Desolate Era

by RWX

  BOOM!

  Old Man Yuan was knocked quite a few steps back. Blood leaked out from the corner of his lips, but he grinned. “You were able to breach my formation, but in doing so you lost all your power. You were only able to consume up a small bit of my divine power.” The only thing which he was worried about was Houyi and his arrows.

  Chang’e fell to her knees, holding a hand to her chest.

  Whoosh. A blurry shadow appeared in front of them, a shadow with Houyi’s appearance. It was his truesoul.

  “Chang’e.” Houyi’s shadow looked at Chang’e. He gently stretched out his hand, touching her face. He said in a soft voice, “I…never…hated you.”

  Chang’e just looked at him, her eyes as cold as ice.

  And yet…two tears silently streaked down her face.

  She felt pain in her heart. She knew exactly what had happened, but there was nothing she could do.

  Upon seeing the two tears streak down the face of Chang’e, Houyi’s shadow smiled gently. And then…it dissipated.

  “He used a suicide arrow attack, but was actually able to keep his truesoul intact for a brief moment out of pure willpower?” Old Man Yuan glanced coldly at Chang’e. She had fallen to the ground and her aura was already beginning to weaken. Her body had been penetrated by that terrifying arrow; how could she possibly survive?

  “Hmph.” Old Man Yuan waved his hand, causing a surge of divine power to sweep out and smash down upon her body, transforming it into ash.

  And right at this moment…

  “Eh?” Old Man Yuan’s face changed…because right behind him, a white-haired old man in a Daoist robe had suddenly appeared.

  An utterly dazzlingly flower flew out from Subhuti’s hand, and as it did so it began to bloom. The petals of the flower began to spread out, revealing what could truly be described as the most indescribably beautiful flower to ever grace the Three Realms.

  Ji Ning, Buddha Jueming, Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, the Lord of All Fiends, the Keeper of the Everwood, Kuafu, Sun Wukong, Crazy Ji, Jade Cauldron, Buddha Maitreya, Amitabha, and all the other major powers were watching. They stared at that flower as it bloomed. Everything they had done…Houyi’s sacrifice…it was all for the sake of letting this flower bloom.

  * * *

  Book 23, Chapter 30 - Unto Death

  The flower bloomed.

  Daoist Subhuti watched as the flower bloomed…and then, his gaze grew dim. Although divine power still rippled through his body, his aura of life had completely vanished.

  Ji Ning and the others watched from afar, staring hopefully at Old Man Yuan who stood at the center of that giant black lotus. A look of horror appeared on Old Man Yuan’s face, and his aura trembled then weakened dramatically.

  “He didn’t die.”

  “He didn’t die!”

  Ning and the others were all stunned. The Immortals and Fiendgods of the Three Realms were in a state of shock.

  “He actually didn’t die.” Daoist Subhuti, back within the Crescent world, let out a soft sigh. His own clone had been instantly slain and so he knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful that flower had been. Old Man Yuan, however, had actually been able to withstand it.

  “Shennong said that even Elder Gods would have their souls shattered and their truesouls wiped out. Old Man Yuan, however, is far more powerful than ordinary Elder Gods.” A hint of grief was in Subhuti’s eyes. He understood that since the Lifeseizer Flower had failed to seize Old Man Yuan’s life, the upcoming battle would be the cruelest, deadliest battle of them all. If Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Buddha Jueming, Crazy Ji, Ji Ning, and the others were not able to withstand Old Man Yuan…then all living beings in the Three Realms would truly be annihilated.

  “That flower…?” Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation was still watching from afar. As he saw this, he nodded to himself. “Subhuti’s clone no longer has any aura of life around it, but the body of the clone is fine. It would appear as though that flower doesn’t distinguish between friend or foe; it should be something that attacks all souls and truesouls around it. Alas…the flower might’ve been powerful, but the Mindlord is a powerful Heartforce Cultivator. Heartforce Cultivators have more techniques for protecting their souls and truesouls than ayone else. Still, it looks as though the Mindlord was heavily injured; even his life aura has grown unstable.”

  “Kill.”

  “Kill him.”

  “Kill.”

  Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, the Lord of All Fiends, Keeper Everwood, Ji Ning, Buddha Jueming, and the rest of the major powers were briefly disappointed, but then their eyes turned red with bloodlust as they let out furious roars and began to launch all-out attacks with abandon.

  Old Man Yuan’s face turned ugly. He barked out in a cold voice, “Kill them!”

  He knew quite well that this was the critical moment. As he gave the order, his soulslaves immediately sprang into action, forming into multiple smaller formations and engaging the Nuwa Alliance and Seamless Gate in battle. The three guardian formations of the Nuwa Alliance were particularly deadly, and the ones under the command of Buddha Maitreya, Buddha Amitabha, and Daoist Jade Cauldron were actually able to hold the upper hand, tying down the likes of Elder God Gonggong for now.

  “Blacklotus Guard.” Old Man Yuan sat down into the lotus position and activated a secret art.

  Whoosh!

  Instantly, the area around him transformed into countless lotus flowers. He was seated atop a lotus throne, while the sea of black lotuses around him and spread out to cover an area of nearly ten thousand kilometers. Spacetime around him instantly became sealed, blocking out any movement.

  “Attack.” Daoist Three Purities, Lord Tathagata, the Lord of All Fiends, Keeper Everwood, Ji Ning, and Buddha Jueming were clearly more powerful than the other major powers. They either charging forward alone or attacked from afar with the help of mighty formations, furiously assaulting Old Man Yuan.

  There were seven figures in total, as Ji Ning was using both his true body and his Primaltwin. This represented seven elite Elder Gods assaulting Old Man Yuan!

  The most powerful forces on both sides had joined together to attack him; even Lord Demonheart at his peak would have been suppressed in power. However…although Old Man Yuan had clearly been heavily injured, he was able to rely on his ‘Blacklotus Guard’ to block all attacks. The lotus petals slowly swiveled around him, rendering the area around him completely impervious to attack.

  Old Man Yuan was one of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus. He was a supreme Elder God, and an extraordinary one at that! He was most skilled in heartforce and knew many secret arts, and he naturally knew the ‘black lotus techniques’ which God Emperor Blacklotus had developed.

  This Black Lotus Guardian was something which Ji Ning and the others were not capable of breaching.

  “Die.” Old Man Yuan, seated atop the lotus throne, had an ugly look on his face. He reached out with his right hand which instantly expanded in size and glowed with black light, stretching out hundreds of thousands of kilometers to strike at Daoist Three Purities. Daoist Three Purities wasn’t too far away, as he had to rely on his Immortal Slaying Swords to attack. Only Houyi, who attacked with arrows, was capable of attacking from a greater distance.

  Old man Yuan’s fingers reached out towards him like the very pillars of heavens themselves.

  “Not good.” The black-robed Ning immediately willed his Triult Swords to arc out in a streak of curved light, stabbing towards that palm.

  “Hmph.” Daoist Three Purities also used his Immortal Slaying Swords to strike out at the attack.

  “And here I was worrying that he would keep hiding inside without coming out.” The Lord of All Fiends was the fastest of them all. He instantly appeared next to Old Man Yuan’s elongated right arm, then whipped down his long shuttle at the arm.

  Boom! Bang! Bang!

  The attacks from the three major powers forced
Old Man Yuan to withdraw his arm once more.

  “What?! His body is comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic treasure?” This exchange of blows caused the hearts of Daoist Three Purities, Ji Ning, and Allfiend to clench. When their attacks had landed on Old Man Yuan’s arm, they had only been able to cause a few sparks to appear.

  “I never would’ve thought that I’d have to fight with full power in order to kill you backwater locals of the Three Realms. That flower should have been devised by Shennong, I believe? It was quite nasty.” Old Man Yuan’s face was quite pale. He put away his horsetail whisk, then a total of six arms suddenly appeared on his body. His six arms all dramatically elongated, striking out at the various major powers.

  Old Man Yuan continued to sit there atop his black lotus throne, striking out with his six arms in every direction, his hands executing different types of marvelous palm-arts and finger-arts.

  “The heavy injury he suffered just now was to his soul. Now, he’s using up his divine power as well. Every bit of divine power he uses up, a bit of his soul is used up as well.” Lord Tathagata sent mentally, “Everyone, keep fighting. If we can hold on for long enough, he won’t be able to endure it.”

  “All of you can go die.” Old Man Yuan also knew that he wouldn’t be able to stay in battle for too long.

  Faced with six attacking arms at once, Ning and the others had to fend for themselves by themselves.

  Boom!

  Old Man Yuan’s giant palm clashed directly against Keeper Everwood’s wooden ruler.

  Bang!

  An invisible wave of power struck out at Keeper Everwood’s soul. Keeper Everwood’s wooden ruler turned sluggish, giving the palm a chance to slip past it and strike directly against his body.

  “Everwood!” Lord Allfiend’s face twisted. He never would’ve expected that Keeper Everwood, so skilled in defense, would actually be the first to fall into danger.

  “I won’t be able to escape.” Keeper Everwood quickly understood that he wouldn’t be able to avoid death.

  His mind became filled with thoughts of how he had journeyed as a mortal through the Seamless Chaosworld.

  He thought of a wooden house.

  Keeper Everwood had played an everwood flute in front of that house as a certain woman had danced by his side.

  “I really wish I could go back…but I never will…”

  Swish!

  The giant palm pierced straight through Keeper Everwood’s body…but as it did, Keeper Everwood actually laughed.

  BOOM!

  His body suddenly exploded. Pierced through by that palm, he had unhesitatingly chosen to self-detonate. This explosion, the self-detonation of an Elder God, rocked the entire battlefield. The power of this explosion was great enough to cause the already-injured Old Man Yuan’s face to turn even paler.

  “These damn locals.” Old Man Yuan knew that at a critical time like this, he had to either kill these Immortals and Fiendgods or be killed!

  He never would’ve imagined that he would be in such a dangerous situation. It was all due to that flower!

  No…it was all because of Houyi.

  If it wasn’t for Houyi, his black lotus formation wouldn’t have been breached.

  “Die.” Old Man Yuan grew even more berserk. This time, he simultaneously struck out with two of his palms against Daoist Three Purities. Daoist Three Purities’ ‘Immortal Slaying Swords’ had tremendous penetrative power. As a result, his attacks were actually the most damaging to Old Man Yuan.

  “My fellow Daoists, are you willing to accompany me unto death?” Daoist Three Purities knew that he wouldn’t be able to survive this attack; the defensive power of his ‘Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation’ was far lower than that of an Elder God’s body.

  “It is our honor to follow you, Daofather.”

  “Let’s fight!”

  As the giant palms came smashing towards them, Daoist Three Purities and his 3600 True Immortals all smiled. Then…they transformed into an incomparably dazzling sun that was even more brilliant than the Solar Star itself.

  “You’ve gone ahead of us, my old friend,” Lord Tathagata murmured to himself.

  “I swear I will slay this Outsider!” Ning’s eyes were filled with crimson bloodlust.

  “Amitabha.” Buddha Jueming was even more berserk.

  “These damn yokels!” Old Man Yuan was going crazy from rage as well. Keeper Everwood had chosen to self-detonate, then Daoist Three Purities and several thousand True Immortals had chosen to do the same, allowing all of the Immortal energy in their body to completely burst forth. The explosive power was simply too great; even Old Man Yuan was injured by the waves of power.

  “Die! Die!” Old Man Yuan then sent three of his palms to strike out towards Ji Ning. Aside from the Immortal Slaying Swords, Ji Ning’s Triult Swords were the most dangerous weapons on the battlefield. The two people Old Man Yuan wanted dead above all others were Ji Ning and Daoist Three Purities.

  Ning’s true body was able to block one palm…but the other two palms continued forward to strike against Ning’s Primaltwin. The black-robed Primaltwin’s body was quite weak, after all; he wouldn’t be able to resist any close range attacks that landed against him. Ning’s true body had been helping out this entire time, but now that three palms were simultaneously striking out against him…the only possible result was death.

  “Outsider…” The black-robed Ning shut his eyes.

  BOOM!

  Yet another dazzling, enormous sun suddenly lit up.

  * * *

  Book 23, Chapter 31 - The Destiny of the Three Realms

  When the distant incarnation of Godfiend Witherspike saw those enormous suns erupt one after the other, even he was moved by the grief he could sense radiating from them. Some of his most ancient memories were stirred, and he couldn’t help but sigh softly, “Even I hope that they can kill the Mindlord. Perhaps the Mindlord really will end up falling by the hands of these locals.”

  Keeper Everwood, dead.

  Daoist Three Purities and his 3600 True Immortals, dead.

  The black-robed Ji Ning, dead.

  “Die, you yokels! All of you, die!” Old Man Yuan was utterly enraged. Even if he won this battle, his soul would have been so heavily injured that even he didn’t know how long it would take for it to heal. He sent three of his enormous arms reaching out towards Lord Tathagata the Buddha.

  Lord Buddha murmured in a soft voice, “If I do not go to Hell, who shall? My friends, are you willing to venture into Hell alongside me?” [1. This is a very famous Buddhist saying which was actually attributed to Bodhisattva Kshitigarbha, who swore that he would not allow himself to become a Buddha until he rescued all living things who were trapped in Hell. When asked by others why he was doing this, he countered with the question, ‘If I do not go to hell (to rescue those people), who shall?”]

  “I am willing.”

  “I am willing.”

  The Empyrean Gods by his side were all extremely calm as the most unforgettable memories of their lives slowly drifted through their minds. They all had things they had once sworn to protect, and they would not shirk back from their duty, not even it cost them their lives.

  The three enormous palms descended upon them.

  Lord Buddha and his 5800 Empyrean Gods were all completely calm and peaceful.

  BOOM!!!

  A blindingly brilliant sun erupted once more.

  Although Lord Tathagata had an indestructible golden body, he knew very well that he was still just a True God. If he didn’t self-detonate, Old Man Yuan would end up suppressing him and then sealing him away. The end result would still be death, and he wouldn’t even be able to harm Old Man Yuan! Thus, Lord Buddha didn’t hesitate at all. He immediately self-detonated, the shock of the explosion causing Old Man Yuan’s hands to shudder and quickly draw backwards.

  Old Man Yuan’s face turned even uglier to behold.

  “Kill!” Old Man Yuan had already made up his mind to wipe them all out.
His next target was Buddha Jueming. Buddha Jueming’s protective divine ability was incredibly formidable. Given that he was also an Elder God…he made Old Man Yuan rather uncomfortable.

  “Amitabha. Northrest, my benefactor…this monk won’t be able to travel to Vastheaven Palace.” Buddha Jueming silently murmured these words to himself, smiling as he watched those three massive palms descend towards him.

  BOOM!!!

  Buddha Jueming also transformed into a dazzlingly bright sun, the power of the explosion furiously draining away Old Man Yuan’s divine power. However, given that Old Man Yuan was a Heartforce Cultivator, he’d still be able to survive even if the only part of him left was his truesoul! When World God Northrest had fled, he had lost both his body and his soul. The only part of him left was his truesoul, and his truesoul was actually beginning to dissipate as well. Despite all that, he had managed to stay alive for a long period of time.

  Obviously, Old Man Yuan wasn’t as formidable as Northrest. However, although quite a bit of his divine power and soul had been consumed, he was still able to continue to launch attacks of tremendous power.

  This was the difference between himself and Lord Demonheart. He was one of the Nine Divine Generals of God Emperor Blacklotus!

  “He’s still not dead?”

  “How is he not dead?!”

  The major powers of the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate all felt heartbroken over their losses, and yet somehow Old Man Yuan was still alive!

  “Ji Ning, die.” Old Man Yuan next sent five of his arms to strike at Ji Ning. Ji Ning’s true body had mastered the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent], making it extremely hard for Old Man Yuan to kill him with just one or two arms. However, Old Man Yuan’s arms were all capable of attacking as fast as the limits of the Heavenly Daos. When five of those arms attacked simultaneously, there really was no way for Ji Ning to dodge, especially since he had been fighting in close combat to begin with.

  In addition…Ji Ning never even considered fleeing.