Desolate Era

by RWX

  His words were correct; any ordinary Empyrean God body that wasn’t protected by the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] would’ve long ago been destroyed by now.

  But if he didn’t have the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], Ning wouldn’t have dared to choose this style of fighting either!

  “He’s very strong and incredibly fast, but his agility is average. His combat techniques are all quite ordinary.” Over the course of this battle, Ning quickly deduced his foe’s strengths and weaknesses. “When fighting against him, I can’t just take him head on. I have to use the intricacies of my sword-arts to deal with him.”

  Whoosh.

  Ning suddenly burst forth from the surface of the sea, as did the golden yaksha which was in hot pursuit of him.

  “Come.” Two swords in his hands, a fierce light flashed through Ning’s eyes. It was time to counterattack.

  Instantly, a total of 729 swords appeared out of nowhere. These swords all undulated in different manners as they levitated in the air. In front of Ning’s chest, a jade sword began to take form. The power of this jade sword was terrifyingly great. The only reason why Ning was able to use the ninth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] was entirely because he had fourth-level heartforce and a soul heartforce technique.

  This jade sword that was manifested by merging the power of 729 top-grade Pure Yang swords. It’s power was definitely not weaker than Ning’s when using the [Starseizing Hand]!

  “Go.” Ning pointed towards the distant Yaksha.

  “Ahahaha, he’s actually using an Immortal technique.” The golden yaksha laughed wildly, continuing to crush forward. He didn’t care if Ning was going to use close combat or long-range attacks; with his absolute advantage in power, he was crush Ning with overwhelming force.

  Swish.

  The jade sword struck out towards the golden yaksha, seeking to avoid the yakshas defenses, but the yaksha was simply too strong. A brandishing block with the steel warfork was able to block in time. With a ‘bang’ sound, the jade sword was instantly destroyed, while the golden yaksha merely paused for a moment in midair.

  “Even the ninth stage of the [Greater Thousand Swords Formation] is only able to cause him to pause slightly? It seems I’ll have to use heartforce.” A second jade sword materialized in front of Ji Ning’s body, and his invisible heartforce surged into it. The power of the second jade sword instantly rose, transforming it on a qualitative level.

  Fourth stage heartforce, in and of itself, was far more powerful than the ninth-stage [Greater Thousand Swords Formation].

  When using fourth stage heartforce, Ning would be able to reach the apex of power possible for Empyrean Gods and True Immortals for a short period of time. The only difference was that the likes of Redsnow would be able to fight at that level for a sustained period of time, whereas Ning would only be able to do so briefly.

  “It’s useless. That tiny bit of power you have is usel-…” The golden yaksha was roaring with savage laughter as he pounced towards Ning.

  The jade sword transformed into a blur. It seemed identical to the first sword, but once the golden yaksha actually reached jade sword, the speed of the jade sword suddenly increased dramatically. The heartforce within it exploded forth with full power!

  The upgraded jade sword became nothing more than a vague blur in front of the golden yaksha. The golden yaksha tried to block it, but his combat techniques were simply too weak.

  SLASH!

  [Brightmoon] sword-art, Shadowless stance!

  The jade sword sliced through the golden yaksha’s body in a bizarre, unpredictable manner. Although this body was very close to that of a True God, it actually wasn’t enhanced by any body-protecting divine ability at all. Assaulted by the incredibly sharp jade sword…it was instantly chopped in half.

  Ning, however, remained wary and vigilant. He knew very well that the golden yaksha was able to easily dissolve and coalesce his body, or even to completely transform it into liquid. He probably wouldn’t die that easily. In addition, Ning could sense that his foe’s aura remained incredibly powerful.

  The two halves of the bisected golden yaksha’s body suddenly transformed into a flood of water. The enormous flood of water spun in midair, then completely detonated, blasting apart into countless smaller streams of water that flew everywhere. Once they touched the surface of the sea, the streams once more transformed into many jade yakshas, a total of 519 of them.

  “You were actually able to injure my true body. You are qualified to pass through this section that I guard.” The 519 jade yakshas stood atop the sea, staring towards Ning and speaking together in a strange voice. “However, I am merely the weakest of the guardians which Master left behind. Those ancient fellows are all more powerful than me. If you want to survive them and acquire the treasures which Master left behind…I judge that you are lacking in power. Hahaha…”

  Laughing in a shrill, ear-piercing manner, the 519 jade yakshas all flew in different directions, quickly disappearing from Ning’s field of vision.

  Ning just silently stood there in midair for a moment.

  “Come back.” The 729 top-grade Pure Yang swords all returned to his body.

  “Just the weakest guardian, with more to come?” Ning frowned, murmuring softly to himself. He was slowly beginning to understand things here.

  “Even the sole person to leave this place, Buddha Jueming, entered during the Primordial Era and was only able to emerge during the era of the Three Realms. It took him countless years,” Ning mused to himself. “Clearly, Undermoon Lake isn’t so easily traversed. The very first opponent I encountered was able to force me to use heartforce to beat him. The rest will be even harder.”

  Swoosh!

  Ning once more boarded the Ruyi Soulsnake Shuttle and continued to advance along the path of the floating wooden bridge.

  After flying for more than half a day, Ning was vaguely able to make out an extremely beautiful island far off in the distance. The wooden bridge was leading towards this island as well.

  “What a lovely island.” Ning quickly arrived at the island and took a close look at it. The natural energy surrounding the island had all been manipulated and controlled, causing this island to be perpetually blanketed in falling snow. The island itself was very beautiful as well, and at the center of it was a beautiful palace that was at least three thousand meters high.

  Atop the palace, he could see the statues of three strange beasts that were seated in the lotus position.

  “A palace? Why has a palace been built here?” Ning was secretly puzzled. He immediately landed and walked through the island, scanning his surroundings as he moved towards the palace.

  Ning stood outside the palace, staring towards the insides. His eyes were filled with torch-light as he did so. He had the feeling that there was a reason this palace was here.

  “Eh?” Ning’s [Torch-Dragon’s Eye] suddenly discovered a body flickering about within the deepest parts of the palace.

  “It’s coming.”

  “It hasn’t been a thousand years yet. Why has it come again?”

  “Then let’s fight. Let’s fight!”

  The figures within the darkest reaches of the palace had eyes filled with frenzy.

  As for Ning, still standing outside the palace, he frowned. “I wasn’t seeing things. There really are living beings inside this place.”

  Whoosh. After hesitating for a moment, Ning stepped into the palace. Here at Undermoon Lake, neither coresense nor heartforce could be used to search. Thus, the only choice was for him to investigate in person! Since the wooden bridge led to this place, this eye-catching palace definitely served a specific purpose.

  This was the front palace. Two corridors connected to it led deeper into the palace. Ning chose one of them. He walked through it, leading to an enormous courtyard that was filled with many pavilions.

  Whoosh! The wind suddenly moved.

  Ning was still walking through the corridor. His faced changed, and a sword in h
is hands instantly chopped backwards. Here in the palace, Ning had naturally kept his swords in his hands.

  Clang! A ringing sound could be heard, followed by a figure flashing past him.

  “Stay your hands!” Ning’s face changed, and he hurriedly called out, “Stop this! I’m not an enemy!”

  Slash! Yet another gust of wind as yet another blurred form appeared.

  “Empyrean God Roughpeak, I’m from the Three Realms as well!” Ning said hurriedly. His voice, filled with divine power, echoed outwards as he used his swords to block as he dodged.

  “Eh?” The distant blur came to a halt, revealing an ashen-faced youth who was wielding a pair of bladewheels in his hands. He stared at Ning with a berserk look in his eyes. His eyes were vaguely bloodshot; clearly, he wasn’t disguising his murderous intent at all.

  “Three Realms?” The ashen-faced youth snickered coldly, then growled, “Snowfiend, we’ve fought countless times by now, and you’ve also disguised yourself as an Empyrean God of the Three Realms on multiple occasions. Do you really think you’ll be able to fool me again?”

  “Empyrean God Roughpeak,” Ning said hurriedly, “I really am from the Three Realms. I’m not this ‘Snowfiend’ person. Your master is Exalted Celestial Carefree of the Daoist Path, am I right?”

  Ning was naturally able to recognize this person at a single glance.

  The Three Realms only had so many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals to begin with, and Ning had actually spent time memorizing all of the thousands who had entered Undermoon Lake. Undermoon Lake’s world was filled with natural energy, and it also contained within it multiple types of stellar energy. Both divine power and ki could be replenished here. Although the density of the energy here couldn’t compare to that of the Three Realms, it was still more than enough to maintain life.

  Thus, Empyrean God Roughpeak’s appearance hadn’t changed. His aura, however, had changed dramatically.

  Roughpeak: A relaxed, carefree Empyrean God who always had a smile on his face. That’s what the report about him said. But the person Ning saw had an ashen face, bloodshot eyes, and was filled with a surging killing intent. Clearly, he had reached the point where his Dao-heart was unable to control his murderous impulses.

  “Master?” The youth stared at Ning, frowning. “And who are you? I’ve never even met you.”

  “I only began my training long after you entered Undermoon Lake, Empyrean God Roughpeak,” Ning said. “I am the disciple of Daofather Subhuti.”

  Many people in the Three Realms now knew that Ning was Subhuti’s disciple, and so Subhuti no longer forbade Ning from telling it to others.

  “Subhuti?” The youth laughed coldly, “I imagine you overheard a few things from many of the other Empyrean Gods who entered this place. Do you really think you’ll be able to fool me so easily?” But despite his words, the youth still didn’t move.

  “My master resides within the Crescent world, within the Triscar Crescent Abode of Mount Innerheart,” Ning said hurriedly.

  The youth frowned. Although many Empyrean Gods had indeed entered this place, it was true that few of them would have cause to discuss the Tristar Crescent Abode of Mount Innerheart.

  “Your master is the Exalted Celestial Carefree. Exalted Celestial Carefree, back when you were still in the outside world, had a total of seventy-three disciples. These days, he has a total of seventy-six,” Ning said. “The eldest disciple of Exalted Celestial Carefree died during the Primordial Era. His name was True Immortal Riverloss. Exalted Celestial Carefree’s second disciple…”

  Ning continued to speak, and the face of the youth quickly changed. His body actually began to tremble, and tears began to appear in his eyes.

  “Ha…hahaha….” Tears flowed down the youth’s face as he laughed. “Hahaha…hahahaha…”

  Ning slowly came to a halt. He stared quietly as Empyrean God Roughpeak cried and laughed at the same time. He could sense that Roughpeak had endured many things; this wild laughter was nothing more than a way to release some of his feelings.

  “What is your name, junior apprentice-brother?” The youth finally came to a halt, and he now looked towards Ning with a warm look in his eyes. Generally speaking, disciples of major powers that all belonged to the Daoist Path would sometimes refer to each other as ‘senior apprentice-brother’ or ‘junior apprentice-brother’; this was a fairly friendly way of referring to each other.

  However, although Daofather Subhuti trained in both Buddhism and Daoism, he couldn’t really be considered a member of the Daoist Path. Clearly, Roughpeak felt extremely friendly towards this newcomer Empyrean God from the Three Realms, which is why he referred to Ning as ‘junior apprentice-brother’.

  “My name is Darknorth. Respectful greetings to you, senior apprentice-brother Roughpeak,” Ning said.

  “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth.” The youth smiled, the tears having vanished from his eyes.

  * * *

  Book 20, Chapter 9 - Wall Carvings

  Empyrean God Roughpeak said hurriedly, “I really am ashamed. Just now, I actually took you to be Snowfiend and immediately attacked you! Fortunately, you are very powerful, which is why I didn’t injure you. If I was to have slain you…by the time I felt regret, it would be too late. Alas…I never would have thought that I, Roughpeak, would end up in a state where I would launch killing blows without even trying to ascertain the situation clearly.” A hint of grief flickered in his eyes.

  “You cannot be blamed, senior apprentice-brother.” Ning smiled.

  “But it truly is my fault. Forget it, enough of that for now.” Roughpeak frowned as he looked at Ning. “Junior apprentice-brother Darknorth, you should know how dangerous Undermoon Lake is. Many Empyrean Gods have entered since the Primordial Era, but the only one to actually leave was Buddha Jueming. Why were you so foolish as to enter this place? Back then, I personally watched as Reverend Jueming ascended to become a Buddha. I was so incredibly bored that I ended up deciding to enter Undermoon Lake to try my luck. Countless years have passed since then. At first, other Empyrean Gods would enter this place, but it has been a long, long time since any have made the attempt. Why have you…”

  “I am indeed the only one to enter in ten million years. As for the reason why I entered…that’s a long and complicated story.” Ning sighed. “I came because I was forced to by circumstances outside my control. I had to come here to procure a certain treasure.”

  Roughpeak nodded, then hurriedly asked, “Right, what’s the situation in the Three Realms? Did you say that my master took on new disciples?”

  “The Three Realms…” Ning hesitated for a moment. “…Has already been swept into a new storm!” Ning’s voice was heavy, but he still forced the words out.

  “Storm?” Roughpeak was surprised.

  “One which might be even more brutal than the war which ended the Primordial Era.” Ning nodded.

  “How can that be possible? So many people died in the war that ended the Primordial Era…” Roughpeak was shocked and stunned.

  “That time, Mother Nuwa broke through to the Pangu level, which is why we managed to avoid disaster. This time…well, listen to me explain in detail.” Ning didn’t hold anything back from this disciple of Exalted Celestial Carefree. If they all managed to survive, they would be on the same side, and so Ning told him almost everything about the storm that had embroiled the Three Realms.

  The telling of this tale took a full hour.

  Roughpeak stood there in a daze. He muttered to himself, “How could this have happened? After the Seamless Gate re-entered the Three Realms, everything was peaceful. Why is it that all of a sudden…” He paused. “This time, Mother Nuwa isn’t around to keep the peace. Nobody in our Nuwa Alliance is capable of countering the abilities of the Lord of All Fiends. However, the Seamless Gate will find it difficult to counter our leaders as well. The only result would be heavy losses on both sides. In the end, how many of us will possibly survive?”

  When he ha
d been in the Three Realms, the Three Realms had been in a state of peace. But now, the storm had descended upon it.

  “Either the Seamless Gate dies or we die,” Ning said calmly. “There are no other choices. Although I am weak, I can still sense my subconscious whispering to me that one of our two sides has to be wiped out.”

  “Even you can sense it?” Roughpeak was surprised.

  “Yes.” Ning nodded.

  “Why…why is destiny forcing a tribulation like this?” Roughpeak simply didn’t understand.

  Tribulations and storms didn’t descend without a reason. The war that ended the Primordial Era, for example, was caused by two chaosworlds moving towards each other and colliding together. The Lord of the Demonheart wished to take over both worlds, but the Pangu Chaosworld resisted him. Thus, a great war erupted. In addition to that, the Lord of All Things was manipulating things in secret.

  The secret workings of fate would only reveal the results. The results in this case were that one side would definitely be wiped out. Only if one side was wiped out would the other side survive.

  As for the reason for the storm? That was all left up to conjecture.

  The Nuwa Alliance’s guess was that it was very possible that this was all caused by the ‘king’ of the Seamless Gate. That ‘king’ had been very close to the Pangu level. He had merged himself into the Heavenly Daos, but since then he had slowly begun to awaken. Part of his consciousness was already awake. Through its partial control over the Heavenly Daos, it was providing intelligence reports to the Seamless Gate, giving them the power to fight back against the Nuwa Alliance.

  This inevitably caused the Three Sovereigns and the leaders of Daoism and Buddhism to question if the Lord of the Demonheart had managed to escape the restrictions of the Heavenly Daos. Was he seeking to cause yet another storm?

  Or was there perhaps yet another alien Outsider causing trouble from the shadows?

  Or was there another, even more inscrutable reason?

  It was hard to say.