Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Haha…” As Ning watched, he couldn’t help but grin. His father, his mother, and his daughter Brightmoon.

  Everything was so wonderful.

  Ning then turned his attention to his sword-arts, putting more sword-arts on display then recording them into jade slips.

  “Eh?” Ning came to a sudden halt. Although his gaze was focused on the distant lakeshore, his heart felt like the rising sun that was appearing above the watery horizon.

  “The Sword Dao. That’s all there is to it. The Sword Dao is simply the Sword Dao.” Ning started to laugh. “Why divide it up into so many different ‘types’? Yin-Yang sword-intent, Blood Drop sword-intent, Shadowless sword-intent, Soleheart sword-intent, Heavenbreaker sword-intent… what difference does it make? They all belong to the Sword Dao. So that’s how it is. The question which has puzzled me for millions of years…”

  As the saying went, one who suddenly understood the Dao in the morning would be content even if he died in the evening. This was the sort of satisfaction Ning was feeling right now.

  It was excitement. It was a sense of contentment. This question had bedeviled him for millions of years in the Trileaf Realm, when he first sensed that his Sword Dao had yet to reach the limit. Now, with his parents and his daughter by his side, he suddenly had a moment of epiphany as he collated all these different sword-arts.

  Rumble…

  A wave of strange power was surging forth, resonating with the innermost depths of Ning’s soul.

  Ning raised his head and stared into the skies. He could trace the sensation back to its origins. He could immediately sense that it was coming from incredibly far off within the primordial chaos. This place was so unfathomably distant that it was many times farther away than the entire size of the Endless Territories or the alternate universe. This was the place where the true prime essences of this universe lay.

  That place was the place where the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, one of the prime essences of this universe, resided.

  Rumble…

  One of the prime essences responsible for stabilizing this entire universe, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, was resonating with Ji Ning!

  BOOM!

  Within the Three Realms.

  Ning was still within his study, but a terrifying aura of the Dao of the Sword suddenly erupted from his body. He himself was like a terrifying sword, and his every movement and motion contained the aura of the Dao of the Sword.

  “Am I now the master of the Dao of the Sword?” Ning could sense that the unfathomably distant prime essence of the Dao of the Sword was resonating in tune with him. In this instant, he finally understood that this was the truly ‘supreme’ Dao of the Sword, the true apex of the Sword Dao.

  This ultimate Sword Dao, this… this Omega Dao of the Sword… it didn’t have ‘multiple’ versions of itself, such as Supreme Daos did.

  The Dao of the Sword, in and of itself, was a complete Dao. It could simply transform into many different things, much like how the single supreme Taiji gave birth to the duality of Yin and Yang, which gave birth to the trigrams that then gave birth to all things.

  The five perfectly joined Supreme Daos which Ning had previously developed were like the trigrams; although the three lines of the trigrams were joined together perfectly, they didn’t truly represent the ultimate expression of the Dao of the Sword. Only by truly understanding the ‘single’ source would you be able to truly, completely, and perfectly understand and master the Dao of the Sword!

  “This Omega Sword Dao is the true ultimate Sword Dao! Only now can I be considered a master of the Dao of the Sword.” Ning felt as though he had just undergone a complete transformation. Finally, he understood why the difference in power between those who had joined two Supreme Daos, three Supreme Daos, or even five Supreme Daos was fairly small.

  It didn’t really matter how many Supreme Daos you were able to come up with… because above them was the complete and full Dao of the Sword. All types of sword-arts and all of the so-called branches… they were nothing more than parts of this true and complete Sword Dao.

  “Come forth.” Ning stepped forwards. Whoosh! He instantly transformed into a streak of light which then completely disappeared as he used the Shadowless evasion skill. In an instant, he appeared in the empty space above the Three Realms.

  “The Solar Star.” Ning stood there in space, staring at the enormous and scorchingly hot Solar Star off in the distance. He looked very ordinary, with his Sword Dao aura completely restrained, but that was what made him so terrifying. He was now fundamentally different from how he had been before.

  “How terrifying. I’m able to tear through space without causing any disturbances at all, and I’m actually able to move ten times faster than the speed of light. Most Verge-level Daolords can only move at five times the speed of light!” Even Ning was frightened by how strong he had become. Previously, his most powerful attack had been his quadressence thunder and quadressence water, but the power of his Sword Dao now completely eclipsed both of those quadressence attacks combined.

  “Now that I have comprehended my Omega Sword Dao, it is time for me to break through to become a Daolord.” Ning’s eyes were filled with blazing eagerness.

  He had once felt that his chances of reviving Yu Wei were miniscule; not even Emperor Maniseal, an Eternal Emperor who had reached incredible heights in the Dao of Seals, was able to accomplish such a thing. But in the instant that he discovered and comprehended his Omega Sword Dao, he knew that his chances had just increased dramatically!

  * * *

  Book 29, Chapter 14 - Patriarch Clearwind

  Vastheaven Palace. The Darknorth Estate.

  Whoosh. Ji Ning was holding a tankard of wine, and the wine within it was flowing out from the opening and into his glass.

  “Master, you’ve been really relaxed lately. A while ago you were training in the sword every day. Why have you stopped?” Su Youji walked towards them from afar.

  “Who says I stopped?” Ning asked. “So long as my heart holds my sword-intent within it, I am still training in swordplay. If my heart is void of sword-intent, all the physical training in the world would be useless. To you, it might look like I’m just relaxing and drinking wine, but I’m actually training right now.”

  “Sophistry,” Su Youji muttered.

  Ning chuckle. He really did hold his sword-intent within his heart. The awesome Sword Dao that filled his heart and his complete control over it made Ning feel intoxicated. At his current level, the World level, Ning had already advanced as far as he could. Now, what he needed to do was to become a Daolord! Only then would he be able to advance further in his Omega Sword Dao.

  The Omega Sword Dao represented that the path which Ning had chosen was truly the most ultimate of paths, but he had just barely began to trod this path. Even so, just starting on this path meant that his insights were already comparable to those of many Daolords of the Fourth Step; in some areas, he actually surpassed them!

  In truth, the fact that Ning could move ten times faster than the speed of light was a testament to his skills. He didn’t have to rely on lightning-type skills or light-type skills to accomplish this; he was flying at ten times the speed of light solely through his mastery of the Sword Dao. This proved how profound a level of insight he had truly reached.

  “It will be another thirty-plus years before my main body’s clone reaches this place,” Ning mused. “I suppose I’ll have to just wait.”

  During the next thirty-plus years, Ning would spend his free time drinking wine and strolling about Vastheaven Palace. He would also memorize various new techniques and secret arts, so that his Primaltwin in the Three Realms would also gain access to them. Ning had spent three million cubes of chaos nectar to purchase all of Vastheaven Palace’s techniques, divine abilities, and secret arts that were below the Daolord level. This was a truly massive amount of techniques, and it would take even Ning an extremely long period of time to memorize it all! Rig
ht now, Ning was just spending some of his free time working on memorizing the stockpile; he was planning to become a Daolord before truly memorizing them on a large scale.

  Daolords were able to memorize things much more quickly than World-level cultivators were. They were on completely different levels.

  “Eh?” Ning’s face suddenly tightened slightly as he lifted up a cup of wine.

  “What’s wrong, Master?” Su Youji was puzzled.

  “What a powerful sense of danger,” Ning murmured softly. “An enemy has come.”

  “A powerful sense of danger? An enemy?” Su Youji was very puzzled. She was a Daolord, but she sensed nothing at all.

  Ning rose to his feet. “Come. Let’s take a look.”

  “Is there really an enemy?” Su Youji followed behind Ning, confused. However, after taking just a few steps she suddenly raised her head to stare towards the skies, stunned. “What a terrifyingly strong aura.” She couldn’t help but give a shocked glance to her master, Ji Ning. Ji Ning was merely at the World level, but he was actually able to discover this newcomer before she, a Daolord, did.

  What she didn’t realize was that ever since Ning had mastered his Omega Sword Dao, a natural Sword Dao domain was around him at all times, and he was the master of this domain! So long as they were still within the reach of the ripples generated by the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, Ning would be able to sense things around him with ease. The closer anyone moved towards him, the more powerful those sensations would be. Given Ning’s accomplishments in the Sword Dao, his sensory powers were already comparable to those of Daolords of the Fourth Step.

  ……

  Moments later, Pillsaint came charging over as well. Ning, Su Youji, and Pillsaint quickly made their way to the main hall of Vastheaven Palace. By now, Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster had both arrived.

  “Ji Ning.”

  “Darknorth.” Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster both called out to him.

  “Did something just happen?” Ning asked as he turned to stare intently towards the skies. Vastheaven Palace’s main hall was the tallest building in the entire palace, and from this location they were able to see the limitless skies above them. Right now, a gray mass was moving towards them from the horizon, blotting out the sun and carrying an aura of such power that simply glancing at it was terrifying.

  “That’s Patriarch Clearwind,” Daolord Battlemaster said. “A few days ago, I calculated through Numerancy that he would be coming. However… all we can do is sense his presence. There’s nothing else we can do.”

  Daolord Solesky was quite calm. He snickered coldly, “I knew that old bastard wouldn’t just let things slide like that.”

  “So he really did arrive.” Ning had a solemn look on his face as well.

  “Don’t worry. At most, he’ll just rant and rave from outside. There’s no way he would dare enter Vastheaven Palace.” Daolord Solesky snickered, “Although I merely have an avatar here and do not have the full power of my true self, the formations that we’ve established here over the course of countless years will ensure that I have nothing to fear. Given that Battlemaster is also here to help out… there’s no way he would dare enter.”

  The nearby Daolord Battlemaster nodded. “In the outside world, I might not be a match for Patriarch Clearwind, but there’s nothing to fear here in Vastheaven Palace.”

  Rumble…

  That gray mass continued to expand and reach out from the distant horizon. The other brothers of Vastheaven Palace were beginning to notice it as well, and they all made haste to the main hall.

  “What’s going on?”

  “W-what’s that?”

  “Big brother Solesky, who is invading Vastheaven Palace?” All of them were shocked.

  “None of our brothers in Vastheaven Palace are permitted to leave this place. Wait here for my orders,” Daolord Solesky said calmly, his voice echoing within the ears of every single member of Vastheaven Palace.

  “Yes.” They all assented, knowing that this wasn’t the time to be careless in their actions.

  Soon, a wild gray wind with earth-shaking savagery completely covered the skies above Vastheaven Palace, blotting out the sun and making it so that there was almost no light left in the world. Vastheaven Palace became shadowed in darkness, but some of the formations covering it began to activate. Areas of light began to emerge within various parts of Vastheaven Palace, giving it a rather beautiful glow to it.

  “Old man Solesky.” A shrine suddenly emerged within the endless gray wind in the skies, and an old man dressed in gaudy black robes stood in front of the main entrance to it. His voice echoed within this entire world. “You really are quite bold. You actually dared to permit those young subordinates of yours to abduct Daolord Blesswind of my Clearwind Temple. If you know what’s good for you, you shall hand him over along with those five World-level cultivators of his! If you do that, I’ll just let this matter come to an end. Otherwise… hmph!”

  His cold snort echoed throughout the skies.

  In Vastheaven palace.

  “The rest of you should wait here,” Daolord Solesky instructed. “Battlemaster, let’s go chat with that madman.”

  “Agreed.” Daolord Battlemaster nodded.

  Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster instantly soared high into the skies. Thanks to the barriers formations protecting Vastheaven Palace, someone outside wouldn’t be able to see what was going on behind the formations, but those inside Vastheaven Palace were able to clearly make out what was happening outside.

  Only when Daolord Solesky and Daolord Battlemaster flew into the skies were the members of Clearwind Temple able to see them.

  “Clearwind.” Daolord Solesky let out a little snicker. “Daolord Blesswind of your temple ended up being defeated by one of my World-level brothers. Neither Battlemaster nor I had anything to do with it! I’m actually quite amazed that you have the gall to come here, after one of your Daolords lost in such a pitiful fashion.”

  “He did lose, but that was only because that puny little World-level cultivator relied on rare treasures and golems.” Patriarch Clearwind said angrily, “Solesky, hand over Daolord Blesswind and the others or-”

  “Or what?” Daolord Solesky interrupted him, then said angrily, “Daolord Blesswind’s life is in the hands of Vastheaven Palace. I can kill him whenever I want.”

  “If you want to kill him, kill him.” Patriarch Clearwind said coldly, “I’ll make sure that Vastheaven Palace pays the price for it.”

  If he wasn’t able to bring Daolord Blesswind back, then it didn’t matter whether Blesswind stayed alive or not.

  “What a nasty, vicious man.” Daolord Solesky snickered. “You know my true body isn’t here, which is the only reason why you had the courage to run here and show off. Hmph! If you are feeling bold, try entering Vastheaven Palace! I’ve already opened up the sealing formation; you are free to come in whenever you wish. Battlemaster, let’s go back and keep drinking our wine. Forget about this madman.”

  “Agreed, big brother. Let’s go back and have some wine.” Battlemaster laughed as well.

  Swoosh! Both flew back downwards.

  Daolord Clearwind had an even uglier look on his face now. Vastheaven Palace had just completely ignored him… but he truly wouldn’t dare to actually barge into Vastheaven Palace! In the outside world, he would hold an advantage over Daolord Battlemaster and Daolord Solesky’s clone. In Vastheaven Palace, however, he would be completely dominated.

  ……

  Within Vastheaven Palace.

  “Big brother Solesky, are we just going to let him wait there?” Ning asked.

  “Forget about that madman. Let all of our brothers just drink here. Come, come! Let’s drink our wine and just wait to see what that madman will do,” Daolord Solesky said loudly.

  Everyone present let out shouts of approval. The brothers of Vastheaven Palace were all quite bold figures, but they also kept a close eye on the outside. They had h
eard of Patriarch Clearwind’s mighty reputation for countless years, after all.

  “Excellent. Excellent!” The skies echoed with Patriarch Clearwind’s enraged voice. “From this day forth, all of the cultivators of Vastheaven Palace can just forget about leaving it! I’ll kill anyone and everyone who exits it! None of the cultivators of Vastheaven Palace shall be able to re-enter this place either. I shall execute anyone who tries to enter Vastheaven Palace! If you refuse to hand over Daolord Blesswind, I’ll stay here and keep everyone trapped within Vastheaven Palace. One chaos cycle… ten chaos cycles… we’ll take it slowly!”

  “Let’s wait for my true body to return. I want to see if you would dare try and surround Vastheaven Palace once that happens.” Daolord Solesky’s cold voice rang out in reply as well.

  * * *

  Book 29, Chapter 15 - The Clones Return

  The Vastheaven Everworld.

  A fur-clad youth was flying through the skies of this place. He stared at the distant gray storm that was blotting out the sun in the distance. That was the direction of Vastheaven Palace.

  “I’ve finally made it,” Ji Ning mused to himself.

  The fur-clad youth was Ning’s clone, which had travelled all the way here from the Badlands Territory. Now that he knew that Patriarch Clearwind was besieging Vastheaven Palace, he changed his appearance.

  “Even though Patriarch Clearwind has never seen me, he probably knows what I look like,” Ning mused.

  Swoosh! The fur-clad Ning flew towards Vastheaven Palace at high speeds.

  “Fellow Daoist. Fellow Daoist!” A black-robed figure suddenly appeared in the distant skies, and he used his Immortal energy to transmit his voice to Ning from afar. “The Daolords of Clearwind Temple have already surrounded Vastheaven Palace for thirty years. From the looks of things, they’ll probably be here for a very long period of time. You must not travel any further, fellow Daoist. Ugh… I personally witnessed a weak little Elder God who was instantly slain once he moved in that direction.”