Desolate Era

by RWX

  Heartforce soul-lock was a type of defensive technique that joined one’s soul and one’s heartforce together. It was like a series of extremely complicated ‘chains’ that locked them together, making it difficult for an outside force to break through them!

  When adventuring through the primordial chaos, one would often encounter natural illusions and evil spells that were aimed at the soul. Possessing a secret art that could protect the soul was extremely important. Thus, World God Northrest had imparted the ‘heartforce soul-lock’ technique unto Ning! Ning’s soul was nourished by his half-step Elder God body, resulting in it becoming tremendously powerful. Now that his soul had been joined together with his fourth-stage heartforce into a series of complicated interlocking chains, it was incredibly durable and nearly impregnable.

  Boom! The valiant power of Old Man Yuan’s fifth-stage heartforce collided violently against the heartforce soul-lock technique.

  Outside Ning’s body.

  Space in the surrounding area had come to a sudden halt. The waters of the river had calmed, with not even the tiniest ripple or wave being visible. It was as though everything had frozen solid. Even the fish within the fish bucket at the front of the boat had frozen.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The wooden boat suddenly blew apart. The wooden bucket blew apart, with the fish inside the bucket being completely disintegrated into dust. In fact, even the surrounding waters of the river were instantly vaporized…

  Although heartforce was ephemeral and invisible, fifth-stage heartforce was simply too terrifyingly powerful. However, it was as though Old Man Yuan’s heartforce had rammed into a steel board! The defensive prowess of the heartforce soul-lock technique was simply too formidable, and it completely defended against Old Man Yuan’s attack. The resulting spiritual collision actually manifested as an enormous shockwave in the ‘real’ world, causing everything within ninety meters to be utterly vaporized. Outside this range, however, nothing was damaged whatsoever.

  “How is this possible?!” Old Man Yuan revealed a look of shock. This was the technique which he was the most confident in, but it had failed spectacularly from the very start.

  Ning just turned his head to look at him, a hint of pain in his eyes.

  “Fellow Daoist Yuan, you truly disappoint me.”

  His voice echoed by Old Man Yuan’s ears.

  Whoosh!

  A dazzling streak of sword-light suddenly descended. Ning didn’t hesitate at all, immediately pulling out and striking down with Violetjewel while using the most inscrutable, mysterious stance he knew: Shadowless.

  “Go.” A horsetail whisk appeared in Old Man Yuan’s hands. He flicked it outwards, causing countless strands of hair to swirl around the sword-light, blocking it as he hurriedly retreated.

  “You hid your true power quite well.” As soon as they exchanged blows, Ning discovered that Old Man Yuan definitely had the power of an overlord-class figure.

  Everyone believed him to merely be ‘close’ to the overlord level, but that was something which had been established a long, long time ago. In his attack against Ning, Old Man Yuan had first revealed his fifth-stage heartforce, then managed to block Ning’s sword-light with his own horsetail whisk. Although a soft weapon like this was a natural counter to Ning’s fierce sword-strikes, Old Man Yuan had still unquestionably shown himself to be an overlord-class figure.

  Whoosh. A figure suddenly flashed into existence next to Old Man Yuan. It was an azure-haired, red-robed man.

  “The Lord of All Fiends!”

  Ning was completely shocked by the Lord of All Fiend’s speed. He had actually appeared without any warning whatsoever!

  “Don’t even think about leaving!” Ning thrust out with his sword, striking like a thunderclap. This was the fastest stance he had, the Blood Drop Stance. He stabbed directly towards Old Man Yuan, but the azure-haired, red-robed Lord of All Fiends gracefully flew forward at the same time. As he did, every inch of space around him began to change and blur.

  Ning’s sword-arts had exceeded the limits of the Heavenly Daos, and he was using the fastest stance he had, the Blood Drop Stance. And yet…

  Ning stared, wide-eyed, as he realized that his sword couldn’t keep up with the Lord of All Fiend’s flying speed!

  Whoosh.

  The Lord of All Fiends and Old Man Yuan disappeared from Ning’s field of vision.

  ……

  The Allfiend world.

  The Lord of All Fiends appeared within a palace with Old Man Yuan in tow. Within the hall were Keeper Everwood, Daomother Devilhand, and the black-robed Godking. All three turned to look at him.

  “I failed.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “He just became a True God; logically speaking, he would need to spend a long period of time allowing his soul to be strengthened by his new body. I had thought that his soul would be fairly weak, making him an easy target. I was hoping to capture him and use him as proof of my loyalty, but…ugh. I suppose I really have grown old.”

  “Ji Ning is already an established power. It won’t be that easy to deal with him. In truth, there was no need for you to bring some ‘proof of your loyalty’. I believe you.” The Lord of All Fiends looked at Old Man Yuan.

  * * *

  Book 23, Chapter 6 - Buddha Jueming

  The waters of the river began to flow once more.

  Ji Ning stood there in midair, a look of anger and pain in his eyes.

  “Old Man Yuan has actually, truly joined the Seamless Gate. Didn’t he say that he doesn’t wish to get involved in the struggles of the Three realms?” Ning had felt gratitude towards Old Man Yuan. Although Ning felt some astonishment at the power which Old Man Yuan had revealed, his primary feeling right now was anguish at the betrayal. His master Subhuti had been very close to Old Man Yuan; most likely, Subhuti would be heartbroken as well.

  Whoosh.

  Three figures suddenly appeared in quick succession next to Ning. First was Subhuti, who emerged from a spatial vortex. Next was Daoist Three Purities. Last was Exalted Celestial Carefree.

  “Elder brother Yuan actually…” Exalted Celestial Carefree was trembling, a look of disbelief in his eyes.

  “You still refer to him as ‘elder brother’?” A fierce, cold light was flickering in the eyes of Daoist Three Purities. “I truly never imagined that a traitor would emerge amongst our gang of brothers! If he left the Three Realms, that would be one thing…but he’s actually joined the Seamless Gate? Fine. Fine! Subhuti, Zixiu, mark my words well. From this day forth, Daoist Yuan is our enemy, not our friend!”

  “Agreed.” Exalted Celestial Carefree nodded slowly.

  “Traitor.” Subhuti clenched his jaw, pain visible in his eyes. “I didn’t imagine this. I never would have imagined this. He told me face-to-face that he was going to leave the Three Realms…and then he immediately attacked Ji Ning! Despicable, vile, traitorous wretch!”

  Daoist Three Purities looked towards Subhuti.

  Subhuti and Old Man Yuan had originally been extremely close to each other. They were like true brothers. Daoist Yuan’s betrayal…it probably hurt Subhuti more than anyone else in the Nuwa Alliance.

  “There will always be a few black sheep in every flock.” Daoist Three Purities let out a sigh. “Subhuti, don’t grieve too much for his sake.”

  “Grieve? No. I won’t grieve.” Subhuti laughed coldly. “I hope he dies.”

  Ning could tell that although his master was putting on a stiff upper lift, he was so angry that his entire body was visibly trembling. Ning understood just how heavy a blow this had been to his master and so he hurriedly changed the topic. “Just now, when Daoist Yuan assaulted me, he used a heartforce technique…which is why I now know that he has actually reached the fifth stage of heartforce.”

  “The fifth stage of heartforce?” Three Purities, Subhuti, and Carefree were all shocked.

  Although they had sensed the battle which had just occurred, they weren’t able to notice the heart
force attack from such a great distance.

  “Yes, the fifth stage.” Ning nodded, frowning. “He’s different from senior apprentice-brother Houyi. Senior apprentice-brother Houyi focuses his heartforce on his archery, giving his arrows utterly inconceivable power. Daoist Yuan, however…he uses heartforce in a more mysterious manner. He was able to weaponize it and use it to directly attack my soul. Fortunately, my soul was strong enough to resist it.”

  “Directly attack the soul?”

  “That spells trouble.”

  Subhuti, Three Purities, and Carefree all understood that this was going to be quite troublesome.

  “That wretch must’ve been planning to take advantage of the fact that you just recently became a True God, Ji Ning.” Subhuti said coldly, “His guess was that your soul would be fairly weak, as it hadn’t had much time to be nurtured and strengthened by your True God body. That’s why he attempted this ambush.”

  “Right.” Ning nodded. He had actually become a True God even before the campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld, and was a half-step Elder God at that. His divine body was significantly more powerful than the divine bodies of most True Gods. Given that he also had the heartforce soul-lock technique…this time, Daoist Yuan really had rammed into a steel plate!

  “Daoist Yuan…he was able to defend against Ji Ning’s sword, and his heartforce has reached the fifth stage.” Daoist Three Purities said in a low voice, “And he’s also joined the Seamless Gate…his ambitions must be enormous! Tremendously powerful and incredibly ambitious…we have to be very wary of him.”

  “Agreed.” Everyone present felt heaviness in their hearts.

  They felt furious disappointment in the man as well as a deep sense of wariness.

  ……

  Old Man Yuan had finally made his choice. He led the Four Ancestors of the River Source and all of their allies in joining the Seamless Gate. The Four Ancestors of the River Source and their allies were all completely loyal to Old Man Yuan. When he had been wavering between the two sides, the other experts had all chosen to wait for his decision…and now, they all followed him in joining the Seamless Gate.

  This was a testament to how unified a force the Four Ancestors were.

  “From this day forth, Daoist Yuan is an enemy of the Nuwa Alliance. He is no longer a friend. Once the Endwar begins, we’ll have to seize every opportunity possible to kill him.” Daoist Three Purities was speaking within the Allclans Palace, his words filled with a killing intent. All of the major powers present fully agreed with his words.

  Daoist Yuan’s betrayal had truly enraged them!

  Time continued to flow on.

  The Realmwars continued to proceed unabated within the Three Realms, and the size and scope of each Realmwar grew larger and larger. A hundred and ten years had passed after the end of the campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld, and with each Realmwar both sides would field more than three thousand Empyrean Gods and True Immortals.

  Both alliances could sense that the end was nigh! The Endwar was about to start at any moment!

  They didn’t have to necessarily wait for the war for karmic luck to end…once one side could sense that there was no longer any hope of winning the war for karmic luck, it was entirely possible that they would launch the Endwar early.

  The mood in both alliances was quite depressed as a result! Everyone was preparing for the final battle.

  The Celestial Realm. Mount Ling in the eastern lands.

  There were a pair of Buddhist novitiates standing guard before an ordinary-looking hall here. Within the hall was Buddha Jueming, who was seated there completely unmoving like a statue. He was in complete solitude, without any sign of life about him at all. It was as though he was a corpse.

  Whoosh.

  The statue-like Buddha Jueming suddenly opened his eyes in a very, very slow manner.

  “The Realmwar over the Shennong major world has begun?” Buddha Jueming murmured softly to himself, “The flames of war have filled the entire Three Realms. Even the Shennong major world has been embroiled into war. It has only been a hundred and fifty years since the war against the Primordial Ruinworld. Things are progressing too quickly. If this continues…the end to the war for karmic luck shall arrive in a few scant decades.”

  The final battle for karmic luck would result in all of the Empyrean Gods and True Immortals in both alliances engaging in one final clash.

  When this happened, all of the powerful Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms aside from the True Gods and Daofathers would be dragged into the battle. If one side felt that things were going poorly, the True Gods and Daofathers might directly intervene, resulting in the Endwar beginning.

  “Within fifty years…” Buddha Jueming slowly rose to his feet.

  Fifty years was a fairly loose estimate. If things progressed quickly within the Shennong major world, for example, it was entirely possible that the final battle for karmic luck would conclude in ten or twenty years.

  “The lifeblood oath I swore was to leave the Three Realms within a thousand years of becoming an Elder God and go search for Vastheaven Palace.” Buddha Jueming murmured to himself, “The Endwar could break out at any moment now…and I need time to break through from the True God level to the Elder God level. If I wait for the Endwar to actually begin before making my breakthrough, I’ll just be delaying the inevitable. Mmm…let it begin now.”

  Whoosh.

  Buddha Jueming disappeared from the hall, with the two Buddhist novitiates being none the wiser.

  ……

  Atop a black star located deep in the endless primordial chaos.

  An enormous Buddhist lotus flower had descended upon the surface of this star, and seated in the lotus position atop it was Buddha Jueming.

  Rumble…

  The primordial chaos around the area suddenly began to writhe. Even the stellar energy of the black star was being ravenously devoured as everything in the area began to swirl around Buddha Jueming. Enormous amounts of energy were being frantically pulled towards him, forming an enormous swirling maelstrom of primordial chaos! As for Buddha Jueming, every single speck of divine power in his body began to transform and be remade anew.

  A short while later, the vortex of primordial chaos dissipated. Everything became calm again, and the black star once more regained its normal aura of grandeur.

  A hint of sadness could be seen in the eyes of Buddha Jueming.

  “I’ve become an Elder God.”

  “A thousand years from now, I must leave the Three Realms.” Buddha Jueming was filled with a deep reluctance to part with the Three Realms. He had started as a weak mortal and had slowly risen to power here. He had made miracles happen in Undermoon Lake and as a result had been awarded the [Solitary World God]. After so many years of training in it, he had long ago found the necessary spark of insight within his divine body. He was able to break through from being a True God to being an Elder God whenever he chose.

  However, he truly didn’t wish to leave. He had a gentle disposition and was innately suited for the Buddhist Sangha. He had no great desires or ambitions; he was quite satisfied with living a peaceful life in the Three Realms.

  However, now that the Endwar was arriving, he had to stand up and step forward.

  Only by becoming an Elder God would he be strong enough to have an impact on the outcome of the war. However…becoming an Elder God meant he would have to leave the Three Realms within a thousand years. If he did not, his lifeblood oath would rebound against him and destroy his soul.

  “To be able to do battle alongside Master and my old friends against a common enemy…it is enough that I can do this before leaving.” Buddha Jueming sat down on his lotus flower, once more disappearing.

  No one knew of his breakthrough in the endless primordial chaos, and he quietly slipped back into his own hall.

  The only people present in his hall were those two Buddhist novitiates. He was a low-key figure who never left his palace. Much like Suiren
, he used a technique which withdrew and suppressed his aura. Even if someone came to visit him, they probably wouldn’t be able to tell that he had changed. Given how tense the situation was with the Endwar ready to erupt at any moment, no one would come pay a visit, especially since Buddha Jueming was so low-key and spent all of his time in solitary meditation after becoming a True God.

  No one in the Three Realms knew that a new Elder God had just been born.

  * * *

  Book 23, Chapter 7 - Starseizing Hand

  Within a quiet little mountain village. This village was a peaceful, calm place. There was an ordinary bamboo house located in the middle of it, and there was a white-robed youth who lived within this house.

  The other villagers were all actually quite curious about this youth.

  Most of the people in this village were ordinary mortal refugees who had fled to the depths of this mountain and built homes here. Thus, very few people knew each other. The white-robed youth had travelled alongside them and established a residence here as well. They had thought that the white-robed youth was a refugee like them…but then the white-robed youth had lived with them for five full years. During these five years, they noticed that the white-robed youth spent almost every day fishing.

  He didn’t chase after pretty lasses, nor did he worry about starting a family, nor did he tend to any fields.

  All he did was fish. He relied on fishing to make his living.

  “This kid really doesn’t know what’s good for him. I tried to propose a wife for him, but he refused to hear of it. Old Li’s daughter is so pretty, and her family is a fine one! She’s one of the top two eligible maidens in our village. It’s rare for anyone to catch her fancy like he did, but all he did was smile and refuse…” The matchmaker granny grumbled as she walked out of the bamboo house. She even gave the bamboo door a hard kick as she left.

  If this old granny knew that she had just kicked at the door of one of the most supreme Fiendgods of the entire Three Realms…what would her reaction be?