Desolate Era

by RWX

  Soon, more than fifty thousand years had gone past since his initial entry into the Trileaf Realm.

  “I’ve finally mastered it. How truly inconceivable! At the World level, I’ve actually managed to master the quadressence thunder.”

  Ning stood there at the peak of a mountain, his eyes flashing. Instantly, a streak of golden lightning shot out of him.

  This bolt of golden lightning was filled with an aura of sharpness. This was Ning’s newly created quadressence thunder! When Ning had first started to train in alchemy, he had been able to immediately master the tri-essence thunder and the quadressence water. Now that he had spent five million years of accelerated time training in alchemy, he had made tremendous strides in this field. In pill-making, Ning was superior to even Pillsaint. Pillsaint was still working on the third chapter, after all. Ning was working on the seventh chapter!

  “Daolord Allgod once said that a Daolord of the First Step would have a chance at mastering the tri-essence thunder.” Ning laughed. “I’m at the World level, but I’ve actually mastered the quadressence thunder. Haha…”

  His azureflower mist energy was comparable to a Daolord’s energy, and his pill-making arts were absolutely unearthly as well. This was why he was able to produce such miraculous results.

  “Now, I have quadressence thunder and quadressence water.” Ning willed them all to come out.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  A dazzling bolt of golden lightning and a crystalline stream of jade green water instantly filled the skies, transforming into an incomparably terrifying domain of sword-intent! The Yin-Yang Sword Domain was now definitely Ning’s most powerful killer attack. The quadressence thunder and the quadressence water could unleash ruinously powerful attacks that would heavily injure even Daolords of the Second Step. When they were used in this domain of sword-intent… they could actually wipe those second step Daolords out!

  For now, Ning truly had reached his limit in terms of controlling lightning and water. He had no chance at all of completing pentessence water; most likely, he would have to first become a Daolord.

  Roughly a thousand years passed after Ning had mastered his quadressence thunder.

  “Master! Master! I’ve succeeded. I’ve succeeded!” World God Pillsaint came flying in search of Ning.

  “Follow me.” After ascertaining that Pillsaint had indeed completely mastered the third chapter, Ning immediately led Pillsaint out of his estate-world, taking him to pay a visit to the Paragon of Pills.

  ……

  “Come in.”

  Ning couldn’t help but shiver when he saw that dark, icy-cold estate. He couldn’t help but sigh as well. Why did the Paragon have to live by herself in a place like this? Why?

  As Ning lamented silently, he led Pillsaint into the estate.

  The Paragon of Pills was seated in the lotus position before the enormous pill cauldron, her black gauzy robes spread across her and over the ground.

  “Darknorth.” The Paragon glanced at Ning, her gaze turning much gentler than before.

  “Greetings, Paragon,” Ning said respectfully. As for Pillsaint, he obediently fell to his knees and kowtowed.

  “Sit,” the Paragon instructed.

  Although she told them to sit, in reality they merely sat on the ground in the lotus position as well. Pillsaint snuck a glance at the Paragon, but didn’t dare to stare directly at her. He simply felt rather puzzled… he could clearly see her, but why was it that he kept on feeling as though he couldn’t make out her features?

  “Paragon,” Ning said.

  “If you don’t mind, you can simply address me as ‘Mistress’,” the Paragon of Pills said.

  “Mistress,” Ning called out obediently. He already had a vague understanding of what the relationship between the Paragon and the deceased Hegemon had been like, and also understood how the Paragon felt about him as a result.

  The Paragon of Pills nodded. “Have you brought this young fellow to me because of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters]?”

  Ning nodded. “He is my retainer, World God Pillsaint. I have already transmitted the first three chapters to him, and he has mastered them all. That is why I have brought him here.”

  “Then refine a cauldron of Thousand Songs pills.” The Paragon glanced at Pillsaint, her eyes quite calm. She didn’t really care that much about so-called ‘alchemy geniuses’; Hegemons rarely were very eager to take on new disciples. They themselves could live for countless years; why would they have to find people to teach their skills to?

  Only truly exceptional geniuses that they also took a personal liking to would be accepted as disciples. She treated Ning in a very special manner, and as a result she held a certain fondness for those connected to him. This was why she was willing to give Pillsaint a chance.

  “Yes.” Pillsaint understood that this moment was a moment which could change his destiny. In truth, as soon as he saw that enormous lake of chaos nectar he had been rather stunned. He immediately began to work on refining pills.

  Pillsaint was extremely careful, and his cauldron of pills was quite good.

  “Not bad. Darknorth, how long did your retainer need in order to master the three chapters?” Pillsaint asked.

  “He’s been in my estate-world this entire time, where time moves a hundred times faster than normal. Thus… he should’ve spent more than five million ‘accelerated’ years,” Ning answered honestly. Lying in front of a major power like her would be utterly stupid.

  The Paragon of Pills frowned slightly. More than five million years to just learn three chapters? Given her standards, this was fairly slow! She generally only accepted the most elite of disciples, people like Bertulu or Ji Ning. Although Pillsaint was extremely talented in alchemy, he still wasn’t quite at her mark.

  “You can become one of my honorary disciples, I suppose.” The Paragon said calmly, “I shall transmit the first six chapters of the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] to you. Swear an oath to never disseminate it to others.”

  “Yes.” Pillsaint was actually overjoyed. Being able to learn the first six chapters was already quite incredible.

  The Paragon bestowed a golden medallion upon him, and it immediately merged into his body once he touched it, filling his mind with certain memories as well as forcing him to involuntarily swear a lifeblood oath. Clearly, the Paragon wasn’t being nearly as gentle with him as she had been with Ning.

  “Thank you, Master.” After fully memorizing the technique, Pillsaint was absolutely delighted. He immediately kowtowed respectfully to express his gratitude.

  The first six chapters alone would still allow Pillsaint to vastly outstrip Daolord Allgod in alchemy. Many of the pill formulas included within the first six chapters were actually pills which only Eternal Emperors could create.

  As for the seventh chapter, it contained the Paragon’s most elite techniques. She wouldn’t casually teach it to outsiders.

  “You are Darknorth’s retainer, yes? Make sure you serve him loyally. If you betray him, do not blame me for showing you no mercy,” the Paragon said.

  “Your disciple understands,” Pillsaint said respectfully. In truth, he could tell that this opportunity was most likely all thanks to the Paragon’s relationship with Ji Ning.

  “Thank you, Mistress.” Ning felt gratitude as well. The Paragon of Pills truly did treat him well.

  “Gonflame should be able to complete your lifeblood weapons within another ten thousand years.” The Paragon looked at Ning. “My divinations are whispering to me that you probably leave upon acquiring those weapons.”

  “Yes.” Ning nodded respectfully.

  “My divinations indicate that once you leave, it will be a long, long time before the two of us ever meet again!” The Paragon said. “Thus… you must be very careful on your path of cultivation. If you encounter any serious issues, you can use my name to warn those who would harm you. It might be of some use. Also… true major powers have all types of abilities. Don’t rely too much on any single
type of life-saving measure.”

  “For example… my calculations indicate that you have a Primaltwin. However, certain major powers who wish to kill you can use certain karma techniques to completely annihilate your truesoul, be it that of your true body or your Primaltwin,” the Paragon said. “Karma techniques are extremely formidable, and have effects similar to that of lifeblood oaths. They can follow those secret, hidden connections and wipe out the truesouls of all of your clones and bodies.”

  Ning couldn’t help but feel speechless and amazed upon hearing this. Once a lifeblood oath was violated, all bodies would be annihilated, true… but there were actually attack techniques that could achieve the same results? This was utterly terrifying.

  “In the future, you shall understand how powerful the ‘major powers’ truly are,” the Paragon said. “Thus, you absolutely must be careful in your path of cultivation. That way, the two of us might have a chance to meet again in the future. You may go now. It won’t be necessary for you to come and say farewell to me when you leave.”

  “Yes, Mistress.” Ning respectfully fell to his knees, expressing his gratitude.

  Although they had only met each other a few times, Ning could sense that the Paragon of Pills truly held nothing back from him and did not plot against him at all. She truly was doing what she thought was best for him.

  In his mind, Ning viewed her as he would a close friend or a beloved senior. He silently memorized the kindnesses she had shown him. For now, though, he was still very weak. Repay her kindness? That was something for the distant future.

  * * *

  Book 28, Chapter 48 - The Return

  After bidding the Paragon farewell, Ji Ning couldn’t help but feel slightly emotional. After this parting, who knew how long it would be for them to meet again? The Paragon of Pills lived in a different universe, after all. Ning would be living in the Endless Territories! Alas, he had to go back.

  ……

  More than sixty thousand years after he had arrived in the Trileaf Realm, Emperor Gonflame sent a servant to carry a message to him.

  “Emperor Gonflame wishes to meet me?” Ning revealed a look of joy.

  “As soon as the Emperor left his estate-world, he immediately ordered me to come meet you, fellow Daoist.” The extremely muscular azure-garbed Daolord continued, “Fellow Daoist, please follow me over right away.”

  “Yes, let’s go right away.” Ning had been waiting impatiently for some time now. He had spent more than sixty thousand years for the sake of this lifeblood weapon.

  Swoosh. Swoosh.

  Two streaks of light shot through the skies, heading straight towards Emperor Gonflame’s palace.

  Emperor Gonflame’s estate was at the margins of the Trileaf Realm. However, there were many cultivators here. Emperor Gonflame’s treasures were simply too alluring; even though most of the cultivators couldn’t afford to actually by them, just having the chance to look at them was a chance for them to expand their horizons.

  “Please come this way.” The azure-garbed Daolord led Ning straight into the estate, and they soon arrived in a private courtyard.

  “Master, I’ve brought Darknorth to you,” the azure-robed Daolord said respectfully.

  “You can go. Darknorth, come, sit.” Emperor Gonflame was seated, a proud smile on his face. Each time he forged some treasures he particularly liked, he would always feel a bit smug. He always did enjoy forging treasures, and it was that genuine affection for his art, combined with his incredible talent as well as the guidance of the Paragon of Pills, which led him to become the number one artificer of this entire universe.

  Ning suppressed his excitement and sat down.

  “Look at you. I bet the only thing you care about right now are those swords.” Emperor Gonflame started to laugh. “Alright, I’ll stop teasing you. Look. These are your six lifeblood weapons.” As he spoke, he waved his hand and caused a pitch-black scabbard to appear next to him, with six swords ‘folded’ together inside of it.

  “One scabbard, six swords.” Emperor Gonflame smiled. “You can carry all of them at the same time. Lifeblood weapons are unlike other weapons. These are freshly forged, and they don’t even have Sword Dao quintessences withim them. They are completely fresh and blank slates; they don’t even have sword-spirits yet. Thus, they’ll be relying on you to pour your own Sword Dao into them to form their quintessences and give birth to their sword-spirits. How far they will be able to develop will be completely up to you.”

  Ning stared at the pitch-black scabbard hovering before him and the six swords within them. Ning waved his hand. Whoosh! Instantly, the six swords all flew out.

  Every single sword seemed quite ordinary. The blades were very thin but also incredibly sharp.

  “Bind them first.” Emperor Gonflame looked at Ning. “You do know how to bind lifeblood swords, right?”

  “Fill them with my own blood and nourish them with my own spirit, right?” Ning asked. He was a sword cultivator, after all. Although acquiring lifeblood weapons was quite difficult, he did know how one should bind one if one was lucky enough to acquire one.

  “Right.” Emperor Gonflame nodded. “Work hard and take care of those swords. As for the scabbard, you don’t need to spend any effort on it. It’s nothing more than an ordinary top-grade Eternal treasure, with no special properties. I just casually made it into a shape that fits the swords.”

  The scabbard and the six swords hovered in front of Ning. Ning stretched out his hand, a wound suddenly appearing within his palm. Blood immediately spurted out. Under Ning’s control, the blood flew out in six streams and covered all six of those swords.

  The six swords were all pitch-black in color. Like nursing babies, they absorbed Ning’s fresh blood. The blood spread out over them like a spider web as more and more of it was absorbed into the swords.

  To Ning, blood was nothing more than a manifestation of his divine power. After using up more than half of his divine power, his six swords were finally ‘full’.

  Whoosh. Ning sent out strands of his divine will towards those six swords. The six swords had absorbed much of Ning’s blood, which contained both his divine power as well as tiny parts of his truesoul. As a result, the swords naturally wouldn’t resist Ning’s will, allowing it burrow deep within their ‘bodies’.

  Ning’s divine will completely surrounded the six swords, almost like the embrace of a mother.

  Slowly… the six swords began to change internally in a dramatic fashion, almost like how Pangu had been born from the primordial chaos. The six swords were already filled with Ning’s blood. Now, under the guidance and nurturing power of Ning’s soul and will, they began to gain sentience. In truth, this sentience was akin to that of a living being’s; they would be intelligent, grow, and even cultivate independently. This was what the giant bear of Daoist Threelives’ Starseizing Manor had done.

  “Whoah.”

  “Wow.”

  “Ah.”

  One voice after another cried out as child-like figures began to appear from the surfaces of the six swords. Because of Ning’s own soul and truesoul having influenced their creation, they were born looking like human children.

  All of them seemed quite puzzled. As ‘newborns’ who had just come into existence, they didn’t even know how to speak.

  “Hello, kids.” When Ning saw those six sword-spirits arise, he suddenly sensed a powerful sense of kinship towards them. In the past, whenever he had bound magic treasures he would be connected to them as well, but those were just ordinary connections. This time…

  It was a feeling almost akin to when he had first seen his daughter Brightmoon. It was a connection that came from the deepest parts of his truesoul, a true connection on the most basic of levels. He felt almost like a father towards them! This was another reason why these weapons were referred to as ‘lifeblood’ weapons.

  “Be good now.” Ning smiled as he looked at the six of them. They all looked like babies, and all of them were comple
tely naked. Ning laughed as he used his divine will to convey some information to them. In the end, they weren’t mortal children; they grew and learned quite quickly. As soon as Ning sent them some information, they almost immediately learned how to speak.

  “Master.”

  “Master!”

  “Hey, so you are our master?”

  The six young fellows all began to call out simultaneously.

  Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit helpless. Although they had quickly mastered the concept of language, it would take time for them to grow more intelligent. Right now, they were too young and too innocent.

  “From this day forth, you will be ranked in accordance with how quickly you woke up. So you’ll be number one, you’ll be number two, you’ll be number three…” Ning gave all of them rankings.

  “Haha.” Emperor Gonflame started to laugh. “Darknorth, have you started to view them as your own children?”

  Ning was startled. They were just swords, right? But indeed, he had given them a ‘birth order’ as he might’ve given actual children.

  “Many major powers will treat their lifeblood weapons as their own children.” Emperor Gonflame sighed. “It isn’t surprising at all. In the future, it’ll be up to you to help them grow and become stronger. The relationship between you and your swords will only strengthen and deepen. A tiny number of incredible lifeblood weapons will break through to the Universe level, but those Universe treasures will still feel tremendous love and affection for their first master. This is why.”

  Ning nodded slowly. The Universe sword belonging to the deceased Hegemon of the sword refused to accept Ning, precisely because it wanted to choose someone whose personality was more similar to the Hegemon’s.

  “From this day forth, the six of them shall forever be by your side. They shall venture into battle by your side and brave danger with you,” Emperor Gonflame said. “Treat them well.”

  “Understood.” Ning looked at his six swords. This was the first time he truly felt as though his magic treasures were his family members.