Desolate Era

by RWX

  “The Xia Emperor is just going to let things happen, come what may?” Ning frowned.

  “Senior Unity really is quite impressive, though; a while ago, the Seamless Gate sent thirty-six Celestial Immortals to assault him en-masse, but they were still defeated,” Yu Wei said. “To kill Celestial Immortal Unity won’t be easy. By contrast, our Black-White College…well, we aren’t as strong as senior Unity, so we’ve been suffering quite a bit for it.”

  Ning now understood what had been worrying Yu Wei.

  The Black-White College was standing alongside Unity. When the Seamless Gate went to act against Unity, they’d probably throw the Black-White College into the mix as well; after all, the Black-White College had two Celestial Immortals within their ranks.

  Killing Celestial Immortal Unity might be very difficult…but killing the Celestial Immortals of the Black-White College was much easier by comparison. Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai were quite ordinary; they had just recently overcome their tribulations, after all. They were far from being comparable to Celestial Immortal Unity.

  “But I’m back now, right?” Ning smiled.

  “Junior apprentice-brother, you haven’t overcome your tribulation.” Yu Wei actually shook her head. “The Seamless Gate is far too powerful. We have to be careful.”

  ……

  That very night.

  Within Immortal Diancai’s estate.

  “Master.” Ning looked at Immortal Diancai.

  “It’s good that you are back. It’s good that you are back.” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning, letting out a long sigh, then smiled. “You unfilial disciple! When you came back, you didn’t come see me; you went to go see your Dao-companion first!”

  The nearby Yu Wei was laughing.

  “Don’t blame me, Master! I admit to my wrongdoings.” Ning began to laugh as well.

  “Sit, first! Later, senior Unity shall arrive,” Immortal Diancai said.

  A short time later.

  A youth with loose hair and a gray robe came walking in. Ning, Immortal Diancai, and Yu Wei all rose to their feet.

  “Ji Ning has returned.” The gray-robed youth smiled and nodded. “I heard that you previously killed two mighty Celestial Immortals of the Youngflame clan. How valiant! You were able to overcome the karmic sinflames and to return to us; I imagine that anyone who hears about this would be filled with admiration for you.”

  “You praise me too much, senior. I was just a bit luckier than most; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to come back at all,” Ning said.

  “Sit, all of you,” Celestial Immortal Unity said.

  The four immediately all sat down.

  Unity looked at Ning. “I imagine you know everything now, Ji Ning.”

  “I just heard from them. I didn’t imagine that in the past eighteen years, the Grand Xia Dynasty would’ve changed this much. The Seamless Gate has already begun to shed all pretenses of cordiality.” Ning shook his head. “Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was captured. Alas…”

  “When the storm comes, who can avoid it?” Unity looked towards Ning. “The Seamless Gate gave us their final warning, and I’ve naturally made my own preparations. This entire city of Stillwater has always been the base for my Northmont clan. One generation after another, we have set down countless formations in this place. I want to ask your Black-White College to help me control the formations of Stillwater City, so that I can focus whole-heartedly on fighting against the Seamless Gate. There’s no need for the Black-White College to exit the formation.”

  “Today, the Xia Emperor sent me a messenger. Many are under threat right now, and he’s unable to assist me, which is why I’ve made this decision. I wanted to tell Yu Wei and Diancai tomorrow, but since you came back today, Ji Ning, I came to speak to you all tonight,” Unity said.

  Ning, Yu Wei, and Diancai all exchanged a glance.

  “Since you’ve made the request, senior Unity…our Black-White College will definitely strive to ensure you are not disappointed by us,” Ning said.

  Celestial Immortal Unity had realized something…

  The Black-White College had three mighty experts. Yu Wei and Ji Ning were Dao-companions, while Immortal Diancai and Ji Ning were master and disciple! In fact, Ji Ning had once guarded his master during his master’s tribulation and fought with utter ferocity, while Diancai, in turn, had been willing to face off against the Youngflame clan even when he had merely been at the Void-level; from this, one could see how close the two of them were. Clearly, Ji Ning was capable of influencing both Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai, which made him the true leader of the Black-White College.

  After chatting for a bit longer, Celestial Immortal Unity departed.

  Ning, Yu Wei, and Immortal Diancai, the three mighty experts of the Black-White College, were now discussing amongst themselves.

  “Our Black-White College is the weakest side in this fight, regardless of whether we compare ourselves to Celestial Immortal Unity or the Seamless Gate,” Immortal Diancai said. “Senior Unity knows that we are in a tough spot. This is for the best. We shall stay within the formation and provide support. If even the formation is unable to withstand their attacks, then we’ll use Greater Teleportation to leave.”

  “Right.”

  Yu Wei and Ning both nodded.

  Ning didn’t say much. It was true that he had become far more powerful over the course of eighteen years of nonstop battles, and he was probably even superior to Celestial Immortal Unity in terms of power! However, given that the Seamless Gate was a major power that dared to act against the Grand Xia Dynasty in such a brash, arrogant fashion…they might suddenly produce a True Immortal or Empyrean God who would wipe Ning out.

  “Ji Ning, the Heavenly Treasures Mountain has stationed someone in our Black-White College,” Immortal Diancai said. “They’ve been waiting for news of you. Now that you are back…should we let the Heavenly Treasures Mountain know?”

  “What’s this?” Ning was surprised.

  The Heavenly Treasures Mountain had actually permanently stationed someone here, waiting for news regarding him?

  It seemed as though the Xia Emperor truly did care quite a bit about his status.

  “Go ahead and tell them,” Ning said.

  His own master, Patriarch Subhuti, was good friends with Daofather Crimsonbright. The Xia Emperor had treated him fairly well; there was no need to hide this from him.

  “Alright.” Immortal Diancai nodded.

  The imperial capital of the Grand Xia. The Skylight Palace.

  The black-robed Xia Emperor was seated facing a white-haired elder. They were playing a game of stones.

  Click! The Xia Emperor frowned.

  “Xiamang, if you bare your fangs too openly, you’ll suffer for it,” the white-haired elder said with a laugh, then pressed his stone onto the board. “It’s better for you to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.”

  The Xia Emperor, however, didn’t pay him any attention.

  Click! Click! Click! The sound of chess stones being pressed onto the board rang out throughout the hall.

  “You lose.” The white-haired elder rose to his feet. “Xiamang, spend a little time and think things over. But of course…you remain a descendant of our Primordial Imperial Clan. There’s no way you can let yourself be so casually abused by others. Whether you choose to retreat or to fight, you need to do it in a beautiful manner. If you do need help, come find me.”

  “Thank you, Uncle.” The Xia Emperor rose to his feet.

  The white-haired elder laughed, then soared into the skies and disappeared.

  The Xia Emperor, however, continued to frown.

  A short while later, a streak of light flew in; it was Skyfox.

  “Master.” Immortal Skyfox strode in.

  “What is it?” The Xia Emperor asked.

  “Ji Ning has returned,” Immortal Skyfox said in a low voice.

  The Xia Emperor was startled. “He came back? Alive?”

  “Yes. He came ba
ck just last night; we received news just this morning,” Immortal Skyfox said.

  “He managed to make it back alive? I even went so far as to speak to Venomfreak about this. Venomfreak said that he had exiled Ji Ning to the Nihilum Zone.” The Xia Emperor frowned. “The Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld…that truly is a boundless, vast place. The voidwaves there are incredibly powerful; in order to leave that place while going against the voidwaves, one has to at least have the power of a True God or Daofather. It must have been that mysterious Daofather master of his who intervened. This Daofather seems to care about his disciples quite a bit; he actually went into the Nihilum Zone to search for him!”

  “Then…with regards to Stillwater Commandery…” Immortal Skyfox said in a whispered voice.

  * * *

  Book 17, Chapter 2 - King Yan Comes to Visit

  The Xia Emperor shook his head. “The entire Grand Xia Dynasty is being shaken by this storm. More than sixty percent of my 3600 commanderies are requesting assistance from me! No matter how formidable the Seamless Gate is, there’s no way they can possibly act against that many marquisdoms and clans at once. In addition, according to the intelligence I have, some of those requesting support have actually surrendered to the Seamless Gate long ago.”

  The Seamless Gate was indeed formidable; for them to be able to convince more than half of the high-level members of the Northmont clan to join them was a testament to their might. Within the Grand Xia Dynasty, there were indeed quite a few clans who had already joined their side.

  “They’ve already joined the Seamless Gate, but they still beg me for assistance.” The Xia Emperor frowned. “Right now…I don’t have a clear picture of the situation. More than sixty percent of the marquisdoms are asking for my assistance, but which ones actually need help, while which ones are faking it?”

  “Although the Northmont clan of Stillwater claims Celestial Immortal Hunchmont was captured alive…that was a mere capture. Who knows if that is just part of a plot?” The Xia Emperor said.

  “Understood.” Immortal Skyfox nodded.

  “Right now, although there are some clashes, my control over the entire Grand Xia is still fairly stable.” The Xia Emperor said softly, “The true war has yet to start. We need to stand firm and not act about in a disorderly fashion. Even though the Seamless Gate has begun to move…let them. The more they move, the more of themselves they reveal to me. For now, let my blade remain in its sheath…because one it comes out, it will stab them in their weak points! The Seamless Gate wishes to take away my world of the Grand Xia? Hmph…let’s see if they can force me to accept it!”

  Immortal Skyfox nodded.

  “Still…Ji Ning’s potential truly is remarkable. Even before undergoing his Celestial Tribulation, he was able to kill two Celestial Immortals. Despite having trained for less than a century, he was capable of enduring karmic sinflames. I imagine that he will soon be undergoing his tribulation. He…is going to be an important chess piece,” the Xia Emperor said. “And, based on what my master said…Ji Ning is definitely on our side.”

  The Xia Emperor viewed Ning with great importance.

  After all…Ji Ning’s accomplishments to date had all been simply too unearthly. At the Void-level, he had slaughtered two Celestial Immortals, then withstood karmic sinflames. Once a monster like this broke through to the Celestial Immortal level after overcoming the tribulation…he would most likely become one of the most supreme Celestial Immortals right away, perhaps even possessing the combat power of a Pure Yang True Immortal! Most importantly of all…Ji Ning had an incredible background. To befriend Ji Ning was equivalent to befriending a mysterious Daofather. How could the Xia Emperor not view this as being extremely important?

  “Right. Go and tell King Yan that Ji Ning has returned,” the Xia Emperor said.

  “Alright,” Immortal Skyfox said respectfully.

  ……

  The imperial capital. King Yan’s Estate.

  King Yan had arrived in a flower garden. He stared at Yuchi Xiyue, seated within a distant pavilion. He couldn’t help but secretly shake his head. When Ji Ning had gone to act against the Youngflame clan, he had told Yuchi Xiyue in advance. Xiyue had been filled with both hope as well as worry for Ning…but in the end, Ning had been covered by karmic sinflames and driven out of the world of the Grand Xia. Xiyue had always paid close attention to information regarding Ning, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t find out anything regarding his return from that battle. She had gone to ask King Yan, and thus learned what had happened.

  Ever since that day she had learned that Ning’s chances of survival were slim…Xiyue had never smiled again.

  “Little brother…” Xiyue always felt as though something was missing from her heart. She was incapable of smiling, now.

  “Xiyue.” A voice rang out.

  Xiyue turned her head, then hurriedly rose her feet to greet the man. “Grandpa.”

  “Let me tell you some good news,” King Yan said with a chuckle.

  “Good news?” Xiyue was puzzled.

  “Ji Ning…has returned.” King Ya laughed.

  Xiyue trembled, then revealed a look of wild joy and excitement. She hurriedly grabbed King Yan by the hand. “Grandpa, is this true? My little brother has really come back? He’s returned from that danger zone? You aren’t lying to me, are you?”

  “Mm. It was the Xia Emperor who told me…and Ji Ning is currently in the Black-White College of Stillwater City right now,” King Yan said.

  “He’s at the Black-White College?” Xiyue felt more alive than she had in a long time. She immediately said, “I’m going to Stillwater City right away!”

  “Let’s go together. I want to see Ji Ning as well,” King Yan said.

  “Alright. Let’s go right now!” Xiyue didn’t want to wait for even a single moment; she had to see Ning with her own eyes before she would believe it all.

  ……

  Even before the Xia Emperor had learned of Ji Ning’s return…the marvelously capable Seamless Gate had learned of it as well.

  Whoooosh.

  A cold wind blew. A golden-robed Celestial Immortal was standing at the top of a mountain peak. This golden-robed Celestial Immortal was quite bulky, and in fact was slightly chubby. He had a stubbly beard, and his eyes shone like copper. The golden robes he bore looked just like a set of golden armor. He simply waited there, bored and restless, at the top of that mountain peak.

  Swoosh. A streak of light flew towards him from far away, alighting on the mountain peak; it was Celestial Immortal Arcanum.

  “Arcanum,” the golden-robed envoy said calmly.

  “Envoy.” Celestial Immortal immediately smiled, not showing any of his customary arrogance for fear of offending this envoy. “Might I ask why you wish to speak with our Youngflame clan, Envoy?”

  “Our Seamless Gate has never shown your Youngflame clan any malice. We’ve always been helping you…and now, I’m going to help you again.” The golden-robed envoy laughed, but even when laughing, his savage, ferocious face remained terrifying to behold. “A while ago, you had a rather nasty battle with that Ji Ning, right? In fact, two of your Celestial Immortals died, and in the end, you used the Worldhold Pagoda to exile Ji Ning away into the Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld, yes?”

  “Right, right. That’s exactly right,” Celestial Immortal Arcanum said hurriedly.

  Although he had a smile on his face, in his heart Arcanum was cursing loudly.

  How had this secret slipped out?

  Very, very few people knew that the Youngflame clan had used the Worldhold Pagoda to deal with Ji Ning. Only the Xia Emperor and Ji Ning’s friends knew. However, logically speaking, neither Ji Ning’s friends nor the Xia Emperor would go tell the Seamless Gate about this…and yet, somehow, the Seamless Gate had still found out. They had even come to ask the Youngflame clan about this, at which point the Youngflame clan had been forced to admit that they had indeed exiled Ji Ning to the Nihilum Z
one of the Primordial Ruinworld.

  In truth, the Youngflame clan wasn’t worried about this being made public knowledge. The Nihilum Zone was incredibly vast, after all; even a True God or Daofather who went there to investigate would have to spend countless years before completely searching the place. In addition, True Gods and Daofathers were generally unwilling to spend much time there; after all, as the saying went, if one often walked by the riverside, one’s shoes would eventually get wet. If they stayed in the Nihilum Zone too long, they might run into some powerful foes from the Primordial Ruinworld.

  “The Seamless Gate truly seems to be able to penetrate through any seam,” Arcanum mused silently to himself. “Not even the Heavenly Treasures Mountain of the Xia Emperor comes close to the Seamless Gate in terms of intelligence reports.”

  “I’ve come to notify your Youngflame clan…that your hated foe, Ji Ning, is still alive. And…he’s already back.” The golden-robed envoy smiled merrily as he looked at Celestial Immortal Arcanum.

  Arcanum’s face instantly changed. “Impossible!!!” He couldn’t help but blurt out these words.

  “Impossible?” The golden-robed envoy lifted an eyebrow.

  “We sent him to the Nihilum Zone of the Primordial Ruinworld! Not even an Empyrean God could escape from that place; only a True God or Daofather has a chance! Even if an exalted True God or Daofather was to go search for him…how could they be so lucky as to find Ji Ning within the infinitely vast Nihilum Zone in just eighteen short years?” Arcanum shook his head. “Even if he was apprenticed to a True God or a Daofather…I refuse to believe a True God or a Daofather would be willing to commit himself to such a painstaking search, or be able to find him so quickly. There’s no way Ji Ning could be that lucky!”

  “Yes, I didn’t believe it either.” The golden-robed envoy shook his head and sighed. “But alas, Ji Ning is within Stillwater City right now. At this very moment, he is flirting and cuddling with that Dao-companion of his, Yu Wei, within the Black-White College.”