Desolate Era

by RWX

  Buddha Jueming and others like him who had been hiding their true power had finished their preparations as well.

  ……

  The Allfiend world.

  “The Realmwar going on in the Shennong world went on for nine years. In the end, we still lost.” The seated Daofather Ink Bamboo’s voice was filled with worry. “Fiendlord, didn’t you say that we have a grand army of bugbeasts? Why is it that our bugbeast army never made an appearance during the Shennong Realmwar?”

  The Lord of All Fiends was seated in the highest position. He smiled as he looked at Daofather Ink Bamboo. “Ink Bamboo, no need to be impatient. We need to keep our eye on the bigger picture. If we lost, we lost. It doesn’t matter. We’ve still been able to preserve the bulk of our forces, ensuring that our losses weren’t too heavy. As for the bugbeast army…of course we still have it. However, we can have it make its appearance during the very end of the war for karmic luck.”

  “Windfiend, do we actually have a bugbeast army?” The nearby Daomother Devilhand immediately asked.

  “We do.” The Lord of All Fiends nodded.

  “Why is it that none of us have ever heard about it? You’ve only mentioned it a short while ago.” Daomother Devilhand was quite dubious.

  “I was just keeping it a secret from everyone.” The Lord of All Fiends swept the group with his gaze. “Today, a major power of the Seamless Gate has returned to us. Just wait a short while and you will understand.”

  “A major power has returned?” Everyone present was puzzled.

  “Aren’t all of our major powers already here in the Three Realms?” The black-robed Godking was the most puzzled of them all. All of their formidable Elder Gods had perished during the war that ended the Primordial Era; the powerful figures who survived, such as Daomother Devilhand or Keeper Everwood, were all in the Three Realms. How could a major power have ‘made a return’?”

  “You’ll know shortly.” The Lord of All Fiends had a smile on his face. Although they had been defeated in the Shennong Realmwar, he was still in quite a good mood.

  The other ten-plus major powers present had no choice but to wait.

  Roughly an hour later, a figure suddenly appeared before the palace then stepped inside it. This man was half bald, and his eyes seemed naturally and perpetually filled with malice and viciousness. As he walked in, he immediately and excitedly knelt down with respect. “Your disciple greets you, Master.”

  “No need for this.” The Lord of All Fiends reached out with his hand, sending out a surge of divine power and pressing upwards at the man’s knee, making him rise. “Disciple, you’ve had to toil away all by yourself for so many years. Master should be the one expressing gratitude to you. In addition, you are now as strong as an Elder God yourself. There’s no need for you to kneel.”

  “Without you, Master, I would’ve died long ago when I was an ordinary mortal.” The savage balding man said respectfully, “No matter what happens, you shall always be my master.”

  The Lord of All Fiends smiled.

  This was his favorite disciple, and the disciple he trusted the most.

  “Stoneswan!?!” The black-robed Godking rose to his feet, staring at the man in disbelief. “Y-you…didn’t die?!”

  “You haven’t died either, Clothred. How could I?” The man laughed coldly.

  “Windfiend, did you just say that Bloodswan has become comparable to an Elder God? He’s an overlord?” Daomother Devilhand was astonished.

  The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Yes.”

  “Hahaha…” Keeper Everwood began to laugh. “When you saved us all, Windfiend, you journeyed by yourself through the endless primordial chaos for a long time, only releasing us when you returned to the Three Realms. You told us that your disciple, Daofather Bloodswan, ended up dying in the primordial chaos. So that was just a lie you told us.”

  * * *

  Book 23, Chapter 9 - Immortal Ascent

  “When I fled from the Three Realms,” the Lord of All Fiends said with a sigh, “I found myself lost within the vast primordial chaos. I had no idea where I was supposed to go, so I randomly chose a direction and started to move.”

  Back then, the Lord of All Fiends didn’t have any detailed star maps; he had no idea that a spatial vortex tunnel existed which led out of the Three Realms.

  “The endless primordial chaos is filled with countless dangers.”

  “I was very lucky in that I am skilled in staying alive, and I was also quite careful. That’s the only reason I was able to survive for so long. Otherwise, I would’ve died there long ago.” As the Lord of All Fiends spoke, the other major powers all listened to him. In the past, he had never been willing to divulge anything pertaining to his experiences wandering the primordial chaos.

  “Afterwards, I was lucky enough to encounter an estate that should have been left behind by some ancient, powerful figure.” The Lord of All Fiends continued, “I even discovered an entire major world there. I imagine that only World Gods and Chaos Immortals are capable of establishing a major world within the primordial chaos.”

  The Daofathers of the Three Realms were generally capable of establishing major worlds, but that was only within the Three Realms!

  Those created major worlds depended on the Worldheart of the Three Realms to exist. Without the Worldheart, the entire Three Realms would collapse and fall apart. The Crimsonbright world, the Xuanwu world, the Crescent world…none of them could survive on their own. The ruinous power of the primordial chaos would destroy everything! To build a major world within the primordial chaos was incredibly difficult. Some particularly formidable Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals might be capable of it, but less than one in ten thousand would have that ability.

  Daofather Fuju, for example, was strong enough to do so, but that was only because he had been possessed by World God Northrest, who stood at the very highest peak of power amongst World Gods. That was why he had been able to establish Undermoon Lake with ease.

  “Although it was a major world, it was still just a few tens of millions of kilometers around; hardly enough for all of us to survive and flourish,” the Lord of All Fiends said. “When I adventured through the primordial chaos, Bloodswan travelled by my side as we risked our lives together. He took a liking to that estate world, preferring it to the Three Realms. Thus, he decided to take up residence there.”

  “I decided to stay there with him. Every so often, I’d go back to take a look at the Three Realms. When I did, I did it in a way that ensured that Nuwa wouldn’t notice.”

  “Finally, the day came when Nuwa left the Three Realms. I waited a fairly long period of time after she left before returning to the Three Realms with all of you in tow. By then the Nuwa Alliance clearly no longer wished to battle with us, and so they let us back inside.” The Lord of All Fiends laughed. “Afterwards, we ended up finding Blackheaven! I acquired his golem-making skills as well as certain techniques that could be used for rearing bugbeasts.”

  “The art of golem-making requires many skilled artificers, but the art of rearing bugbeasts does not. The only thing you need is time; given enough time, the bugbeasts will naturally grow and evolve.” The Lord of All Fiends laughed. “And so, I let Bloodswan help me out. For all these countless years, Bloodswan has been training in that estate-world in the primordial chaos. In doing so, he also kept an eye on my bugbeasts. Last time, when I paid him a visit, I realized that he reached the overlord level.”

  “I always felt that Bloodswan was a determined and decisive man.” Keeper Everwood nodded. “When I heard that you lost your life while adventuring in the primordial chaos alongside your master, I felt saddened for a long period of time. Now that I know that you are still alive, I’m absolutely delighted.”

  “Bloodswan, congratulations.” Daomother Devilhand looked at him as well.

  Devilhand was known by all as a devil amongst devils. Of the mortal geniuses who had risen to prominence in the Seamless Chaosworld, the one she had favored the most wa
s Bloodswan! Bloodswan was a true devil as well. However, he was an excessively solitary figure who hated the company of others. During the era of the Seamless Chaosworld, the black-robed Godking and Bloodswan had been considered equals amongst the younger generation of cultivators. The Godking had became apprenticed to Demonheart, whereas Bloodswan had decided to join the equally solitary Windfiend.

  “Damn.” The Godking felt aggrieved and stifled.

  Keeper Everwood and Daomother Devilhand had long ago stood at the very peak of power in the Seamless Chaosworld. Bloodswan, however, had grown up at the same time that the Godking had. He had always treated Bloodswan as a rival, but a rival who he had always been superior to! But now, Bloodswan had actually become an overlord? This caused him to feel extremely unhappy. Bloodswan’s original name was Stoneswan, and he had been on fairly good terms with the Godking.

  However, eventually they parted ways due to their different temperaments.

  Both were devils! The former delighted in toying with the hearts of others, while the other was an extremely solitary who abstained from the rest of the world, holding all in contempt.

  “Master,” Daofather Bloodswan said respectfully, “I’ve returned before the Endwar as promised. However, after this war concludes, I intend to head towards that spatial vortex tunnel.”

  The Seamless Gate had also acquired a number of star maps and thus knew about the existence of the spatial vortex tunnel.

  “I knew we wouldn’t be able to keep you forever.” The Lord of All Fiends nodded. “Indeed, only by passing through that tunnel shall you be able to enter the vaster world outside.”

  “Right.” Daofather Bloodswan nodded.

  The black-robed Godking now felt even more unhappy. This solitary idiot was now putting on airs of ‘wanting to visit the greater world’? He, the Godking, was planning to become the leader of the Three Realms!

  “Stoneswan.” The black-robed Godking forced out a laugh, managing to make it sound very genuine and loud. “Now that you’ve become an overlord, our side has gained yet another powerful combatant. However, I need to warn you that your information might be a bit out of date. The Nuwa Alliance has gained another extremely formidable combatant as well…Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning. He has trained for less than a thousand years but has already become an overlord.”

  “Oh?” Bloodswan’s eyes lit up. “He’s that incredible? The chance to face an opponent like him is truly exciting.” His eyes were actually turning slightly bloodshot with excitement.

  ……

  The Shennong world’s Realmwar had come to an end!

  Both sides began to mobilize their armies in their various major worlds and Realms as they gathered their forces….

  Ever since the battle for the Deerchaser major world, the Nuwa Alliance’s morale had been sky-high. They won most of the remaining Realmwars, and they had also won the recently-concluded Shennong Realmwar!

  …….

  The Humanworld of Yu the Great. The Allclans Palace.

  The various major powers had all gathered together here.

  “The Seamless Gate has begun to mobilize their forces spread throughout their worlds.” Daoist Three Purities was seated up high as he spoke in an icy voice. “Clearly, their many defeats have caused them to grow anxious. They wish to gather their remaining forces and launch the final battle for karmic luck.”

  All the major powers seated below him felt their hearts clench.

  Had the day finally arrived?

  “If they wish to fight, then let us fight. Fight them to the death. Fight them to their deaths!” Exalted Celestial Thundergod crushed the winecup in his hands as he bellowed loudly.

  “Even though they have allied with the Primordial Ruinworld, they still are not a match for us.” Houyi, also seated in one of the high seats, spoke in a calm voice.

  “Either they die or we die. There are no other choices. We have only one option before us: To completely wipe them all out!” Kuafu bellowed in an even louder voice than Thundergod.

  All of the more irascible Fiendgods present felt their blood begin to boil. Ning’s own eyes flashed with sharp light as well.

  Nothing in the world would ever proceed exactly as planned or desired! Still…it didn’t matter. He had already mastered his [Starseizing Hand] and had dramatically improved his sword-arts. It was more than enough for him to go to the field of battle and slaughter his foes.

  “By my decree,” Daoist Three Purities boomed out, “All major powers shall mobilize their armies of Immortals and Fiendgods and send them to the Humanworld of Yu the Great. Prepare for the final battle!”

  “Good.”

  “Good.”

  “Fight!”

  Killing light flashed through the eyes of all the major powers. This was total war. Personal survival no longer mattered. They knew that even if they were able to win this war, it was very likely that many of them would perish in the process. It was likely that many of their old friends would perish before everything was said and done. Perhaps they themselves would also pass away. And so…their only choice was to kill! To kill as many of the foes as they could so that more of their friends would be able to survive.

  ……

  “By my word, everyone is to immediately assemble at the Crimsonbright major world.” In the Grand Xia, the Xia Emperor was giving an order to the many Immortals and Fiends who had assembled before him.

  “Let’s go.”

  The skies above the Grand Xia Palace split asunder, revealing an enormous passageway. The many Immortals and Fiendgods all entered the passageway, heading towards the Crimsonbright world.

  All of the armies under the command of the Crimsonbright Realm were mobilizing.

  After assembling at the Crimsonbright world, they would head together to the Humanworld of Yu the Great.

  The Three Realms shuddered as the flames of war burned ever brighter.

  As for Ji Ning, his true body remained within that mountain village of mortals. The village remained as calm as ever.

  “They probably have no idea.” Ning was seated by the side of a pond, fishing rod in hand. He turned his head to stare at the chimney smoke coming from the distant mountain village, then let out a sigh. “A great battle is about to begin…and this battle may well impact every single major world.”

  This was the final, life-and-death struggle between the two major alliances. Both sides would hold back and do their best not to wreck the Three Realms, but some collateral damage was unavoidable. It was also possible that when one side saw no hope of victory, it might decide to wreck the Three Realms out of spite.

  “Water flows on in a turbulent stream, capable of supporting a boat but also capable of capsizing it. But if the boat is too big…the water can only endure…” Ning was murmuring to himself, but he suddenly came to a halt as a light flashed in his mind.

  BOOM!

  The skies above Ning suddenly began to shudder as the aura of the Heavenly Daos descended upon the village pond, causing all of the denizens of the village to stare in utter terror. Faced with the terrifying aura of the Heavenly Daos, they all uncontrollably fell to their knees. Right at this moment, they saw the white-robed youth suddenly soar into the skies.

  Laughing loudly, Ji Ning tossed the fishing rod aside and soared into the skies.

  “An Immortal!!!” The village dwellers all repeatedly pressed their heads against the ground.

  * * *

  Book 23, Chapter 10 - The Prisoners of the Prison World

  The white-robed Ji Ning descended upon a tattered star located deep within the primordial chaos. He sat down in the lotus position.

  Rumble…

  The primordial chaos manifested above him, forming into an enormous whirlpool of energy that completely surrounded Ning, furiously surging into his body.

  When one broke through to become a Celestial Immortal or Pure Yang True Immortal, one would absorb elemental energy or energy from Immortal pills! However, now that Ning had mastered the Heav
enly Dao of Water, he also gained partial insight into the Heavenly Dao of Primordial Chaos. The former was part of the latter, after all. Thus, Ning was now naturally capable of drawing energy from the primordial chaos, resulting in a seemingly endless flood of energy flooding into his body.

  His Pure Yang Jindan began a new evolution, and the Immortal energy within his body began to transform on a fundamental level.

  With the Heavenly Dao of Water serving as the core of his Dao, he began to absorb more and more chaos energy while converting it for his own use.

  ……

  The Crescent world, atop an island.

  The black-robed Ning walked out of his Immortal estate. Uncle White, located outside the estate, glanced at Ning and smiled at him. “Ning, son, you’ve come out.”

  “I need to make a trip.” Ning smiled back at him.

  Swoosh.

  The black-robed Ning immediately soared into the skies. A moment later, yet another streak of light flew towards him. This was the Primaltwin which had been protecting his daughter the entire time. The Primaltwin immediately flew into the black-robed Ning’s estate-treasure.

  This time, the backup Primaltwin clone was going to make the breakthrough as well.

  The black-robed Ning sat down in the lotus position atop a distant, desolate island, then began to draw upon the energy of the primordial chaos. Instantly, a vortex of chaos energy began to appear in the air above the barren island.

  His true body, his backup true body clone, his Primaltwin, his backup Primaltwin clone…all of them began to make their breakthroughs.

  His backup true body clone made its breakthrough within the prisonworld. It too chose to use the Heavenly Dao of Water to serve as its core as it began to draw upon the energy of primordial chaos.

  As Ning mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water, a resonance was suddenly formed with the Heavenly Daos.

  “Yet another major power has mastered the Heavenly Dao of Water.”

  “Who mastered it?”