Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Agreed.” Godfiend Witherspike’s eyes flashed with cold light as he nodded slowly.

  They were right. Someone trapped in a formation he had never seen before would generally spend some time carefully testing it out. It would usually take them quite some time before emerging from the Endless Road formation. Ji Ning, however, had come out a short period of time after being trapped inside.

  “There’s only one explanation. As soon as he was trapped inside the formation, he immediately knew what it was and how to escape.” Godfiend Witherspike said coldly, “He immediately used his [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] technique to fly out of it at top speed. That sounds about right.”

  “How could he possibly have immediately recognized the formation?” The one-armed man frowned. “Can it be that he’s seen it before?”

  “The Three Realms have encountered figures like ‘All Things’ before,” Godfiend Witherspike said. “Sword Immortal Darknorth must have acquired some records pertaining to the ‘Endless Road’ formation from some alien Outsider who wandered into this place. Hmph. He can count himself lucky.”

  “Master, if you truly wished to kill Tathagata…I feel that you could have accomplished it.” The one-armed man looked towards Godfiend Witherspike.

  There were differences in power amongst Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals. Ordinary Elder Gods, those who were born at that level of power, were close in strength to Three Purities, Fuxi, Tathagata, and the others.

  The Lord of All Things and Godfiend Witherspike could be described as elite Elder Gods. The Lord of All Things reached that level of power thanks to his mastery over golems and bugbeasts, while Godfiend Witherspike rose to power thanks to extremely bloody and violent techniques. This was why he was known as a ‘Godfiend’.

  In the endless Primordial Chaos, people titled ‘Godfiend’ were generally people who possessed and used exceptionally bloody and terrifying techniques. But even if he didn’t use those secret techniques, Godfiend Witherspike would still be considered an elite Elder God, albeit just barely.

  The only reason why Ji Ning was able to battle Witherspike to a standstill was because he had terrifying sword-arts and a half-step Elder God body, which allowed him to reach the power level of an ordinary Elder God. With the addition of Violetjewel, he could also be considered to have just barely reached the level of an elite Elder God!

  “Right.” Godfiend Witherspike slowly shook his head. “Ever since I mastered that secret art, I’ve only used it a total of three times. Each time I use it…I will suffer severe repercussions, and it’ll be another ten thousand years before I can use it again. The Endwar will be arriving soon, in a few more centuries at most. We can’t be hasty! We’ve killed two of Tathagata’s dharma-bodies, and I’ve sacrificed both the Four Thearchs as well as my Endless Road formation. We’ve done enough. The rest is up to the Seamless Gate. Their ‘Lord of All Fiends’ is extraordinarily powerful; the only person in the Three Realms who worries me is him.”

  “Agreed.” The one-armed man nodded. “For an Elder God to be able to escape from the clutches of a World God and flee so quickly that the World God can’t even catch up…this is unheard of. I’ve voyaged through the endless primordial chaos for quite a long period of time and have met over ten thousand Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals, but I’ve never met such a formidable figure. Such figures only exist in legends. I never would’ve thought that an Elder God located in such a backwater chaosworld would be so powerful.”

  “Right…but we’ve only just begun to play,” Godfiend Witherspike said softly. “These two alliances haven’t really begun the final fight to the death yet. We would be a laughingstock if we revealed all of our cards now.”

  “That Darknorth fellow…” Godfiend Witherspike suddenly frowned. “He has six swords. When he strikes with the blood-colored one, he is actually able to just barely reach the level of an elite Elder God in power. Is it due to the sword? Or is it because he is already an Elder God?”

  ……

  Ji Ning was standing alongside Fuxi. Behind him was Kuafu, Daoist Jade Cauldron, and the other members of their group.

  They watched as the dark-golden castle quickly disappeared into the distance. Only then did Ning let Tathagata emerge once more.

  “What a terrifying group of alien Outsiders,” Fuxi murmured softly.

  “Thankfully, Ji Ning was with us.” Tathagata smiled as he looked at Ning.

  Fuxi looked at Tathagata, then let out a sigh. “It’s all my fault. I was too weak.”

  “No, those alien Outsiders were simply too strong.” Tathagata shook his head.

  Fuxi couldn’t help but nod. He said solemnly, “Yes. They were too powerful, especially that one with a tail. Those two alien Outsiders…they should have the power of elite Elder Gods. Fortunately, Ji Ning was able to stop him.” Fuxi then turned to look towards Ning, his eyes filled with surprise. “Darknorth, you were actually able to stop them…”

  “They still had the upper hand when we fought,” Ning said. “I was only able to fight on par thanks to this sword.” When he had used the blood-colored Violetjewel, his blows had become noticeably more powerful. The alien Outsider had seen it, as had Fuxi and the others. They probably had already guessed the truth for themselves.

  In terms of raw power…no one in the Three Realms, those two alien Outsiders included, would dare claim that they were certain of defeating Ji Ning in a fight! Given how strong he was, there really was nothing for Ji Ning to fear any longer. Still, he couldn’t tell everyone that he had only unlocked a fraction of Violetjewel’s true power. Fully repairing Violetjewel…that would be a task for the distant future.

  “No wonder. It seems that you’ve had quite a few fortuitous encounters, Ji Ning.” Fuxi smiled and nodded. “Ji Ning, you might not fully understand what an ‘elite Elder God’ is! Myself, Nuwa, Zhurong, the Ancestor Dragon…we were all born as Elder Gods, which means we were born at that level of power. Three Purities, Tathagata, Shennong…they are True Gods and Daofathers, but thanks to their tremendously profound insights into the Dao they too are comparable to ordinary Elder Gods. In the Three Realms, we describe this level of power as that of the ‘overlords’.”

  Ning nodded.

  “An Elder God who has sufficient insights into the Dao, such as having mastered the Five Elements of the Heavenly Daos, will be described as an ‘elite Elder God’. Mother Nuwa, for example; even before the war that ended the Primordial Era, she had mastered the Heavenly Daos of Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth, Yin, Yang, and Life. Eight Heavenly Daos! She was so powerful that she was even superior to so-called ‘elite Elder Gods’. She was far more powerful than the two alien Outsiders we encountered today. Only Demonheart, the lord of the Seamless Chaosworld, was comparable to her.”

  Ning nodded. Nuwa truly was a monster. She was an Elder God who had mastered eight of the Heavenly Daos…and then, in the final battle, she had broken through to master the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos and become a World God!

  * * *

  Book 22, Chapter 29 - Devastation

  “Unfortunately, Nuwa left.”

  “Demonheart merged into the Heavenly Daos.”

  Fuxi shook his head. “I was born an Elder God with power over the Heavenly Dao of Destruction. I sent myself into reincarnation, never to regain my former memories or powers until I master the Heavenly Dao of Life.” Fuxi sighed, then said self-deprecatingly, “I’ve now mastered two additional Heavenly Daos, the Heavenly Daos of Yin and Yang, but I’ve been unable to master the Heavenly Dao of Life. That’s why I remain merely a True God.”

  “In all the Three Realms, the only known Elder God still around is the Seamless Gate’s ‘Lord of All Fiends’.”

  “Now, Darknorth, you have acquired a protective divine ability that is on par with Tathagata’s.” Fuxi looked at Ji Ning. “Your sword-arts are so formidable that you were able to fight that alien Outsider to a standstill. Given your power, I imagine that there is no longer anyone in all the Three Real
ms who you would need to fear. For us to gain a new, powerful ally like you at such a critical moment in history is truly a blessing for our side.”

  Tathagata smiled as well as he looked at Ji Ning. Although he had lost two of his dharma-bodies, he still felt joy upon seeing how powerful Ji Ning was.

  The group was in no hurry to continue the campaign. They just continued to wait without moving. After enough time passed for a kettle of tea to be boiled, Houyi and Suiren’s group of True Gods and Daofathers arrived as well.

  There weren’t too many major powers left to protect the Nuwa Alliance in the Three Realms, and so a short while later Lord Buddha and Suiren departed, taking those True Gods and Daofathers back with them.

  Sword Immortal Darknorth, Human Sovereign Fuxi, and Houyi commanded a total of twenty-nine True Gods and Daofathers as they continued their campaign through the Primordial Ruinworld! Every remaining part of the Primordial Ruinworld was located in extremely dangerous regions. After their latest experience, Ning and the others advanced with even greater caution and moved even slower than before.

  This time, they were divided into just three squads. The three squads were led by Ji Ning, Fuxi, and Houyi!

  Their three squads maintained a distance of three million kilometers from each other. They advanced in lockstep and they kept in continuous contact with each other.

  The reason why they hadn’t been willing to join together into a single group was precisely because they were worried about everyone ending up trapped within a single formation. Last time, if Fuxi and Ji Ning had both been trapped inside the formation with Tathagata, it would’ve been much harder for Fuxi to break apart the formation. Ji Ning wouldn’t have been able to assist him by tearing at the formation from outside! Thus, although separating into three squads created new risk, at least it would ensure that they wouldn’t all be caught in one trap.

  Three million kilometers was a fairly short distance. Given Ning’s speed with the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], he’d be able to travel that distance in a single breath. All the squads would be able to quickly reinforce each other.

  Time passed, one day at a time. The three squads continued to destroy every single world and region they travelled through!

  Godfiend Witherspike and the Seamless Gate continued to set down traps and formations to deal with them, but the extremely cautious experts of the Nuwa Alliance would never encounter such a terrifyingly dangerous situation again. They slowly and laboriously dealt with every single danger as they destroyed one world after another.

  Destroying the Primordial Ruinworld represented destroying the territory and homeland of the alien Outsiders.

  “The Endwar is about to sweep through the Three Realms. If these Outsiders are permitted to survive, they would most likely come and invade the Three Realms.” None of them showed any mercy. For the sake of the survival of their races, no mercy could be shown.

  Godfiend Witherspike did have some estate-treasures which allowed him to hold some living creatures, but how many could it possibly hold? It could hold less than 0.01% of the creatures who lived in the Primordial Ruinworld. All the others would die!

  As Ning, Houyi, and Fuxi continued to work together and support each other, they grew much closer to each other as well.

  Thirty-nine years had passed since the launching of the campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld. Nineteen years had passed since Tathagata had fallen into danger.

  Outside the Primordial Ruinworld.

  A hatchet-carrying woodcutter, a sword-wielding white-robed youth, and a tall man dressed in Daoist robes stood together in the Void, a large group of major powers behind them. Everyone was staring at the Primordial Ruinworld.

  Rumble…

  They could see a massive realm teetering at the brink of collapse. The breaking process slowly hastened…and then, all of a sudden, the badly damaged Primordial Ruinworld began to completely break apart.

  With a thunderous boom, countless shattered spatial shards appeared in that area. The entire Primordial Ruinworld was completely imploding, and as it did the increasingly powerful spatial shards began to destroy everything.

  Elsewhere in the Void.

  A dark-golden castle was hanging here in midair, the space around it rippling with formation runes. However, there was no way to locate this ship with the naked eye, and even coresense was completely blocked off.

  Inside the castle.

  “Quite a view.” Godfiend Witherspike’s gaze passed through the walls of the castle, seeing through the endless void of space as he stared at the distant Primordial Ruinworld. The Primordial Ruinworld looked like an enormous fireworks display as countless spatial shards were sent flying in every direction.

  “The Three Realms.” The alien True Gods standing before him gnashed their teeth in rage.

  This was their home that had just been destroyed!

  They had been the followers of the Lord of All Things, but he was defeated in battle. Mother Nuwa hadn’t wiped them out; instead, she had driven them into the Primordial Ruinworld, a place where survival itself was incredibly difficult. It was hard for them to truly flourish in the Primordial Ruinworld, and they had always dreamed of one day counter-attacking and taking over the Three Realms. They would then live in luxury and ease in that beautiful, safe world. They would no longer suffer from random spatial distortions, temporal storms, and more.

  They rather hated how deadly and inhospitable the Primordial Ruinworld was…but it was still their home!

  Now, even their final refuge had been torn asunder.

  The alien True Gods all had estate-treasures with them, and they were able to bring some of their kinsmen with them inside. However, the total amount of kinsmen they could carry was just a tiny fraction of the total population of the Primordial Ruinworld. Those who were left behind all perished.

  “The Three Realms. Fuxi. Houyi. Tathagata.” The alien True Gods firmly engraved these hated names into their memories.

  Ning and the others neither knew nor cared about their hatred. In fact, if they had the chance they would probably move to completely wipe out all of the alien True Gods. These alien Outsiders were invaders who had always been the enemies of the Three Realms. The more of them the Nuwa Alliance was able to kill, the better!

  “Master.” The red-bearded elder suddenly said, “What should we do next?”

  “Next?” Godfiend Witherspike said softly, “We’ve sacrificed enough already, and even our territory has been completely destroyed. Fuxi, Darknorth, and Houyi are simply too powerful when they join forces. There’s nothing I can do. The Seamless Gate cannot blame me. It’ll be up to them now.”

  “Get some rest, everyone. We will keep waiting. Soon…the Endwar will come soon…” Godfiend Witherspike let out a chuckle. “That’s our true battlefield. Ahaha…it’s been a long time since I’ve truly engaged in such an exciting battle. The last time was back when we were in that mountain gorge. These natives…they don’t have any formidable formations or treasures at all. The only thing they can do in war is to stake their lives. When the Endwar comes, they shall all become delicacies for me to eat…” He licked the corner of his lips with his long tongue.

  “The Endwar…” The one-armed man nodded slowly as well.

  They had roamed the primordial chaos together, and they had staked their own lives multiple times when doing so.

  Godfiend Witherspike was going to acquire the Worldheart of the Three Realms, no matter what the risk or the cost. After Saber finished repaying his debt to the man, he would depart and continue forward on his own path of cultivation.

  The other five retainers were true slaves. He had only become a retainer in order to repay a debt. He could be considered a servant, but he was no slave.

  ……

  The Primordial Ruinworld was simply far too vast. Its collapse and annihilation took three full months to complete.

  Houyi, Ji Ning, Fuxi, and the True Gods and Daofathers who followed them simply watched for three full mon
ths. After everything came to a halt Fuxi gave the remnants a final look, then nodded. “All of the worlds of the Primordial Ruinworld have been destroyed. The only thing left in the Primordial Ruinworld are those unique danger zones such as ‘Earthmoan Mountain’ or the ‘Endless Sea’. Those places are too stable; even the destruction of the Primordial Ruinworld wouldn’t damage them.”

  Ning saw roughly ten or so places as well when he scanned the ruins. All of them were extremely stable and dangerous locations!

  “The Primordial Ruinworld is finished. Those alien Outsiders are now like a well that has run dry,” Houyi said calmly. “They will be unable to propagate and flourish. If they appear during the Endwar, we’ll deal with them then.”

  “Right.” Fuxi nodded.

  The Nuwa Alliance had actually been quite worried about the Primordial Ruinworld. If the Seamless Gate was defeated but its survivors chose to hide within the inhospitable environment of the Primordial Ruinworld, they would always be hungrily eyeing the Three Realms from there. If that happened…the Three Realms would never know a day of peace!

  Now they had destroyed the Primordial Ruinworld. The Lord of All Fiends was formidable and he might be able to flee with the survivors of the Seamless Gate, but if they didn’t have a place to live then as a race they would never be able to grow powerful again. They would slowly wither away while the Nuwa Alliance would continue to flourish in the Three Realms, producing more and more experts.

  “Ji Ning.” Fuxi suddenly sent a mental message to Ning.

  Ning was startled. Everyone around them was on their side; why did Fuxi elect to send a private mental message?

  “What is it?” Ning asked.

  “You now stand at the highest level of power in the Three Realms. In fact, you can be considered one of the most powerful individuals on either side. The Nuwa Alliance has many secrets which you do not know about…but now, it is time to tell you. Perhaps you’ll be able to grow a bit more powerful.” Fuxi looked towards Ning.