Desolate Era

by RWX

  It must be understood that when they fought long ago, Xuan Yuan was merely a elite Daofather. Although it was true that Shennong’s mind wasn’t really focused on leading his armies, he was still someone on the same level of power as the leaders of the Daoism and Buddhism. For Xuan Yuan to be able to achieve victory was testament to his military prowess.

  In all the Three Realms, Xuan Yuan was most likely the number one military mastermind.

  “Aside from Ji Ning, all of these disciples will take part in the battle,” Subhuti said with a smile.

  “Ah?!” Xuan Yuan was overjoyed. He immediately said, “That’s wonderful! I was worrying about this just before you came. The more powerful a formation, the more requirements are placed upon the centers of the formation. Before Mother Nuwa departed, she left us with three mighty formations meant to protect our entire race. Logically speaking, we should have Daofathers assume central command, but since neither side has deployed Daofathers yet, we are forced to use Empyrean Gods and True Immortals…and the more powerful, the better! I was worrying about not having enough powerful Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. Subhuti, you came just in the nick of time. This is like delivering warm coals to a freezing man in the midst of winter!”

  “This war will be different from the previous ones. The previous Realmwars were all small-scale battles; this one is going to be far greater,” Subhuti said seriously. “After this Realmwar ends, the other large-scale Realmwars shall begin as well. The Realmwar for your Yellow Emperor Realm will be the very first of the large-scale battles; we have to make sure that the outcome is a beautiful one. Let’s deal the Seamless Gate a heavy blow!”

  “Right.” Xuan Yuan nodded. “If we can seize the advantage, we’ll be able to keep the advantage. This war will indeed be very important.”

  As the saying went, a thousand-kilometer canal could be collapsed by a single errant anthole!

  This battle would be a critical one. If they were to lose, the upcoming battles would become more difficult as well.

  Time flowed on.

  Aside from Subhuti’s forces, the other major powers of the Three Realms sent reinforcements of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals as well. In fact, quite a few came by themselves! Within the span of a single short month, the number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals who had gathered here within the Deerchaser world numbered more than 2800. All of them were focused on learning the foundational parts of these mighty formations.

  Nine Empyrean Gods/True Immortals including Goldcrow and Empyrean Phoenix, who were ranked amongst the most powerful of experts and were also indisputably loyal, were permitted to learn the core techniques to these ancient, powerful formations.

  Rumble…

  Suddely, one day, the entire Deerchaser world trembled. Ning hurriedly emerged from his residence, raising his head to stare towards the outside, his eyes blazing with torch-light. He was able to clearly see the sky split apart tens of millions of kilometers away, as a castle that was radiating limitless amounts of bloody light came flying out from within that giant crack in the skies. The aura that emanated from the castle quickly swept through the entire Deerchaser world.

  The castle was ten thousand kilometers long. It slowly descended, then came to a halt in midair. Above the castle was a glowing streak of bloody light that rose high into the heavens.

  “Daomother Devilhand.” Subhuti, Xuan Yuan, and Suiren stood shoulder to shoulder, staring towards the distance. Subhuti frowned as he made this statement.

  “Devilhand actually came? And she came in person, in her true form.” Suiren frowned as well. He had merely sent one of his clones here, while Subhuti and Xuan Yuan were both here in person.

  The Lord of All Fiends was the most mysterious figure within the Seamless Gate, and he had incredible escaping techniques. Not even Mother Nuwa had been able to do anything to him when he had chosen to flee.

  The Lord of the Everwood was someone that the Nuwa Alliance did not wish to make an enemy out of. He was skilled in countless techniques and spells.

  Daomother Devilhand was the most berserk member of the Seamless Gate, and her power was absolutely astonishing. She was so berserk that during the war that ended the Primordial Era, she had actually dared to duel Mother Nuwa one-on-one for a long period of time. In fact, she had even dared to go battle the two leaders of Buddhism and Daoism all by herself! In the end, she had been heavily wounded by Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Immortal Slaying Sword Formation’.

  She was an absolute madwoman. When gripped by bloodlust, she wouldn’t even care about her own life. However, no one dared to deny that she was powerful. Even during the war that ended the Primordial Era, the only ones who could be described as unquestionably more powerful than her were Mother Nuwa and the Lord of the Demonheart. No others!

  “It seems the Seamless Gate really wishes to win this battle,” Subhuti said. “They actually sent Daomother Devilhand to guard their forces.”

  “We want to win, but so do they,” Xuan Yuan said. “In the end…victory will be determined on the field of battle.”

  “Have all our preparations been made?” Suiren asked.

  “Yes.” Xuan Yuan nodded.

  Everyone in the Deerchaser world was jittery right now.

  Two mighty castles, one surrounded by bloody light, the other surrounded by golden light. Both hung there in midair, facing each other from several hundred thousand kilometers away.

  Both armies were gathering within their respective castles, prepared to launch the war at any moment.

  “This war…it’ll be the largest war that we will fight before the final battle for karmic luck.” Silvermoon stood alongside Ning atop the city walls, staring at the distant Seamless City as it glowed with bloody light. “The total number of Empyrean Gods and True Immortals on our side for this war number nearly three thousand. The Realmwars that come after this one in the Realms of the various elite Daofathers will generally involve just a few hundred, maybe a thousand at most.”

  “There are many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals. As for Celestial Immortals and Loose Immortals, it feels as though there is an infinite number of them,” Ning said with a soft sigh.

  In his heart, he felt a bit of regret.

  Regret that he wouldn’t be able to take part.

  Keep waiting. Bide your time.

  Even if he took part in this battle…given how vast it was, he really wouldn’t make much of a difference. He really wondered…

  How much longer were those two clones of his going to remain within Undermoon Lake?

  * * *

  Book 21, Chapter 6 - The War Begins

  The two castles hung in the air, facing each other from afar.

  As for the army of the Seamless Alliance, it had been dispatched already. They covered the wilderness, calling out the Nuwa Alliance for battle.

  The first time they called out for battle, the Nuwa Alliance completely ignored them, not responding at all. The second time the Seamless Gate did this…the Nuwa Alliance still ignored them.

  It must be understood that when calling out the enemy for battle, the insults would be absolutely atrocious to hear. The worse the insult, the better! This was true amongst mortals, and it was similarly true amongst these Immortals and Fiendgods, who were quite boorish and foul-mouthed in their catcalls.

  The third time. Still nothing.

  “Master, the Seamless Gate is calling us out again,” a white-robed youth said respectfully.

  Xuan Yuan sat in front of a desk, leisurely flipping through a book in his hands. Hearing his disciple’s report, he laughed softly. “Daomother Devilhand lives up to her reputation. Had the Seamless Gate sent over any other Daofather, that person probably wouldn’t be so quick to bare the fangs in such a manner.”

  Know thy enemy and know thyself; only then would you be the victor in all your battles.

  Due to the long years of peace that had previously existed between the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance, the Nuwa Alliance had learned much of the
history of Daomother Devilhand when she lived within the Seamless Chaosworld. Although she was a madwoman, she was extremely adept at leading soldiers in battle. All of her disciples were females, and all of them were just as crazy as she was.

  She led her madwomen in a conquest across the chaosworld, sweeping through it like a storm. In the end, it had been the Lord of the Demonheart himself who had to be the one to stop her.

  In terms of frontal attacks, not even Lord Demonheart was a match for Daomother Devilhand. But of course, in terms of manipulating the mind and understanding the demons that lay in every heart, who could possibly match up to Lord Demonheart? Conquering the world wasn’t merely a matter of warfare! And so, in the end it had been Lord Demonheart who had unified the Seamless Chaosworld.

  “Mm.” Xuan Yuan put down his scroll, then said with a smile, “Give the order. Assemble for battle!”

  “Uh huh…” For a second, the yellow-robed youth was as calm as ever…but suddenly, he stared wide-eyed towards Xuan Yuan.

  “Why are you still here?” Xuan Yuan turned to look at him.

  “R-right. Your disciple shall go immediately.” The yellow-robed youth hurriedly flew out, beginning to summon the various parties.

  Xuan Yuan walked outside of the room. Standing by the rails, he stared at his vast citadel. As the order was given, a sea of soldiers came flooding out from throughout the citadel, quickly assembling together. Xuan Yuan nodded lightly. “This is the fourth time they are calling for battle. It’s about time. This war is critical; if we win it, we’ll be halfway to winning the war for karmic luck.”

  “We have to win.” An awe-inspiring light flashed through Xuan Yuan’s eyes.

  Atop the city walls.

  Subhuti, Xuan Yuan, and Suiren were standing shoulder-to-shoulder, staring at the two armies facing off against each other on the desolate wilderness.

  Ning, the yellow-robed youth, and a number of other disciples were following behind them. None of them dared to so much as breathe too loudly. They all knew exactly how important this war was going to be.

  Boom!

  Whoosh!

  Thud!

  Both of the two distant armies had begun to assemble into mighty formations.

  The Seamless Gate had the Seamless Infinity Formation, the ‘Life and Death Formation of the Twin Realms Calamity Dragons’ [1. This was the formation that appeared during the destruction of the Six Paths of Reincarnation, all the way back in Book 1, Chapter 2!], and the Infinity Fiendgod Formation. These were their three primary formations, and each of these terrifying formations needed two to three hundred Empyrean Gods/True Immortals in order to be formed. There were also some golems which Ning couldn’t even name, each of which was on an even higher level of power than the Daofather golem Ning had previously encountered. The golems glistened with violet light, emanating a heart-shaking aura of terror.

  There were a total of three formations of Calamity Dragons. Above these three formations swam a countless number of black dragons, each of which was as powerful as an ordinary Empyrean God. The important thing was…there was an absolutely incredible number of them!

  There were a total of two Seamless Infinity Formations.

  There were also two Infinity Fiendgod Formations. They had come together to form a pair of towering, white-haired, red-eyed Fiendgod.

  The Nuwa Alliance also had three primary formations. They were the Sidereal Star Formation, the Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation, and the Pangu Genesis Formation. There were three of Sidereal Star Formations, five of the Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation, but only one Pangu Genesis Formation!

  Aside from them, there were also more than a hundred Seven Planets Gods who were scattered everywhere, moving with great agility.

  As for golems? The Nuwa Alliance didn’t have a single golem on their side. Clearly, a battle at this level meant that only golems of a certain power level could be used. The Nuwa Alliance obviously didn’t have any golems of such power.

  “In terms of formations, the Seamless Gate is far inferior to us,” Subhuti said calmly from his position atop the walls. “The Seamless Infinity Formation was created by Lord Demonheart. As for the Life and Death Formation of the Twin Realms Calamity Dragons, the Seamless Gate stole it from us. Back then, we didn’t expect that a day like this would come, and so we were willing to teach them formations of this level. As for the Infinity Fiendgod Formation…it should’ve been devised by Everwood. It’s actually the most powerful of the three…but alas, it’s still vastly inferior to our Pangu Genesis Formation.”

  “After Mother Nuwa broke through to the Pangu level, she spent a tremendous amount of research and effort in order to devise the Pangu Genesis Formation. Before she left the Three Realms, she imparted it to us as a formation for protecting our entire race,” Xuan Yuan said with a laugh. “How could their formations possibly match up to it?”

  “Fortunately, Mother Nuwa had misgivings early on. She warned us sternly long ago that these three guardian formations were absolutely not to be taught to others. This is why we now have the power to keep them suppressed in formation power.” Subhuti let out a sigh.

  Suiren nodded slowly. “Fortunately, we have those three protective formations.”

  Ning and the others secretly nodded upon hearing this. They had heard the stories as well.

  If it could be said that the Nuwa Alliance was deeply envious of the Seamless Gate’s mastery over the art of golems, then the Seamless Gate was similarly envious of the three mighty guardian formations of the Nuwa Alliance. All three of these formations had been left behind by Mother Nuwa after she had broken through to become a World God. She had spent tremendous blood, sweat, and effort on these formations, precisely because she was afraid that once she left, other powerful alien Outsiders like the Lord of All Things would appear. She was afraid that the Three Realms would not be strong enough to withstand another such Outsider, and so she created and imparted these three formations.

  These three formations would generally have a True God or Daofather at the center, with many Empyrean Gods and True Immortals acting as support. Their power was utterly shocking!

  But of course, a simplified version could be used which allowed for an Empyrean God/True Immortal to server as the center. The power of the formation would drop dramatically, of course, but despite that it still wasn’t something the Seamless Gate could compete against.

  “The Pangu Genesis Formation.” Ning stared off into the distance.

  The Pangu Genesis Formation had, at its center, the disciple of Daofather Fuju – True Immortal Jimin, the ‘Sword Immortal of the Outer Heavens’. 580 Empyrean Gods were supporting him, joining together into this utterly astonishing formation! This formation was so powerful that it was as strong as a elite Daofather! Most importantly of all, True Immortal Jimin was the person controlling this formation. True Immortal Jimin was the only Empyrean God or True Immortal in the Three Realms who had mastered the [Five Treasures]. His sword-art surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos, allowing him to unleash truly astonishing levels of power from this Pangu Genesis Formation.

  “I still remember my arrival into the Netherworld Kingdom after I died in my previous life. Back then, I encountered this Life and Death Formation of the Twin Realms Calamity Dragons.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. The terrifying, world-shattering formation that had destroyed even the Sixth Paths of Reincarnation had once more appeared before him. Back then, in the Netherworld Kingdom, Ning had been nothing more than a puny human ghost.

  Even the slightest aftershock ripple from an attack by a Calamity Dragon would have completely destroyed his soul.

  “It’s begun.”

  Everyone on the walls were nervous.

  Subhuti, Suiren, and Xuan Yuan stared intently at the battle below, especially Xuan Yuan. Xuan Yuan’s coresense filled every part of the battlefield, and he was constantly rearranging the military deployments, arranging for the various Seven Planets Gods to better harmonize with the major
formations.

  The Nuwa Alliance had nine mighty formations, each of which had nine central figures.

  Three of Subhuti’s disciples were in command of three mighty formations; they were Empyrean Phoenix, Goldcrow, and Junwu.

  Senior apprentice-brother Goldcrow was in command of a Sidereal Star Formation. [2. Raws said he was in command of a Seamless Infinity formation, but this is clearly an author error.]

  Senior apprentice-sister Empyrean Phoenix and senior apprentice-brother Junwu were each in charge of a Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation.

  “Go.”

  Each of the towering, massive Myriad Immortals Armageddon Formation were composed of a hundred True Immortals, a hundred thousand Celestial Immortals, and more than a hundred million Loose Immortals. Together, they were capable of summoning an utterly enormous amount of natural energy.

  An enormous figure of a giant appeared in the air above the formation. It was senior apprentice-brother Junwu, his white robes fluttering gracefully. He raised up his painting brush, casually swiping towards the heavens with it. Instantly, countless weapons appeared in the skies that shot towards the distant forces of the Seamless Gate. With another stroke of the brush, he manifested countless divine soldiers and divine generals and sent them to attack as well.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Junwu.” Ning felt eager when watching this. Junwu was the young child who loved to paint which Subhuti had accepted as his disciple long ago. Upon meeting, Subhuti had given him a single line of guidance…and overnight the child had completely mastered a Dao-Path, the Dao of Inkwater. It could be said that he was the most talented disciple Subhuti had ever accepted.

  Battling against Junwu was an extremely headache-inducing decision, because his techniques were simply too complex. His flicks of the brush were capable of virtually drawing anything in the world…but precisely due to the complexity of his Dao, Junwu had yet to break through to become a Daofather.