Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Is he a friend or a foe of my master, Subhuti? Or do they have no relationship at all?” This was what Ning was worrying about. “This Old Man Yuan killed the forces of the Seamless Gate, but the Seamless Gate didn’t even make a single peep about it; the major powers behind the Seamless Gate haven’t responded or reacted at all. The Three Realms are facing a great storm, and there is no way that the major powers behind the Seamless Gate can possibly be frightened by Old Man Yuan. Clearly, then, Old Man Yuan is on passable terms with the Seamless Gate, while my teacher, Subhuti, is an enemy to them.”

  “What if Master Subhuti and Old Man Yuan are enemies?”

  “If I were to apprentice myself to Old Man Yuan without getting Master Subhuti’s permission…then in the future, how could I possibly face Master?” This was Ning’s concern.

  As the saying goes, the Dao is not to be lightly transmitted.

  There was a saying regarding one who taught the Dao: One day as a teacher, a lifetime as a father. This meant that one was to revere and honor one’s master as one would one’s father. Subhuti had transmitted complete Fiendgod Body Refining techniques, Ki Refining Techniques, sword-arts manuals, and even supreme divine abilities like the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], [Houyi’s Archery], and the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] to Ning.

  For Ning’s sake, he had even toiled painstakingly to create the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] divine ability and the supreme sword-formation, the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].

  After Ning had been exiled into the Nihilum Zone, his master had come to search for him.

  His master had shown him benevolence in transmitting the Dao to him and in saving his life…no matter what, if he was going to take on a new master, he first had to get the nod from Master Subhuti.

  When Ning had expressed the desire to take part in the Conclave of Immortal Destiny in the hopes of being able to have a True Immortal or a Daofather as his master, Immortal Diancai was in full agreement; naturally, he hoped that Ning would have even higher accomplishments. Before becoming Subhuti’s apprentice, Ning had first spoken with the giant yellow bear, who had verified that Subhuti and Daoist Threelives had been good friends. If they had been enemies, things would’ve been tricky.

  “Why are you hesitating and hemming and hawing?” The nearby Old Man Yuan frowned.

  “Senior…” Ning said, “I need to get my master’s permission, first.”

  “Your master?”

  Old Man Yuan suddenly seemed to have thought of something. Laughing, he waved his hand.

  Whoosh.

  Someone suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was Immortal Diancai, a winecup in his hands and a befuddled look on his face. Immortal Diancai had been seated atop his mountain, watching the dawn sun rise while drinking some Immortal wine. Who would’ve thought that he’d suddenly be teleported here?

  “Disciple?” Immortal Diancai looked at Ning, then he looked at Old Man Yuan by Ning’s side. Old Man Yuan’s face changed, and his figure changed as well, becoming a bit thinner.

  “MASTER!” Immortal Diancai instantly grew excited upon seeing him. Falling to his knees, he said excitedly, “Master, I’ve finally met you again!”

  “Hey hey hey! Don’t overstate our relationship,” Old Man Yuan said hurriedly. “All those years ago, I saw that you were borderline suicidal, and also saw that you were decently talented, and so I took pity on you and casually transmitted a set of sword-arts to you. I have plenty of sword-arts in my possession, and so teaching you one of them didn’t really mean anything. What’s more, your talent is too mediocre and your comprehension abilities are too weak; how could you possibly be qualified to call me ‘Master’? You’d cause this old man to lose all face!”

  He had first praised Immortal Diancai as ‘decently talented’, then immediately described him as ‘mediocre’ and ‘weak’.

  Still, everyone knew what he meant.

  Clearly, Immortal Diancai would be considered decently talented when compared to the countless cultivators of the Three Realms, but he was far from being qualified to become Old Man Yuan’s disciple.

  Although these words were rather unpleasant, Immortal Diancai didn’t feel the slightest bit of anger. Kneeling there, he said excitedly, “How could Diancai possibly forget the grace you have shown me by transmitting the Dao to me? I knows that my talent is poor, and that I am not qualified to become your apprentice, but I’ve always viewed you as my master in my heart.”

  “You can think whatever you want, I guess. This, uh…this Ji Ning has a very close relationship with you. This old man wants to take him on as a disciple; help me persuade him,” Old Man Yuan said.

  “Disciple?” Immortal Diancai instantly revealed a look of great joy. He immediately looked towards Ning. “This senior possesses world-shaking power; even though I am now a Celestial Immortal, the sword-arts he transmitted to me were so unfathomably profound that I can tell I have still only scratched the surface of it. He must be a Daofather. Go ahead and take him on as your master; there are many people in the Three Realms who have multiple masters.”

  “Right, right, right! I’m a DAOFATHER!” Old Man Yuan looked at Ning, then stared at him. “I’m taking you on as my disciple! Why haven’t you knelt down already?!”

  “Senior, this junior feels unspeakably proud that you wish to take me on as your disciple,” Ning said hurriedly. “But…this junior has already taken on a Daofather as a master, and many people already know this. Without his approval, it isn’t appropriate for this junior to accept you as master as well, senior.”

  “Oh, you are quite respectful towards this Daofather master of yours.” Old Man Yuan laughed. “I guessed long ago that your master had to be a Daofather, and he’s probably not too shabby either. Who is your master? Tell me, and I’ll go talk to him about this. This merely the accepting of a new disciple, and I’m not asking you to betray him either. It’s a minor matter. What is the name of your Daofather master?”

  The Godking behind the Seamless Gate knew the answer, but Old Man Yuan did not. Indeed…the Seamless Gate’s intelligence mechanisms were truly terrifying.

  “Master’s name is taboo; this junior does not dare speak it,” Ning said honestly. Subhuti had ordered long ago that Ning was not permitted to tell others who his master was.

  “You dumb cucumber! You can’t even tell me your master’s name? Is your master really that badass? Who the hell is your master, Nuwa?” Old Man Yuan stared at him with bulging eyes.

  “I’m his master.”

  A calm voice rang out.

  The nearby natural energy began to condense, and a skinny, white-bearded old man dressed in Daoist robes appeared out of nowhere.

  * * *

  Book 17, Chapter 22 - A Graceful Departure

  Yu Wei and Immortal Diancai suddenly felt spacetime around them began to change and blur. By the time their surroundings turned solid once more, they were now within a hallway next to Autumn Leaf. Upon seeing Immortal Diancai and Yu Wei suddenly appear, Autumn Leaf was quite startled. She immediately addressed the two: “Madame, Immortal Diancai.”

  “It seems they don’t want us to watch,” Immortal Diancai said with a helpless laugh.

  “I wonder who junior apprentice-brother’s master is.” Yu Wei was curious as well.

  Just now, they had only heard the words, ‘I’m his master’, before they were forcibly teleported away. They hadn’t seen the man at all, much less learn who Ji Ning’s master was.

  “What happened?” Autumn Leaf was intrigued. “You said something about the young master’s teacher?”

  “Nothing.” Yu Wei shook her head and smiled. “It’s something good, but it’s not something for us to know about.”

  “Oh.” Autumn Leaf nodded, asking no further.

  ……

  “Master.” Ning immediately called out with respect and excitement. The skinny, white-bearded elder in the Daoist robes smiled and nodded towards Ning, then looked towards Old Man Yuan.

  “YOU!” Old Man
Yuan’s eyes bulged. “You cucumber! You friggin’ cucumber! You ended up snatching away such a wonderful disciple!”

  “This is the third time, you know.” Patriarch Subhuti sighed. “Why do you always come after the disciples that I take in and teach?”

  Ning blinked.

  The third time?

  It seemed as though Old Man Yuan had gone after two of his fellow disciples as well?

  “Ahaha, all I can say is that you are formidable in teaching students, Subhuti.” Old Man Yuan laughed, “Since it’s you, Subhuti…that makes everything easy. We came to an agreement last time, right? Go ahead and tell me whatever it is that you want. This old man has plenty of treasures, and I’m willing to spend them. I’m not afraid of any demands that you might make.”

  “Ji Ning, are you willing?” Subhuti looked towards Ning.

  “I’ll follow your orders in all things, Master,” Ning said respectfully. If it didn’t make things tough for his master, there would be no issues. More importantly, Master Subhuti had to know more about Old Man Yuan than Ning did; Ning trusted that Master Subhuti wouldn’t steer him wrong in this ddecision.

  Subhuti nodded slightly.

  “He can be both considered one of your disciples as well as one of mine,” Subhuti said calmly. “I’m only going to ask one thing of you…that you stand with us, on our side.”

  “You…” Old Man Yuan’s face became unsightly to behold.

  Subhuti frowned. “Are you still unwilling to make your choice?”

  “It’s merely a matter of taking on a new a disciple, and I’m not even asking him to switch sides! He’ll be our jointly shared disciple. If you want divine abilities or Protocosmic spirit-treasures, that’s fine…but why are you trying to force me?” Old Man Yuan scratched his head. “Didn’t things work out splendidly when little Peacock became my apprentice? She addresses both of us as ‘master’!”

  Ning was intrigued. Were they referring to senior apprentice-sister Peacock?

  “Little Peacock?” Subhuti shook his head. “That was before the storm came, and before I knew it was coming. Now that the storm is already here…of course you have to make your choice. Otherwise, there’s no way I’ll permit my disciple to become apprenticed to you as well.”

  “How can you…you are absolutely…you old blockhead!” Old Man Yuan was infuriated.

  “Hmph.” Subhuti snorted coldly. “Then let me ask you this; if Ji Ning becomes your apprentice, and you end up joining the Seamless Gate…what is Ji Ning supposed to do? Is he supposed to choose to stand with me, or is he supposed to choose to stand with you? If he stands with the Seamless Gate, then I’ll definitely strike and annihilate such a vile disciple! But if he stands with us, then you’ll move to kill him as well. After all, by then it will be a life-and-death battle; no one will be able to escape it.”

  Old Man Yuan’s face grew even uglier to behold now.

  Ning, standing to one side, now understood everything.

  Right. If he took on two masters who ended up in opposing, enemy camps…then no matter which side Ning was on, he would end up becoming enemies with one of his masters!

  “If you want him to become your disciple, then I imagine you don’t want to make things difficult for him; you don’t want him to eventually be killed by one of his masters, right? That’s why you have to stand with us; only by doing so will Ji Ning not suffer such a sad fate,” Subhuti said. “So long as you agree…Ji Ning can take you on as master.”

  “You…” Old Man Yuan had a complicated look on his face.

  Ning just stood there, watching quietly.

  The Four Ancestors of the River Source; they were a formidable power within the Three Realms. Most likely, whichever side Old Man Yuan chose would be the side the Daofathers who followed him would choose.

  “Why are you forcing me on this? This isn’t just a personal matter; I have all my friends and disciples and grand-disciples to worry about.” Old Man Yuan was truly upset now.

  “There’s nothing to negotiate!” Subhuti shook his head. “Don’t make things difficult for Ji Ning.”

  “But didn’t things work out perfectly when I took on little Peacock?” Old Man Yuan snapped back irritably.

  “That’s because you haven’t made your choice yet. Once you do make your choice in the future…if you choose to join the Seamless Gate, little Peacock will have to make her choice as well. Will she follow you, or will she follow me?” Subhuti sighed. “I’ve already done wrong by little Peacock; I don’t wish for Ji Ning to face the same tough situation in the future.”

  Old Man Yuan suddenly grew angry. “I don’t get it. Why are all of you so damned stubborn?”

  “I don’t understand either! All of us were born from the same primordial chaos. We were like brothers! All of us are standing together now…why is it that you are roving about on your own? All four of you Four Ancestors of the River Source act in the exact same manner; you don’t give a damn about your old friends and friendships.” Subhuti was no longer calm either; in fact, he was so angry that his eyebrows were twitching, and as he spoke he pointed angrily at Old Man Yuan.

  “The rest of you are in Nuwa’s debt, but we aren’t,” Old Man Yuan replied angrily. “And Pangu’s Primordial World shattered long ago. This is now the era of the Three Realms. That old, undying bastard just wants to take over the Three Realms; let him! Do you Daofathers really care who is in control of the Three Realms? Do you have to risk everyone’s lives over this question? You say that I don’t care about old friends and friendships? If I didn’t, I would’ve joined the Seamless Gate long ago!”

  Subhuti was now truly enraged. “How can you be so…”

  Their voices suddenly turned silent.

  The distant figures of Patriarch Subhuti and Old Man Yuan’s turned blurry as they angrily but silently yelled at, argued with, and cursed at each other.

  Ning wasn’t able to hear a single word of it.

  “It seems…they don’t want me to hear this.” Ning mumbled to himself, “They said something about an ‘old undying bastard’ who ‘wants to take over the Three Realms’…who? He must be a truly terrifying major power of the Three Realms.”

  Ning had no choice but to just stand there silently and watch. As for the two distant Daofathers…both of them were awe-inspiringly famous figures of the Three Realms who stood at the very pinnacle of power amongst Daofathers. Both had multiple Daofathers amongst their disciples, and both also had many Daofathers who were their resolute allies. Both possessed tremendous power in every sense of the word.

  In addition, both were born from the primordial chaos of the universe.

  And right now, they stood there arguing, each trying to convince the other.

  ……

  A long time passed…

  The two Daofathers actually argued for two full hours. Towards the end, Ning noticed that Patriarch Subhuti was growing increasingly imposing as he argued, while Old Man Yuan seemed to become increasingly less self-assured.

  Boom! The area around him suddenly trembled. Now, Ning could once more hear the voices of the two Daofathers.

  “Ji Ning.”

  Old Man Yuan charged over, an ugly look on his face. He snapped angrily, “That master of yours is like a big hunk of wood. You just can’t talk to him! Those who walk different paths can’t make plans together. I really can’t be bothered to talk to him any longer. You are quite talented, kid; although that rotten blockhead is very skilled in some respects, he’s complete crap in heartforce. Since we aren’t destined to become master and disciple…then forget it! This is a technique for applying heartforce which I developed. Although it’s not a complete system, it might be of help to you in some way. I’ll give it to you as a gift!”

  As he spoke, he pointed a finger towards Ning.

  Instantly, a streak of light shot out from his finger into Ning’s forehead.

  An ocean of information instantly filled Ning’s mind.

  “Subhuti!” Old Man Yuan turned to po
int at Subhuti, then cursed, “In terms of fleeing abilities, you are number one in all the Three Realms! You’ll be able to flee and survive, but how many of our other old friends will be able to survive? All those years ago, Threelives and the others all perished. How many more do you want dead?”

  “If we retreat, even more will die. In fact, all of us might die!” Subhuti said angrily.

  “Fine. Fine. Fine! We’ll wait and see!”

  The enraged Old Man Yuan turned and walked away.

  After taking two steps away, the now-ordinary old gardener suddenly slumped supinely to the ground as a streak of light shot into the skies, disappearing.

  Subhuti waved his hand, and the old gardener was instantly teleported away. He was nothing more than an ordinary old man, after all; prior to this, Old Man Yuan had simply been possessing him.

  Subhuti walked towards Ning, who was completely filled and preoccupied with the enormous amount of information regarding the application of heartforce.

  ……

  It was awe-inspiring.

  It was unfathomably profound.

  When Ning viewed the awe-inspiring collection of information, he couldn’t help but feel veneration towards Old Man Yuan. Incredible! Old Man Yuan’s true power, however, most likely didn’t lie in heartforce; after all, in terms of heartforce, Ning could tell that Old Man Yuan shouldn’t be as powerful as Houyi had been.

  Old Man Yuan, however, was different from Houyi.

  Houyi was extremely focused on his archery, and he had systemized a way to apply heartforce to archery in a terrifyingly profound and powerful manner.

  Old Man Yuan, however, was a jack of all trades. Most likely, he liked analyzing heartforce, and so had come up with multiple different heartforce techniques, some meant for the legs, some meant for the entire body, some meant for the fingers, some meant for the hair, some meant for the sword, some meant for other treasures…there were all sorts of techniques here! However, none of them were truly systemized; from the looks of it, Old Man Yuan had jotted down a few notes whenever inspiration struck him.