Desolate Era

by RWX

  World God Dragonbinder now viewed Ning in a completely different light. In the past, he had treated Ning as he would an equal due to his ties to Daolord Solesky. However, now that he knew exactly how freakishly strong Ning was, Dragonbinder truly wanted to befriend him. Ning was still merely an Elder God, but he was already Dragonbinder’s equal in power. How much more powerful would he become in the future?

  “Your true abilities have been revealed. You have to be careful after you leave the Allgod Estate. I can sense that Arroyo and Fukai are incredibly dangerous. They somehow managed to convince even supreme World Gods to be their servants! This is truly unbelievable. They have to have a shockingly powerful backer,” Dragonbinder sent mentally. “They might take an unsavory interest in you.”

  Ning nodded slowly.

  It was true.

  Arroyo and Fukai had stated earlier that the three members who had taken part in the matches thus far were the weakest members of their two groups. The remaining four were all supreme World Gods! Fukai and Arroyo were both supreme World Gods and they each had a supreme World God retainer. It was truly unfathomable for a person to be willing to subordinate himself to be a servant of someone who was merely his equal.

  “My sword-arts are just a hair away from breaking through. I need to try my best to become a World God here in the Allgod Estate,” Ning mused to himself.

  Once this affair was included, it was highly possible that Arroyo or Fukai would try to capture Ning and force him to become a slave!

  He was still a bit too weak right now. After he broke through to become a World God, he would truly have nothing to fear.

  “It is now time for the fourth match.” The bald three-eyed man’s voice was filled with a hint of mocking as he turned his gaze towards Arroyo and Fukai.

  “You!” The three-eyed man pointed straight at the blood-robed Arroyo.

  Arroyo’s face tightened slightly. It was finally his turn… but who would his opponent be? Arroyo turned to glance at the gold-robed Fukai as well as the swarthy, withered-looking man standing behind him.

  “And… you!” The three-eyed man pointed towards that swarthy, withered-looking man.

  “Buxin.” Fukai sent a mental message to his servant.

  “Master.” The withered man respectfully acknowledged him.

  “You should know quite well how incredibly important the Eternal blood is to me. If I cannot acquire it, I will definitely die… and you will die with me. In fact, even your entire school will be doomed. I think you know how angry my father will be if I die,” Fukai sent mentally.

  World God Buxin’s pupils contracted slightly.

  Fukai’s father was a true devil amongst devils, an utterly terrifying figure. It would be easy for him to annihilate Buxin’s school.

  “But if I successfully acquire the Eternal blood, my status and power shall skyrocket! However, my greatest obstacle right now is Arroyo. If you can kill him, I’ll be the one to acquire the Eternal blood. I can promise you right now that I will bestow a Pseudo Samsara Pill upon you, and your sect will also receive my eternal protection!” Fukai sent mentally.

  “Don’t worry, Master. Buxin will do his absolute best,” World God Buxin sent mentally.

  “I don’t want you to your best. I want you to kill Arroyo! If I fail and die, you’ll die as well since you are my servant. I know that you will work hard, but you also need to be smart about this. Find a way to kill him!” Fukai gritted his teeth, then took out a jade green globe. “I’m willing to temporarily loan this treasure of mine to you.”

  When the nearby Arroyo saw Fukai take out that jade green globe, his face tightened.

  “Let me warn you…” The three-eyed man suddenly said, “All treasures, golems, bugbeasts, seals, and even Elder God servants can only be used a single time on the Samsara Grinders! You are forbidden from using them twice! If you give your servant a treasure, you are not permitted to use it for yourself!”

  “What?! Why?” The gold-robed Fukai was shocked. “You never mentioned this before.”

  “Because no one tried to lend someone else a treasure.” The three-eyed man said calmly, “I’ve already said what I need to say. Decide whether or not you wish to loan him that treasure.”

  “Ahahaha…” The blood-robed Arroyo let out a loud laugh. “Fukai, go ahead and loan it to your servant… if you have the balls to, that is!”

  The gold-robed Fukai hesitated for a moment, then turned to look at his servant. “It’ll all be up to you.”

  “Understand, Master.” World God Buxin nodded.

  His master, Fukai, would take part in the fifth match. If that precious Eternal treasure could only be used in a single match on the Samsara Grinders, there was no way Fukai would loan it to him!

  Whoosh. Whoosh.

  Two figures flew straight towards the Samsara Grinders. The blood-robed Arroyo and the withered-looking World God Buxin stared at each other from afar as the light around them began to coalesce into those golden armored warriors. These two supreme World Gods didn’t even blink, paying no attention whatsoever to the golden warriors.

  “You think yourself worthy of facing me?” Arroyo had a look of ridicule in his eyes.

  “Arroyo, on this day, either you or I will perish here atop this Samsara Grinders. I have no choice but to offend you.” World God Buxin’s voice was very calm and flat. Arroyo had an exalted background and his status was slightly higher than even Fukai’s, but they were more or less on the same level. Buxin and Arroyo were both supreme World Gods, but their statuses were completely different.

  Neither side could afford to fail in this quest for the Eternal blood. World God Buxin was going to have to fight with his full power.

  “Begin!” The three-eyed man ordered.

  “Kill!”

  “Kill!”

  Thousands of golden warriors let out furious roars as they charged straight towards Arroyo and World God Buxin.

  “Heh heh heh…” Arroyo laughed coldly as waves of blood suddenly manifested around him. The waves of blood spread out in every direction, smashing into those golden warriors. Some of the warriors were actually shattered by the waves while the rest were pushed far away.

  Arroyo waved his hand, and nine mighty golems appeared in the area around him. Each of the nine golems had auras of incredible power, and they were clearly even stronger than the golems which Ning had purchased.

  “You are doomed.” An enormous pair of scimitars suddenly appeared within Arroyo’s hands. The scimitars were simply huge, larger than even Arroyo himself. Both emanated auras of utterly shocking power and were clearly Eternal weapons.

  Arroyo strode forward confidently. The waves of blood continued to push outwards, preventing the golden warriors from even moving close to him, while his nine golems surrounded him like an honor guard escorting an emperor.

  “What incredible power.” Ning was shocked by what he saw. The blood waves alone were so powerful that they were perhaps superior to most master-class World Gods in might. Those two weapons Arroyo were wielding were most likely Eternal weapons as well. Once he attacked, he would definitely be able to unleash the power of a supreme World God.

  And most likely, he would be an incredibly strong one, superior to other supreme World Gods such as God Emperor Blacklotus.

  “Even World God Northrest only had access to one Eternal weapon, but both of Arroyo’s scimitars appear to be Eternal weapons. And those nine golems surrounding him… I imagine every single one of them has to be worth over a thousand cubes of chaos nectar. Given that they are able to join together into a formation, the entire set has to be worth tens of thousands of cubes.”

  Ning was shocked by Arroyo’s wealth. He now felt a sense of pressure. Just as Dragonbinder had warned him, it was very likely that either Fukai or Arroyo would try to capture him after these trials were concluded. They would want to force Ning to become a servant or a slave.

  The terrifying power which Arroyo had just put on display would be turned agai
nst Ning. Would Ning be able to handle it?

  And then there was Fukai, someone who was just as terrifying as Arroyo himself…

  Boom! Boom! Boom! World God Buxin calmly walked forward, having manifested a total of eighteen arms. These eighteen arms were unleashing a series of palm-arts and fist-arts, and each time they struck a golden warrior the golden warrior would be smashed into tiny pieces. He just calmly walked forward through the sea of golden armored foes towards Arroyo.

  Both sides completely ignored the golden warriors. They only had eyes for each other.

  Only one of the two would survive!

  * * *

  Book 25, Chapter 40 - Close the Gates

  The battle between Arroyo and World God Buxin went on for nearly an entire hour. Finally, the battle came to an end.

  “Impossible. How could this have happened?” The golden-robed Fukai was muttering to himself, a look of disbelief in his eyes. He truly couldn’t believe what he had just seen.

  “How could this have happened? Is this… is this my destiny? My doom?” Fukai felt his entire body turn as cold as ice.

  Ji Ning, World God Dragonbinder, Su Youji had already safely secured victory in their match. Although they were quite curious about this ‘Eternal blood’, it wasn’t something which they absolutely had to acquire. Thus, they had been watching the fourth match quite calmly.

  “Huh. So that happened.” World God Dragonbinder was still rather stunned.

  “Impressive.” Ning sighed in amazement.

  “Master, would he now be considered a transcendent figure amongst World Gods?” The Flamefairy asked.

  Ning nodded slowly. “I think he should be.”

  The battle had been utterly exhilarating.

  As World God Buxin entered the battlefield, his power actually began to increase! He used his fists and his feet as his weapons, and when his eighteen arms struck out they formed an inviolable domain that swept away any who sought to breach it. All nine of Arroyo’s golems had been somewhat suppressed by him! Fukai had been incredibly excited upon seeing this as nothing would have made him happier than seeing Arroyo die.

  “Arroyo really did have quite a few treasures. He used up so many treasures that he was able to buy himself a considerable amount of time. In the end, just as he was about to lose, he went completely berserk and actually made a breakthrough. He became much more powerful as a result.” Ning still couldn’t get that dazzling saber-strike out of his mind. Gripped by utter despair, Arroyo released an utterly dazzling strike with his saber that suddenly exploded with unbelievable power. That strike had completely knocked Buxin off his feet and had sent him flying backwards.

  Arroyo had been wildly overjoyed. He had struck out two more times, causing World God Buxin to tumble down to the ground. The golden warriors had seized the moment to tie him up with his ropes, and shortly afterwards he was drawn into one of their gourds and grind apart into dust.

  “The fourth match ended,” the bald three-eyed man announced. Even he couldn’t help but give the blood-robed Arroyo a glance. Transcendent World Gods were incredibly rare. Any master-class World God who acquired an Eternal weapon or some incredibly powerful treasures would possess the power of a supreme World God, but to transcend past the supreme level was incredibly difficult.

  One had to reach an incredibly high level of skill in a certain aspect in order to become a transcendent World God. These figures were incredibly rare! The number of transcendent World Gods in the entire Badlands Territory could be counted on one hand. They were just as rare as Samsara Daolords!

  “Ahaha! I won! I WON! Ahaha…”

  Arroyo flew downwards alongside his servants, a look of crazed joy and excitement on his face. The blood sea hidden within his eyes seemed to be roaring and shaking.

  “Fukai. Your servant really was quite impressive. He actually forced me to the utter brink. Haha! I really need to find a way to thank him. If it hadn’t been for him forcing me to the brink of utter despair, I never would’ve been able to comprehend the true essence of the ‘Sanguine Decay’.” Arroyo was filled with smugness as he stared at the gold-robed Fukai. “Fukai, if you can’t accept this outcome, make your own breakthrough as well! That way, you’d also become a transcendent figure…”

  Arroyo was filled with complete confidence now. “You’ve lost. You’ve utterly lost. The divine blood of the Eternal is mine.”

  “My match hasn’t even started. You are celebrating too soon.” A gloomy look was on Fukai’s face as he spoke.

  “Look at how unhappy you are! This is the first time I’ve seen you with such an ugly look on your face.” Arroyo snickered loudly.

  Fukai had always looked completely calm, unflappable, and self-assured. Now, however, an extremely dark and gloomy look was on his face.

  Fukai no longer had any confidence in his ability to win. To advance from being a supreme World God to become a transcendent one was an impossibly difficult step to take! However, Fukai still clung onto hope. “If Arroyo can make a breakthrough, why can’t I? I’ll definitely make a breakthrough as well. I’m going to acquire that Eternal blood, then become a Samsara Daolord. My path has just begun… I’m not going to be beaten. I’m not!”

  “The fifth match.” The three-eyed man spoke out again. “It goes without saying that you two will be the ones to participate. That match just now was quite dazzling. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a transcendent World God. Don’t let the final match be a disappointment.”

  The blood-robed Arroyo laughed, while Fukai’s face turned serious.

  “Go,” Arroyo ordered his subordinate. “Play with him a bit.”

  “Understood.” Behind Arroyo was an alien creature who looked something like an ape. His entire body was covered with black fur and protected by a suit of golden armor. When he allowed his aura to spread out, it crashed out towards everyone else like waves slamming against the beach.

  “Hmph.” Fukai let out a cold snort, then immediately transformed into a streak of light as he flew towards the Samsara Grinders.

  “Die. The black-furred ape flew towards the Samsara Grinders as well, filled with a murderous aura.

  Ning and the others continued to simply watch from below.

  “That jade green globe actually held an army of bugbeasts inside of it.” Su Youji sighed in amazement.

  “He really had quite a few treasures.” World God Dragonbinder couldn’t help but speak out as well.

  “Hah. Him and Arroyo are no ordinary World-level cultivators.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh. These guys were simply too rich. That jade green globe held an entire world within it that was exclusively devoted to rearing bugbeasts. The rules of the competition meant that only nine of the bugbeasts could be unleashed, but all nine were comparable to master-class World Gods who could give even Ning a run for his money!

  It had been a truly wild battle.

  Fukai had intentionally let himself fall into dangerous situations, hoping that the pressure of it all would result in him making a breakthrough.

  Alas, breakthroughs weren’t that easy to make. In addition, he very nearly died due to a dangerous situation he put himself into. In the end, he only survived because he used a Dao-seal.

  The battle went on for four full hours.

  “I’ve done everything I can, Master.” The black-furred ape let out a low growl. The four hours of frenzied combat had completely wiped out his reserves of divine power.

  “Die in peace. I’ll protect your entire race.” Arroyo smiled.

  The battle came to an end.

  The ape’s divine power was completely used up, resulting in his death. Fukai was the victor! However, he didn’t seem to be the slightest bit pleased by his victory. He put away his bugbeasts and flew off the Samsara Grinders in a rather numbed, dazed manner.

  “Fukai.” Arroyo looked at Fukai.

  Fukai looked at him.

  Their gazes met. One would acquire the Eternal blood and survive. The other would die.

>   “You lost,” Arroyo said.

  “N-no…” Fukai ground his teeth. He had won his match, but he had lost the competition between himself and Arroyo. Although he had intentionally let himself fall into dangerous situations, he hadn’t made any breakthroughs at all! He knew very well that Arroyo was now far more powerful than him.

  Daolord Allgod had established the trial of the Twin Samsara Heavens for anyone who sought to acquire Eternal blood. Given what a proud figure he was, it was guaranteed that everything would be happened in accordance with his will. There was no way that World God Dragonbinder, World God Boneplate, Flamefairy Su Youji, or Fukai would be the ones to earn the Eternal blood.

  There was only one possible victor!

  Arroyo!

  Transcendent World Gods were incredibly rare. He, and he alone, was qualified to be considered the victor of this trial.

  “The five matches have come to an end.” The bald three-eyed man spoke out, causing everyone present to turn towards him.

  “Five World-level cultivators remain.” The three-eyed man swept his gaze across Arroyo, Boneplate, Fukai, Dragonbinder, and Su Youji. These five had survived; the other five had died.

  “Eternal blood aside, all survivors will be given a bit of karmic good fortune.” The three-eyed man smiled as he pointed towards the towering gates of the Castrum Divinitus.

  Rumble…

  These massive gates had been shut for countless years. They now slowly began to move, and it was like two giant continents were swinging open. Past the gates was utter darkness. Nothing could be seen at all.

  “The survivors shall all be granted entry into the Castrum Divinitus, and all of you will benefit from it.” The three-eyed man turned to look at Fukai, Arroyo, and Boneplate. “The three of you experienced many dangers to reach this place. Even for those of you who do not acquire the Eternal blood, you will still be blessed with some karmic fortune.”