arms. Bang! Bang! He instantly knocked the two copper cymbals flying.

  “He’s actually still able to pay attention to the outside world?” The Ancestor of the Youngflame clan was surprised.

  “Even if he is…the amount of intellect he’s able to use right now must be very, very low,” Celestial Immortal Infatuation said. “He’s like a beast, right now; all he knows to do is to knock away anything dangerous. He doesn’t even know to flee! He could’ve just used his evasive techniques to dodge, but he didn’t move at all; from this, one can tell that his intellect has dropped to a very, very low level right now.”

  “Let’s all act together. Perhaps we can trap him.”

  “Let’s give it a shot.”

  The six Celestial Immortals all moved.

  Black chains flew out. Thousands of tendrils and vines whipped out. The strands of an enormous horsetail flywhisk that was thirty thousand meters long flew forth.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  Everything in front of Ning was blurry, but he did see many vines swinging towards him. He struggled to wave his arms about, using the [Starseizing Hand] to knock all the magic treasures flying and away from his body. The tendrils all completely snapped apart, unable to even draw near him. After all, these Celestial Immortals were all heavily wounded; when controlling magic treasures from afar, how could their power possibly compare to the power of Ning’s twin arms?

  Even if the six Celestial Immortals were to use a formation, given how badly injured they were, they still wouldn’t be able to withstand Ning’s [Starseizing Hand].

  “Mmm…he really does seem like a wild beast. Anything that gets close to him
, he’ll wildly lash out at and knock away.” The Youngflame Ancestor nodded lightly. “I have an idea…one that will ensure his death.”

  “Oh?” They all looked towards the Ancestor, save for Celestial Immortal Infatuation, who suddenly said, “Can it be…the Worldhold Pagoda?”

  “Infatuation read my mind.” The Youngflame Ancestor nodded lightly. “Fortunately, when I came out of seclusion this time, Arcanum and the others came over as well. There was no one left to guard the pagoda, and so I brought it over here as well.”

  Whoosh.

  A small pagoda suddenly appeared within the Youngflame Ancestor’s hands. This was the ancient pagoda which Celestial Immortal Arcanum and the others had been guarding previously. This pagoda…it was truly the most important of all treasures which the Youngflame clan had. To the Youngflame clan, the most important person was naturally the Youngflame Ancestor, Immortal Venomfreak, who had countless clones spread everywhere. Only second to him in importance was this Worldhold Pagoda.

  This was a Protocosmic spirit-treasure, the greatest treasure which Immortal Venomfreak had acquired over the course of countless ages.

  Whoosh. The small pagoda within the Youngflame Ancestor’s hand flew out, transforming into a pagoda that was thirty thousand meters tall. The pagoda hung high in the air, hovering roughly three thousand meters above him. The Youngflame Ancestor and the others had noticed earlier than three thousand meters seemed to be a limit; once one went beyond that range and moved closer to Ji Ning, Ji Ning would instantly begn to strike and knock things flying.

  “Ji Ning…I’ll send you on your way,” the Youngflame Patriarch said softly.

  Whoosh. The entire surface of the pagoda suddenly lit up, especially at the base where a giant black vortex suddenly formed. The vortex began to quickly spread outwards, soon covering a region of a hundred kilometers. Naturally, this completely covered the area where Ning was located as well.

  Everything within the area was completely drawn in by the whirlpool.

  Normally, the quick-witted Ning would’ve immediately noticed that something was wrong. He would’ve immediately departed from this region…but Ning was currently clutching his head in utter agony, the karmic sinflames blazing around his body gradually increasing in power. In fact…the second round of punishments was about to descend. The single thought in his mind was to prevent any magic treasures or spells from drawing near his body; how could he possibly have the presence of mind to notice anything else that was amiss?

  Rumble…

  The pagoda began to glow brighter and brighter.

  And then….whoosh!

  The very tip of the pagoda suddenly grew blindingly bright. Swish! A streak of light shot from it into the skies, as though piercing through the walls of reality itself…then vanished.

  As for the vortex region of a hundred kilometers…it had become completely empty. Ji Ning had completely vanished. He had vanished from the world of the Grand Xia…and in fact, he had even vanished from the Three Realms themselves. He was now outside the Three Realms…

  * * *

  Book 16, Chapter 1 - You Did Not Sin

  “Senior apprentice-brother!”

  Mu Northson was watching from within the ten thousand kilometer formation region, wracked by agony and self-hatred for being unable to help Ji Ning. Little Qing and Uncle White’s faces both changed dramatically as well.

  Both of them could tell that there had just been a spatial teleportation of some sort!

  “I can no longer sense Master’s location,” Little Qing said frantically. “I can’t even get the vaguest sense of the direction he is in. Master is no longer in the world of the Grand Xia; he’s gone to an extremely distant place.”

  “I can’t sense him either,” Uncle White said, trying to attentively sense Ning’s location.

  “It’s all my fault. It’s all because of me, a useless piece of trash. I shouldn’t have been in such a rush to take revenge. I shouldn’t have…” Northson was filled with utter regret.

  It had been Ning who had rescued him and Yu Xia’s soul from the Eastwoods mountain range…but afterwards, when the Youngflame clan’s Celestial Immortals had ambushed Ning, Yu Xia’s sould had been completely destroyed. Although he had felt utter hatred for the Youngflame clan, in truth, Northson did feel a bit of resentment towards Ning as well in his heart.

  However…given Ning’s great kindness towards him, and given that they were lifelong friends to begin with, he had buried that resentment deep within his heart.

  But in this moment…

  When he saw the descent of the karmic sinflames, as well as the agonized look on the face of Ning as he was being burnt by the sinflames…Northson felt incomparable guilt in his heart. “If I hadn’t kept clamoring on and on about revenge, senior apprentice-brother wouldn’t have been in such a rush. He would’ve kept on waiting, waiting until he grew even more powerful…and then, he would’ve completely wiped out the entire Youngflame clan. This is all due to my own impatience.”

  “Say no more.” Uncle White growled, “The Youngflame clan’s Celestial Immortals are already flying towards us. Let’s hurry up and leave. Little Qing, we need a Greater Teleportation.”

  “Alright.”

  Little Qing tamped down the grief and pain she felt, immediately waving her hand and bringing along Uncle White and Northson into a Greater Teleportation.

  Whoosh!

  They disappeared into thin air, having returned to Swallow Mountain.

  ……

  The seven Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan were indeed flying straight towards the formation area. With but a single void blink, they arrived directly outside of the formation. However…as soon as they arrived, Little Qing, Uncle White, and Northson departed. Little Qing and the other two knew quite well that there was no way they could possibly deal with these Celestial Immortals. They were far too weak; they could only suppress their hatred for now. If Ning had truly died…they would train hard so that in the future, they would be able to take revenge for him.

  “They ran quite fast,” Celestial Immortal Arcanum sneered.

  “They were weak to begin with; they only dared to attack this place because of Ji Ning. Now that he’s dead, why wouldn’t they flee?” Celestial Immortal Blackrain said coldly.

  The nearby Infatuation shook his head. “Blackrain, Ji Ning isn’t dead yet.”

  “When karmic sinflames descend, they shall bring multiple rounds of punishment. I refuse to believe he won’t die,” Celestial Immortal Blackrain said. “In addition, Master also used his Worldhold Pagoda; he must have sent Ji Ning to one of the danger zones within the void beyond the Three Realms. Some of those danger zones are enough to cause even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods to perish, much less a little brat that hasn’t even overcome his Celestial Tribulation.”

  The nearby horned, golden-robed man turned his head to look at the distant Old Demon Windraiser, still wracked by indescribable pain. He spoke out and said, “If Windraiser is able to withstand this tribulation of karmic sinflames…I shall personally escort him to the Ten Yama-Kings of Hell. When he is reborn, he absolutely must be reborn into our Youngflame clan. No expenses will be spared in training him.”

  “Right.”

  “Of course.”

  All of them nodded.

  This was no joke. If someone was able to overcome karmic sinflames, they would undergo an utterly astounding transformation, and their Dao-hearts would become truly remarkable in strength. Although they would lose their memories of their former lives upon being reborn…such a soul would still have enormous potential in the new life. Upon regaining one’s previous memories…one would have an extremely good chance of overcoming the Celestial Tribulation.

  “Let’s see if he can overcome the karmic sinflames,” the horned, golden-robed man said with a sigh. “Every single person who is capable of overcoming karmic sinflames is an extremely remarkable person. Even amongst Celestial Immortals, such individuals are amongst the v
ery top.”

  There were very few, even amongst Celestial Immortals, who could withstand the power of karmic sinflames!

  In truth, it was very hard for someone to tell how strong another person’s Dao-heart was. Even someone as powerful as Celestial Immortal Infatuation wouldn’t dare claim for certain that he was able to withstand karmic sinflames! Thus…Celestial Immortals were generally quite cautious. Only if there was no other choice would they allow themselves to act in a way that would cause karmic sinflames to swirl around their bodies. The descent of karmic sinflames was truly terrifying…but once one overcame it, one’s power would generally skyrocket!

  In the Three Realms…every single person who overcame karmic sinflames would end up being an incredible figure.

  For example, Ning’s senior apprentice-brother, Empyrean God Silvermoon, was a person who had karmic sinflames constantly swirling around him. Silvermoon, however, completely ignored them…proof that he truly was an utter demon.

  The world of the Grand Xia. The western seas. The Seamless Gate’s gathering spot.

  The enormous mirror had displayed all the scenes of the battle that had just occurred in the Oldjade mountain range. The escape and wild assault of nine hundred-plus Fiendgods…the pursuit of the Godslayer Gods…Ning’s sudden, unexpected explosion of power that had resulted in the slaying of two Celestial Immortals…Old Demon Windraiser, a Loose Immortal of the Youngflame clan, attacking ‘suicidally’…the descent of karmic sinflames…Ning being burnt by karmic sinflames…Ning being teleported away by the Worldhold Pagoda…

  “Exciting. How very exciting.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven sighed repeatedly in praise. “That Windraiser…he really is both decisive and vicious. He was able to come up with this plan and settle on it in such a short period of time…and those who died were all his own clansmen! Ten billion of his clansmen died, just like that…his heart truly is vicious and merciless. He truly does have the temperament necessary for a demon.”