Desolate Era

by RWX

  Without this sword, Ning was still an overlord-class figure, comparable to an Elder God…but with it, he stood at the very peak of power, even amongst overlords! As for exactly who was stronger and who was weaker, that was a question that could only be settled through actual combat. It had been a long time since the war that had ended the Primordial Era, after all; no one knew exactly how much stronger the major powers on each side had become. Perhaps there were other figures who were hiding their true power as well.

  For example, Buddha Jueming of the Buddhist Sangha. He had also trained in the [Solitary World God], and also had the [Nine Elements Destruction]. Ning believed that after so many years of training in it, Buddha Jueming had to have become an extraordinary figure as well. However, Buddha Jueming remained very low-key in the Three Realms, which was why most major powers viewed him as being just an ordinary True God or Daofather.

  “It is important to be cautious at a time like this.”

  “It’s best if I avoid using Violetjewel, but if I’m forced to use it, I’ll need to ensure that it has a tremendous effect.” Ning knew very well that unleashing his trump card in a sudden, explosive manner would make it extraordinarily effective. If Violetjewel was to make an appearance, he wanted to make sure that the major powers of the Seamless Gate would lose their lives as a result.

  “Come here.” Ning willed it, and the blood-colored sword immediately flew into his body, resting itself within the Jindan region inside of him.

  “Now, it’s time to go deal with True God Shiyu.” Ning wanted to acquire the Heavengazer Tower very badly. The thing he needed the most right now was time. If he was able to master a Heavenly Dao, he would have a chance of becoming an Ancestral Immortal or Elder God!

  Swish. A Darknorth sword appeared in Ning’s hands.

  There were a total of six Darknorth swords. During his recent battles, he had encountered some True Gods and True Immortals who would rather die than bend the knee to him. Ning had shown them no mercy at all and slain them, allowing all six of his Darknorth swords to be upgraded to the Chaos treasure level. However, according to how World God Northrest ranked things, Ning’s six Darknorth swords could only be considered standard-grade Chaos treasures.

  Chaos treasures, according to the records which World God Northrest had given Ning, could be divided into standard-grade, high-grade, and top-grade treasures.

  “Against True God Shiyu, the Darknorth swords will be enough.” Darknorth sword in hand, Ning transformed into a black lightning serpent that disappeared into the horizons.

  * * *

  Book 22, Chapter 3 - A Single Sword

  Within the mountain gorge.

  A silver-haired man was standing amidst a garden of flowers. He gently plucked a flower, lowering his head to smell its fragrance. His face, however, remained a bit gloomy and downcast.

  “Overseer…” The silver-haired man murmured these words to himself. “Is it him?”

  The earlier turbulence in the primordial chaos…True God Shiyu had also come to the conclusion that it had most likely been someone breaking through to become a True God or perhaps Elder God! The prisoners, however, had been trapped in the prisonworld for far too long; if they had any breakthroughs to make, they would’ve made them long ago. The chances for one of the prisoners to make a breakthrough was far, far too low. Thus, the most likely answer was that it was the alien Overseer who had been lucky enough to stumble across the prisonworld who had made the breakthrough.

  “That alien is extraordinarily powerful. If he really did make a breakthrough…things will be rather troublesome.” The silver-haired man’s face was troubled. “He’s the Overseer, after all; he surely has many treasures on him. Although my defensive skills are formidable, I won’t be able to outlast him in a battle of stamina.”

  His only option was to slowly draw energy from the primordial chaos inside the prisonworld. The prisonworld had an enormous formation in it that was monopolizing the vast majority of the primordial chaos, distilling it into chaos nectar. Thus, the amount which he could make use of was quite miniscule. The Overseer, however, was able to replenish his strength from the outside world. This alone guaranteed that he wouldn’t be able to match the Overseer in a battle of stamina.

  “Eh?” True God Shiyu suddenly turned his head.

  A black lightning serpent had appeared in the distance. With a flash, it appeared in the air above the gorge. It was that white-robed youth, and he was wielding a black sword in his hand. The white-robed youth descended from the skies, landing on the ground. His aura was extremely ordinary, almost like that of a mortal’s, but True God Shiyu’s face turned solemn as he looked at the youth. True God Shiyu then let out a cold laugh. “It hasn’t been that long since our last fight, but you’ve come again. It seems that it really was you who made the breakthrough just now.”

  “It was.” Ning walked towards him, Darknorth sword in hand.

  “So what if you did? Last time, I was able to easily defend against you without using any divine abilities at all. Even if an Elder God or Ancestral Immortal came, I’d still be able to hold out, much less against you.” True God Shiyu stared coldly at Ning. He remained quite prideful. Back when he had lived in the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea, he had been able to survive multiple fights against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals and escape unscathed.

  “You being strong…that’s what makes it fun.” Ning smiled as he stepped forward, a single sword in hand.

  True God Shiyu manifested a cudgel in each of his two hands, staring solemnly at Ning as he approached. Suddenly, Ning transformed into a streak of light, his aura increasing by an explosive amount. When he struck out with his sword, it was as though he was Pangu cleaving apart Heaven and Earth. His massive black sword seemed to cause the world itself to begin to crumble as it went smashing towards True God Shiyu with irresistible power.

  “Hmph.” True God Shiyu’s twin cudgels spun in two distinct lines, coming together to vaguely form a gigantic Taiji diagram which he used to defend against that terrifying sword-blow.

  BOOM!!!!

  Ning’s sword was like Pangu’s axe, chopping down against the two crossed cudgels. True God Shiyu was immediately smashed flying backwards, and even the ground beneath his feet was shattered. A massive gouge appeared in the ground, and the nearby flowers were all instantly crushed into dust by the shockwave. Even the distant mountains began to tremble and crack apart.

  [Brightmoon] sword-art, Heavenbreaker stance!

  “Your sword-art has improved, compared to last time.” True God Shiyu stood within that massive crater, looking back at Ning. “It’s only been a short while, but not only has your divine body become far more powerful, even your sword-arts have improved.”

  What he didn’t know was that Ning had spent six hundred years training in Undermoon Lake, engaged in multiple life-and-death battles in the outside world, then even more battles in the prisonworld. These battles had been like a whetstone that had continuously served to polish and sharpen Ji Ning’s skills. It was only natural that his sword-arts continued to improve at a dramatic rate.

  “And your cudgel-arts remain as mysterious and profound as ever.” Ning stood in front of him, still wielding just a single sword. With a flicker, he charged towards True God Shiyu once more, causing a dazzling crescent moon of sword-light to suddenly flash.

  Faced with this beautiful crescent of sword-light, True God Shiyu’s face turned even more solemn. Twin cudgels in his hands, he hurriedly strove to block against this dazzling strike.

  Thud!

  In the end, the sword-strike was dodged. True God Shiyu, however, didn’t dare to relax in the slightest, because Ning’s next sword-strike was now arriving. Sword-light flashed again, and it was as though the dazzling sun in the skies had suddenly been covered by dark stormclouds, casting the world in shadow. True God Shiyu felt as though this terrifying strike had cast him into a nightmarish world.

  Slash! Slash! Slash!

  Every single attack Ni
ng now used was the ‘Shadowless’ stance of the [Brightmoon] sword-art. It had always been unpredictable and fast, but now that it was being unleashed by someone who was a half-step Elder God, it became even faster and even more astonishingly powerful. It was already a sword-art that surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos. Thus now, although it was just slightly faster than before, it instantly became much more difficult to block than it had been in the past.

  “I hate this type of sword-art the most.” True God Shiyu hurriedly blocked three sword-strikes before he was forced to use a divine ability to manifest four more arms. Each of his six arms now held a cudgel as he hurriedly strove to block.

  Ning continued to merely use a single sword. This single sword, however, was incredibly taxing for True God Shiyu to defend against! “Where the hell did he learn a sword-art like this that surpasses the Heavenly Daos?” True God Shiyu ground his teeth. “He has such a powerful body, and his sword-arts are absolutely marvelous. How the hell did he luck out into learning something that surpasses the Heavenly Daos?!” If this sword-art hadn’t surpassed the limits of the Heavenly Daos, it would have been much easier for True God Shiyu to defend against them. Instead, True God Shiyu now found it hard to defend against Ning’s single sword, even when he was using six cudgels to fight back.

  The Shadowless stance…it was ephemeral and unpredictable, and it moved faster than lightning.

  In terms of raw, overwhelming power, the most formidable strike was the ‘Heavenbreaker’ stance.

  In terms of an assassin’s strike that focused on instant, sudden speed, the most formidable strike was the ‘Blood Drop’ stance.

  Ning’s sword-arts continuously fluctuated between forms, with his Shadowless stance continuing to shock and unnerve True God Shiyu, putting him in a bad position. His sword-art were simply far too unpredictable and strange. The ‘Heavenbreaker’ stance relied on raw power, and each time Ning used it he was able to send True God Shiyu flying away. The Blood Drop stance was an assassin’s strike that was the most penetrative attack of all; each time Ning unleashed it, True God Shiyu could feel his entire body turning cold.

  Last time, it had been fairly easy for him to defend against the Blood Drop stance, since it was a straightforward attack with few transformations to it; it focused mostly on speed. Now, however, Ning’s speed had become so incredibly fast that even though it was straightforward, it was still so hard to block as to cause True God Shiyu’s heart to tremble. If it was just a hair faster, he probably wouldn’t be able to block at all; the sword would go straight through his head and kill him.

  “I admit defeat.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

  Ning was stunned.

  True God Shiyu retreated backwards by a considerable distance. He stared at Ning, a look of helplessness and resentment in his eyes.

  “Admit defeat?” Ning was a bit speechless. Although his main goal was to acquire the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance, True God Shiyu was an excellently skilled foe. Such a foe was not easy to find! He had actually been able to resist more than ten sword-strikes from Ning, who had been using the three main attacking stances of [Brightmoon]. This was truly incredible, as even Ning believed himself to have reached the overlord level of power.

  Ning truly treasured the chance to fight against such a formidable foe. After all, at present Ning didn’t have any plans to fight against Elder Gods or Ancestral Immortals.

  The entire prisonworld only had a total of sixteen imprisoned Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals! All sixteen of them had foundations that were superior to his, and they surely had far greater insights into the Dao as well. The True Gods and True Immortals here couldn’t be compared to them. Most likely, Ning wouldn’t necessarily be a match for them even when simply comparing offensive attacks.

  For example, although Ning had fifth-stage swordforce and attack speed that surpassed the Heavenly Daos, True God Shiyu had mastered and merged fifth-stage taiji-force and infiniforce. Although True God Shiyu’s body was a bit weaker, he was still able to hold out against Ning for quite a long period of time.

  The Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals would most likely have an even higher level of attainment in the Dao.

  They had a stronger foundation and more insights into the Dao. The only advantage Ning had was Violetjewel, which gave him some degree of confidence in being able to retreat safely. However, it was also quite possible that the Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had some special tricks up their sleeves as well. Their bodies and Jindans were all equivalent to that of the Lord of All Fiends, after all! Individuals at this level of power couldn’t be judged according to common standards. Even in the chaos-kingdom of Pangaea, they were second only to those three World Gods.

  The techniques of Pangaea were somewhat more advanced than the techniques of the Three Realms as well. What abilities did these sixteen Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals had? Nint wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t confident in fighting them. If his true body was killed in battle, rebuilding it would be no easy task. This was because Ning’s ‘spare’ clone had also become a True God as well.

  When one clone advanced to a new stage, all other clones would make the same breakthrough. This was one of the hidden laws which governed the world. When the breakthrough was made, the primordial chaos would be agitated as it voluntarily sent its power into the bodies of the clones. Thus, the ‘spare’ clone was also filled with the power of primordial chaos, and also became a True God.

  To remake seventeen True God bodies would require an exceedingly long period of time.

  “Yes. I admit defeat. Last time, I was easily able to defend against you, even when you were in your three-headed, six-armed form.” True God Shiyu shook his head. “Now, I’m using six arms of my own, but you are able to push me back so easily with just a single sword. I’m exhausted. I can sense that if you send a few more sword-strikes my way, I will definitely lose. You’ve improved your sword-arts so quickly, and its speed surpasses the limits of the Heavenly Daos. I’m thoroughly convinced by my defeat and of your superiority. I can give you my three Chaos treasures…but I hope in the future you will give me my freedom when you have the power to do so.”

  “Alright.” Ning nodded.

  In the future, he would have to follow his lifeblood oath and leave the Three Realms, as Mother Nuwa had done before him. He would enter the primordial chaos and search for Vastheaven Palace. If he had the power to release the prisoners of the prisonworld by then, he would do so.

  * * *

  Book 22, Chapter 4 - The Crescent World

  True God Shiyu was highly skilled in defensive techniques and fleeing maneuvers, precisely because he was someone who valued his own life dearly. He obediently bent the knee and submitted.

  Ji Ning soulscoured him, took his three Chaos treasures, then left.

  “He was so astonishingly powerful and dazzling, even amongst True Gods and True Immortals. As expected, there were some marvelous reasons for that.” After soulscouring him, Ning had learned that True God Shiyu had once acquired the legacy of a deceased World God along with four Chaos treasures. The Heavengazer Tower of Radiance was one of the four. True God Shiyu had traded two of the other Chaos treasures for a ‘Darkwind Skysplitter Cudgel’. His possession of this cudgel was an important part of the reason why he was able to fight back against Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals despite being a mere True Immortal.

  True God Shiyu had learned powerful divine abilities from that legacy, but alas, all of those divine abilities were sealed with a lifeblood oath. Not even soulscouring him had allowed Ning to acquire them.

  Ning had searched through the memories of many True Gods and True Immortals by now. Each of them had experienced special encounters which had allowed them to reach this level of power.

  Whoosh. Ning landed atop a mountain. He waved his hand, producing a small tower before him.

  The tower was completely silvery-white in color, and it was covered with a faint aura of golden light. The tower was shaped just like a p
yramid. Ning held the small tower up with one hand, sending his senses inside of it. He could sense that spacetime within the tower was rather chaotic. Normally, spacetime should be extremely stable and hard to disrupt. Daofather Subhuti was capable of affecting spacetime, and this little tower was also capable of it.

  “Bind.” Ning immediately sent his divine power into the tower, binding this Chaos treasure. As he bound it, he immediately made it suppress its aura. It became quite unremarkable to behold, no longer emitting any golden light at all.

  Before being bound, a treasure would generally emit an aura of power. After being bound, everything was up to the desire of the treasure’s owner. It would be very easy to change its appearance.

  “In I go.” Ning willed himself inside. He disappeared from the mountain. The only thing left was the pyramid-shaped tower, levitating in the air at the peak.

  “Eh?” Ning looked at his surroundings. This was a region that merely had a perimeter of three hundred meters. The region was pyramid-shaped and seemed extremely stable, but the flow of time was clearly quite different inside here.

  “How strange.” Ning raised his head to look at the pyramid-shaped region he was in. At the very tip of the pyramid, circles of dim light could be seen where spacetime was rippling faintly. These dim circles of light could be also be seen at each of the four corners of the pyramid. Ning’s divine power filled the entire tower, and thus he could use it to ‘see’ the many divine runes that were constantly flowing through the insides of the tower.

  “It has changed spacetime, and in an extremely stable manner.” Ning sighed softly in amazement. “Although Mother Nuwa was able to do this, that was only with a grand formation. In addition, it was only possible in a set location that couldn’t be moved. This Chaos treasure, however…the person who created the Heavengazer Tower was most likely even more formidable than Mother Nuwa, the creator of the Six Paths of Reincarnation. But of course, Mother Nuwa entered the primordial chaos long ago. I imagine she’s even more formidable now than she was in the past.”