Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Empyrean God Coldsavage, Empyrean God Kindwater, Empyrean God Northwatch, emerge!” The Xia Emperor ordered.

  The Xia Emperor had an extremely high status. His Grand Xia could be considered the most powerful major world under the command of Daofather Crimsonbright! He also had the Primordial Imperial Clan and Daofather Raindragon behind him, and was himself quite powerful as well. After having ruled for so many years, how could his own forces possibly be weak? It must be understood that the even likes of the Mount Stele major world, which had been conquered long ago, had three to five Empyrean Gods and True Immortals within it.

  Even the likes of Empyrean God Kindwater, who had always been rather disrespectful towards the Xia Emperor, had long ago moved to stand by his side.

  Empyrean God Coldsavage was the Empyrean God that had arisen amongst the ranks of the native Fiendgods of the Grand Xia. He had signed a pact with the Xia Emperor to serve him in battle for a hundred thousand years.

  Empyrean God Northwatch was a transcendent figure. Much like how the Xia Emperor had helped Ji Ning out, the Xia Emperor had also once helped out Empyrean God Northwatch. Now that Northwatch was an Empyrean God, he naturally wanted to repay his debt and show his gratitude. At a critical moment like this, he chose to stand firmly on the side of the Xia Emperor.

  Within an extremely vast world.

  This was the world of flames where the countless Fiendgods had been imprisoned for many years. However, the world of flames no longer delivered any punishments to them. Over the past period of time, the countless Fiendgods had all been focusing on training in a truly ancient Fiendgod formation…the Pangu War-Formation!

  The Pangu War-formation was the most ancient and most complicated of Fiendgod formations.

  After Pangu had established the universe and perished, all of the surviving major powers such as Mother Nuwa had felt utter veneration towards him. Back then, Mother Nuwa had been far from reaching Pangu’s level. Due to the veneration the Fiendgods felt towards Pangu, as well as the gratitude they felt towards him for his establishment of the universe, many of the war-formations which the Fiendgods used when they engaged in battle ended up being named ‘Pangu War-Formation’.

  There were many different Pangu War-Formations, and many other major powers would often work to improve and perfect them.

  In the end, Mother Nuwa had herself broken through to Pangu’s level and further improved a Pangu War-Formation. Only then was it truly perfected! Only the few elite major powers knew all of the marvelous secrets of this war-formation, and the total number could be counted with just two hands. Amongst that number were Suiren and Fuxi of the Primordial Imperial Clan, as well as a few of the other extremely ancient Human Sovereigns.

  The version the Xia Emperor had acquired was naturally a simplified version. However, the simplified version was more than enough for this army of mere Void-level Fiendgods and Primal Fiendgods, commanded by a single Empyrean God. They wouldn’t be able to properly use the more profound versions, after all.

  The countless Fiendgods were under the command of Empyrean God Coldsavage, Empyrean God Northwatch, and Empyrean God Kindwater!

  They could form into three mighty Pangu War-Formations!

  “Empyrean Gods Coldsavage, Kindwater, and Northwatch, make your move.” The Xia Emperor’s voice rang out within the world of flames.

  “Time for us to act.” Empyrean God Coldsavage instantly grew excited. Raising his head, he let out a heroic roar.

  “FIGHT!” “FIGHT!” “FIGHT!”

  Instantly, countless Fiendgods grew so excited that their eyes turned red.

  They were Fiendgods. They were born to battle against Heaven and Earth; the desire to do battle was bred into the bones of each and every one of them. After having been imprisoned for countless ages, they were absolutely thirsting for a fight.

  “EMERGE!”

  An awe-inspiring flood of Fiendgods began to move, divided up into three armies. In the air above each army began to appear an enormous, seemingly-solid manifestation of a barefoot, loose-haired figure with an utterly enormous greataxe. This was the most ancient of primordial divinities…Pangu!

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The countless Fiendgods were all teleported out of this world to the field of battle.

  * * *

  Book 18, Chapter 19 - Consecutive Demises

  Although the army of Fiendgods had quickly assembled into the Pangu War-Formations and then immediately head out, it still took a short period of time. Within that short period of time…the forces that the Seamless Gate had sent out, consisting of True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, the other Empyrean Gods/True Immortals, the sixteen Bloodcloud golems, and the six black Empyrean God golems, all began to act.

  “Roaaaar!”

  “Kill!”

  The six black Empyrean God golems immediately charged towards their allies, moving to unite with the other eight Empyrean God golems and the three White-Faced Flood Dragons.

  “The Sea of Blood is boundless…” The skinny Hallmaster of Bloodcloud Hall immediately executed his spell, causing bloody waves to began to surge forth from the area surrounding him. The seemingly endless waves of blood filled the entire region. The White-Faced Flood Dragons and Empyrean God golems of the Seamless Gate weren’t hampered by it, and were even aided by it. As for the Heaven Punishers and the five Empyrean God golems of the Grand Xia, they felt tremendously impeded by the endless waves.

  “Little children…” Gatemaster Azurefox stood there in midair, her robes fluttering. She pointed off into the distance, and instantly a blurred image of an enormous, bushy, azure-colored tail appeared behind her. At the same time, countless azure strands of silk spread out from her tail, covering the skies and coiling towards the Grand Xia’s forces.

  ……

  “One withers, one blooms.” True Immortal Skyfarmer immediately went into battle-mode, a smile still on his face.

  Green grass suddenly began to grow throughout the vast, desolate wilderness. The grass was merely ordinary wild grass, but it contained tremendous vitality and life energy. Despite the waves of blood and the azure silk strands that filled the region, the countless strands of wild grass still forcibly grew their way out and began to oscillate wildly in the air. All by himself, True Immortal Skyfarmer had blocked the spells of the Hallmaster and Gatemaster Azurefox.

  The frenzied wild grass quickly began to wither at an astonishing rate…but then, they began to regrow just as fast. They withered and they regrew nonstop.

  “Drip-drop.” True Immortal Dongyan had a casual smile on his face. Instantly, drops of water began to fall from the heavens. As the raindrops fell upon the earth, they emitted drip-drop sounds. When they landed on the forces of the Grand Xia, they caused no damage at all, but each time a raindrop struck a member of the Seamless Gate, it would carry tremendous smashing power, causing their bodies to visibly tremble.

  ……

  The Pure Yang True Immortals on both sides had executed their spells and incantations, doing their best to impede and slow down their foes while protecting their own forces.

  In battle, cooperation was paramount.

  If they just stupidly attacked each other blindly…neither the Grand Xia nor the Seamless Gate would be able to unleash their full power and potential. When a Pure Yang True Immortal completely focused his efforts on casting spells, he would be of tremendous benefit to their entire side.

  Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

  The eighteen skinny, blood-colored Empyrean God golems all moved in utter silence, causing just a few spatial ripples with their movements as they streaked forward like bloody rays of light.

  “So fast.”

  “Their speed is incredible!”

  “Not good.”

  “Their speed is at least double ours. How can this be?!” The six Heaven Punishers and the five Empyrean God golems on the side of the Grand Xia had previously been able to maintain their calm as they fought, but now t
hey instantly began to panic.

  Twice as fast? What did that represent?

  It must be understood that in a life-and-death battle, if your enemy was just slightly faster than you, it meant that it would be very hard for you to escape. Twice as fast? Their foes would be able to toy with them with impunity!

  “Don’t panic. Although those Bloodcloud golems are extremely vast, they are very fragile! If two of you join forces to launch a joint strike, you’ll be able to completely destroy a Bloodcloud golem. Even a single Heaven Punisher fighting alone will be able to damage it with an attack,” the Xia Emperor sent mentally.

  The Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on the Xia Emperor’s side were all casting spells to the best of their ability, attempting to slow down the Bloodcloud golems. However, although the power of their spells was causing the Bloodcloud golems’ speed to drop, the golems remained 50% faster than the Heaven Punishers!

  Right at this moment…

  An enormous, dense mass of figures suddenly appeared in the air. Countless Fiendgods had suddenly appeared, forming together like three massive black stormclouds. Above each of the three enormous black stormclouds, there was a massive, barefoot giant who held a titanic greataxe in his hands. Their unearthly auras filled the heavens, instantly causing the entire battlefield to grow still.

  “Pangu?”

  Everyone present, including the likes of Unity and Ji Ning, who had never before seen Pangu or this formation, felt inexplicably certain in their hearts that the barefoot, greataxe-wielding giants had to be Pangu.

  The giant’s radiated a natural, innate aura of majesty, as though everything within Heaven and Earth had to submit before it. Most likely, aside from the legendary Pangu, only Mother Nuwa was capable of such an aura.

  Although the aura of the Pangu that was manifested through the Pangu War-Formation was very weak compared to the real thing, it still possessed a quality of absolute transcendence, an aura which not even Ning’s master, Patriarch Subhuti, possessed.

  “Hahaha…” Empyrean God Coldsavage, one of the commanders of the black stormclouds, began to laugh loudly. He stared downwards at the towering figures before him, their powerful auras filling him with a desire to do battle. “Children, we’ve been waiting and enduring for countless years…for far too long! Today, let’s let the Seamless Gate get a taste of how formidable we Fiendgods are!”

  “Let them taste our might!”

  “Murder them all!”

  “Wipe them all out! Eat them all alive!”

  “Ahahaha!”

  The countless Fiendgods all bellowed furiously.

  They had been tormented for countless years, and today they were going to give full vent to their dark desires. Empyrean God Coldsavage’s voice echoed within the ears of each Fiendgod. Although the countless Fiendgods had been divided into three parts, Empyrean God Coldsavage’s influence was unquestionable; he was the true and only leader of the Fiendgods native to the Grand Xia.

  “Let’s go.”

  “Kill!”

  “Charge!”

  The three giant black stormclouds instantly began to charge downwards with savage, killing glee.

  “They are this powerful?!” The faces of True Immortal Whitepole, Gatemaster Azurefox, and the others all changed dramatically.

  The intelligence abilities of the Seamless Gate were truly formidable. Word had already come from above: “The Fiendgods native to the Grand Xia have already submitted to the Xia Emperor.” This single line was all they had been given; True Immortal Whitepole and the others could only do their best to try and guess at what it meant.

  They didn’t know exactly how powerful the native Fiendgods were, but they definitely weren’t weak. As for asking their superiors for more information? They didn’t dare to do that. The person who sent them these intelligence reports had an incredibly exalted status; compared to the major power of the Seamless Gate who sent these intelligence reports, even their Godking was on a lower level.

  The locations of countless Celestial Tribulations.

  Countless other types of intelligence reports.

  That mysterious figure…it continually transmitted countless intelligence reports to them in a methodical, almost machine-like way. In terms of intelligence gathering, the Seamless Gate was supreme within the Three Realms, precisely because of that mysterious major power! There was no way that mysterious presence could possibly explain every single report in detail. How to make use of the reports? How to take advantage of them? What actions to take? Gatemaster Azurefox and the others had to make those decisions on their own.

  “It seems this war isn’t going to be an easy one to fight,” the Cavemaster of the Myriad Demons Cave sent mentally. “With three Empyrean Gods leading them…their power is not at all inferior to Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon.”

  “We still have to fight, even if it isn’t easy.” True Immortal Whitepole’s eyes flashed with cold light. “We have to take over the Grand Xia. All those that block us must be wiped out.”

  “Right.” Gatemaster Azurefox sent in agreement, “We have to take over the Grand Xia. The Xia Emperor really is formidable; he’s one of the three chiefs of the Crimsonbright Realm. I knew long ago that attacking his Grand Xia would be very difficult…but his status makes our conquest of him even more important.”

  The Crimsonbright Realm referred to the dozens of major worlds and countless minor worlds commanded by Daofather Crimsonbright.

  The highest ranking member of the Crimsonbright Realm was naturally Daofather Crimsonbright.

  Next came the three chiefs.

  Ordinary Empyrean Gods and True Immortals were ranked one level below the three.

  Why were those three referred to as ‘chiefs’?

  The ‘chiefs’ of a realm usually had around ten Empyrean Gods or True Immortals who followed them! Someone who could command ten Empyrean Gods or True Immortals was naturally no ordinary figure. After Ning became an Empyrean God, he would have those seven Empyrean Gods following him, and so he could be considered a chief as well.

  But of course, if he was just by himself, his status would naturally be on a lower level.

  It must be understood that even someone on Lu Dongbin’s level, when faced with the Seven Planets God led by Empyrean God Redsnow, would have no choice but to flee if he was by himself. This was what made the chiefs so powerful! They are absolute hegemons below the True God/Daofather level, and if they took over a major world, their rule over it would be absolute. No Empyrean Gods or True Immortals would dare meddle within it!

  Of course, Lu Dongbin was even more powerful than the Xia Emperor; he had the Eight Immortals of the High Caves by his side, as well as other followers.

  ……

  To attack and defeat the world which was governed by one of the three chiefs of the Crimsonbright Realm, the Xia Emperor…of course it was hard. But that made it even more important to succeed!

  Swish! Swish! Swish!!!

  The sixteen Bloodcloud golems moved at incredible speed. The three Pangu War-Formations, the Heaven Punishers, the other Empyrean God golems…none could match up to them. The Bloodcloud golems moved like streaks of light as they surged towards the six Heaven Punishers. As for Ji Ning? Ning was still locked in place by True Immortal Crimsonjoy, who was in turn occupied with locking him down through the consumption of his Pure Yang energy.

  It must be understood that this was a spell that was created by Crimsonjoy consuming some of his own Jindan essence. He wasn’t willing to release the spell without a very good reason, and so he had been maintaining it the entire time. If nothing else, by maintaining the spell, he was locking down the most powerful of the Heaven Punishers, Ji Ning’s; that was enough.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! The Bloodcloud golems wildly assaulted the six Heaven Punishers.

  “Kill!”

  “Kill!”

  The terrifying flood of Fiendgods charged into the fray.

  Rumble…

  In the air above the dark
stormcloud of Fiendgods, one of the massive Pangus swung out with an arm. The arm was many tens of thousands of meters long. One of the Bloodcloud golems tried to dodge, but was still struck by it in the end.

  BOOM!

  The Bloodcloud golem’s body completely blew apart in midair, all of the Celestial Immortals inside having perished from the shockwaves.

  However…the Seamless Gate’s forces remained cold and clear-minded. This was the fatal weakness of the Bloodcloud golems; they were too fragile! They possessed terrifying speed, but they were easily destroyed. Each of the three Fiendgod armies were comparable to Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon, and so a full-force strike was more than enough to destroy a Bloodcloud golem. Once the golem was destroyed, the hundred Celestial Immortals within it would naturally all perish from the shockwaves.

  “Careful, Rainbow!” The Xia Emperor’s face changed dramatically.

  The Rainbow Heaven Punisher had just been knocked flying by Venomsong’s White-Faced Flood Dragon. Suddenly, four Bloodcloud golems pounced straight towards it!

  The Bloodcloud golems were simply too fast.

  Although the Xia Emperor and the others were all present, by the time they noticed the danger…

  Slash! Slash! Boom!

  The massive Fiendgod body of the Heaven Punisher was completely ripped apart, revealing the many Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals within.

  * * *

  Book 18, Chapter 20 - The Grand Xias Worldguard Formation

  The Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals fled like mad.

  “Hahahaha…”

  “Fleeing?”

  “Die!”

  The four Bloodcloud golems butchered the surviving Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals. In the past, when a Heaven Punisher was destroyed by a White-Faced Flood Dragon, only a single one of them would be available to butcher the survivors. Now, however, four Bloodcloud golems were massacring them together! Although the Bloodcloud golems were somewhat weaker than the White-Faced Flood Dragons, they were much faster and possessed more than enough power to effortlessly murder these Celestial Immortals. Given that there were four of them…in but the blink of an eye, all one thousand Celestial Immortals were completely wiped out!