Desolate Era

by RWX

  “The Hegemon is the cornerstone and the pillar of our race and kingdom; there’s no way he can go out adventuring. As for those other Daolords, most of them are far too weak. That’s why I was chosen to lead this squad deep into the Terror Starsea. This is the best option available to us. In addition… I’ve had enough of this eternal, endless life. If I’m lucky, I might find something within the Terror Starsea that will allow me to become much more powerful! Haha. By then, Skywood, you won’t be a match for me.”

  Emperor Skywood was filled with mixed emotions. Compared to them, Daolords lived extremely short lives. Although they were able to dazzle others for a period of time, in the end they would still perish. Very few were able to become Eternal Emperors, and those who were able to become Eternal Emperors who were his equal and who he could view as friends were even fewer.

  Although Emperor Blueblaze belonged to a different organization, they truly did treat each other as bosom friends.

  “Blueblaze, your protective abilities are indeed quite powerful,” Emperor Skywood said softly, “But you still can’t be too rash. If things look bad, you should flee right away! As for those Daolords under your command? If they die, they die. There’s no need to concern yourself too much about them. Even if they don’t die while adventuring, virtually all of them will be dead 108,000 chaos cycles from now.”

  “Haha! I came here to bid you farewell, old friend. I’ve said everything I need to say. It’s time for me to leave. Once I come back from the Terror Starsea, I’ll find you and drink with you again.” When Emperor Blueblaze saw that look on Emperor Skywood’s face, he couldn’t help but laugh. “Hah! Don’t worry. I won’t die that easily.”

  While laughing, Emperor Blueblaze transformed into a single blue streak of fire that disappeared into the horizon.

  Emperor Skywood stood there in midair. He was silent for a long moment.

  “I want to help you, but I cannot decide for the Dao Alliance.” Emperor Skywood shook his head, then flew towards hiw own estate.

  ……

  Within one of the many estates within Skywood City.

  Some of the ancient Eternal Emperors living here had their own worries, but the Daolords were focused on the here and now. They did as they pleased with very few long-term concerns, by comparison.

  “You, a Daolord of the Second Step, slew Kongsan! Not even I would be able to kill him. Darknorth, I feel confident that when you become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, you’ll be every bit my match. Come, let us drink!” Daolord Skyaxe was bare-chested, and his chest was covered with fur. He picked up an enormous black vessel of wine, and Ning did the same. Ning explained, “I relied on my treasures to win. Big brother Skyaxe, you are ranked in the top five in the Endless Territories. It won’t be easy for me to catch up to you.”

  “Top five my ass. I’m simply number five.” Skyaxe laughed loudly. The Daolords continued to chat rather casually with each other. For the most part, Ning just listened and responded as Skyaxe and Soleman spoke. They had experienced far more than he did and had visited many places. Just listening to them, Ning’s horizons were broadened. He repeatedly let out amazed sighs. Although he had visited the Archaeus region of the alternate universe, it seemed as though some of the dangerous regions in the Endless Territories were even more mysterious.

  “The more you experience, the more you will understand.” Soleman sighed. “However… although adventuring is a good thing, you still run the risk of losing your life. For example, three of us headed out on our latest journey, but only two returned. My old friend Eastroad lost his life. Ugh.”

  “Daolord Eastroad died?” Ning was surprised.

  “Yes. He died just a thousand years ago.” Soleman nodded.

  “There was nothing the two of us could do. We were fleeing for our lives as well; we simply didn’t have the ability to help him out.” Skyaxe slowly shook his head. “Eastroad was just a bit slower than us, and so he was surrounded and killed there.”

  Moments later, Skyaxe let out a hearty laugh. “But so what? Even if we don’t die while adventuring, almost all of us will die after failing our Daomerge. While adventuring through the outside world, we’ve visited many ancient sites in search for good fortune that might help us further perfect our Daos, so that our chances during our Daomerge will be better. And I have to say, the adventuring life really is stirring. Those memories are a joy to think back to.”

  “The two of us were in the process of disposing of the treasures we acquired on this trip.” Soleman looked at Ning. “After we finish, we plan to visit Eastroad’s homeland and help him take care of it. We didn’t expect to run into you just as we were preparing to leave, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth. If you sent out your message just a short while later, we probably would’ve already left.”

  “That means the two of us were destined to meet with brother Darknorth,” Skyaxe laughed.

  “Senior apprentice-brother Soleman.” Ning immediately said, “Are you still planning to go to Daolord Eastroad’s homeland?”

  “We are.” Daolord Soleman nodded. “When we were in that deadly trap, we each told the others what our greatest regrets and hopes were. We agreed that the survivor would ensure that the wishes of the deceased were carried out! The one thing Eastroad was worried about prior to dying was what would happen to his homeland.”

  Ning nodded. “Senior apprentice-brother Soleman, I’m just journeying through the outside world, with no plans to go to any particularly dangerous areas for now. Leave it to me to take care of Daolord Eastroad’s homeland. I’ll make the arrangements for it.”

  Soleman and Skyaxe had helped him out. Although they hadn’t been able to breach the formation and rescue him, for them to hurry over and try was already an act of kindness. Ning naturally wanted to help them out and repay them. As for Daolord Eastroad’s homeland, the ‘Eastroad Territory’, Ning knew about it.

  “You?” Daolord Soleman and Daolord Skyaxe exchanged a glance.

  “If you were an ordinary Daolord, I probably wouldn’t feel comfortable about it.” Daolord Soleman laughed. “We’re planning to send some of the treasures we acquired during our last expedition to his homeland, after all. Given that you killed Kongsan and acquired virtually all his treasures, I feel confident that you probably wouldn’t pilfer any of the treasures we’re planning to gift Eastroad’s homeland.”

  Ning let out a resigned chuckle.

  “Since you’ve made the offer… I’ll accept it. Thank you for helping out,” Daolord Soleman said.

  “Don’t worry about it at all.” Ning smiled.

  “I’ll have to trouble you to deliver these treasures. As to what you plan to do with them once you bring them to Eastroad’s homeland, that’ll be up to you to decide.” Daolord Soleman handed over a storage bracelet, which Ning accepted.

  A short while later. “An emissary from the Skywood Sect has arrived.” Daolord Soleman turned his head to glance towards the outside region, only to see a gray-robed elder walk towards them.

  The gray-robed elder looked towards Ning, then said, “Per the sectlord’s orders, I’ve come to deliver this Palace of Immortals medallion to Daolord Darknorth.” As he spoke, he sent a medallion flying towards Ning.

  “What’s this?” Ning reached out to accept it. The medallion was pitch-black and cold. It was covered with many complex runes, but it had only a single word atop it – ‘Soldier’.

  The gray-robed elder immediately turned and left. As for Ning, he was quite startled. This was rather abrupt.

  “Congratulations, junior apprentice-brother Darknorth. This is a medallion of the Dao Alliance’s Palace of Immortals… but of course, it is only the most basic ‘soldier’ medallion.” Daolord Soleman chuckled. “Once you become a Daolord of the Fourth Step, you’ll earn a ‘commander’ medallion. By then, you’ll be allowed to pay a visit to the Palace of Immortals. It might be of benefit to you.”

  “Oh? A ‘commander’ medallion?” Ning was curious.

  “The Palac
e of Immortals is quite a special place. The lowest-ranking members all have ‘soldier’ medallions, but almost all of them are formidable Daolords of the Fourth Step. The most talented and powerful of Daolords will have a chance to earn a ‘commander’ medallion.” Daolord Soleman explained, “The Palace of Immortals is a very mysterious place… but for now, you are nothing more than a pawn. There’s no point in you visiting it. Only once you gain a ‘commander’ medallion would it be worth it.”

  “Mm.” Ning nodded. All places were the same. The higher your status was, the more would be made available to you.

  “Generally speaking, these medallions are only issued by the Palace of Immortals. It sounds as though the sectlord of the Skywood Sect, Emperor Skywood, personally gave you this one. He’s one of the highest-ranking members of the Dao Alliance and has the authority to do this. It seems as though he’s noticed you. This is a good thing for you, but it could also be a bad thing.” Daolord Soleman chuckled. “While you are still weak, you should avoid the internal squabbles of the Dao Alliance.”

  “I understand.” Ning nodded.

  ……

  Ning had come to Skywood City for the sake of the nine novessence arts. He had only spent another two years here due to Daolord Kongsan and all the other accompanying issues. Now that everything had concluded, he departed after spending another two days at Daolord Soleman’s place. He left Skywood City, heading towards the Eastroad Territory.

  * * *

  Book 30, Chapter 1 - Border Territory Eastroad

  A black flying vessel was soaring rapidly through the Endless Territories. Using spacetime transfer arrays might allow you to skip 99% of the journey, but there were still some areas you had no choice but to slowly fly through. The distance would be comparatively short, but you would still need to fly for decades or even centuries.

  Aboard the black flying vessel. Ji Ning, Pillsaint, Su Youji were sipping wine and relaxing here.

  “Daolord Eastroad died? He was such an incredible Daolord, and yet he died, just like that.” Pillsaint shook his head and sighed.

  “It is probable that after another 108,000 chaos cycles, every single Daolord of our generation in the Endless territories will be dead! If even two or three can survive, I would be amazed,” Su Youji said. To live past 108,000 required you to become an Eternal Emperor, but generally speaking only the weakest, most unremarkable Daolords of the Fourth Step would have a shot at it!

  They had very weak Daos, and so the had the best chance at the Daomerge. However… after becoming Eternal Emperors, they would become the punching bags of the Endless Territories! Daolords of great power would furiously chase after them, hoping to kill them in order to make a name for themselves. Thus, all of the weaker Eternal Emperors would soon die. Only the slightly stronger ones or the ones who had special protective abilities would be able to remain alive.

  “108,000 chaos cycles is a very, very long period of time. Haha. Ordinary mortals are only able to live a hundred years, while many plants and crops only survive for one harvest.” Ning chuckled. “I’ve been training for far less than even a single chaos cycle; in fact, I’m not even close to 0.01% of a chaos cycle yet. If I can be a dazzling figure for 108,000 chaos cycles, I’ll be satisfied. But of course, if I can succeed in my Daomerge and gain eternity, that would be even better.”

  “Haha, Master, if you succeeded and became an Eternal Emperor, you would probably become a Hegemon,” Pillsaint said.

  “He would definitely be a Hegemon.” Su Youji’s eyes were shining. “I’m excited just imagining him as a Hegemon.”

  “Alright, alright. Don’t get too crazy now.” Ning shook his head. Most likely, more than a few of the most talented cultivators all dreamed of becoming Hegemons, but that really was nothing more than a dream. How many would actually be able to succeed?

  “Eh?” Ning suddenly nodded slowly. “Time to deal with that Daolord of the Fourth Step.”

  ……

  Within Ning’s estate-world. There was a grassy area here with a green-robed alien woman seated within it. She had long, graceful green hair and a pair of silken blue eyes which were filled with worry.

  “Master actually died. How could this have happened?” Although Daolord Kongsan had died quite a few days ago, the green-robed woman still felt stunned. She had her own direct connection to Kongsan, and so as soon as he died she immediately knew.

  “Master had incredible powers aimed at keeping himself alive. Normal Eternal Emperors would be able to do nothing to him.” The green-robed woman was rather restless and nervous. “Then what should I do? Will that white-robed Daolord kill me?”

  “No… I can’t just die like this…” The green-robed woman’s heart was filled with fear. Previously, she had been happy to be captured rather than killed, as that meant the enemy might negotiate with Daolord Kongsan and ransom her. But now that Kongsan was dead… there was no one who would come to save her. Her destiny was completely within Ning’s hands.

  Whoosh. A white-robed figure suddenly manifested off in the distance. The green-robed woman couldn’t help but turn her head to look at him, only to see him walk towards her. He said calmly, “From that look on your face, I imagine you already know that Daolord Kongsan is dead. You now have two options. One, I kill you. Two, you submit to me and follow me.”

  The green-robed woman’s heart unclenched. Her greatest fear was that Ning would kill her without even bothering to speak with her. She hurriedly rose to her feet, then respectfully knelt down in front of Ning. “Naia is willing to submit and forever serve you, Master. All of Naia’s magic treasures are yours to take.”

  “Your magic treasures remain your own.” Ning wouldn’t go so far as to take the possessions of this new retainer. He smiled. “From this day forth, you shall be my third Daolord retainer. Also – my Daoist monicker is Darknorth. It’d be rather embarrassing if you didn’t even know the name of the person you were serving.”

  “Understood,” Daolord Naia said respectfully. In her heart, she repeated the name ‘Darknorth’ over and over.

  From this day forth, Daolord Naia became Ning’s retainer as well.

  ……

  Daolord Naia swore a lifeblood oath and was then summoned out of the estate-world by Ning to the black flying vessel.

  “The three of you should get acquainted with each other.” Ning smiled as he pointed at the green-robed woman. “She is Daolord Naia, formerly the eldest disciple of Kongsan. From this day forth, she shall be one of my retainers as well.”

  “A Daolord of the Fourth Step?”

  “A retainer?” Both Pillsaint and Su Youji were rather excited, and they began to engage Daolord Naia in a casual conversation.

  Daolord Naia was a taciturn person, but she wasn’t a bad person by nature. Ning had purchased the most detailed intelligence report the Skywood Sect had regarding Daolord Kongsan, and so he had naturally learned some information regarding his disciples as well. Kongsan’s eldest disciple, Daolord Naia, had been introduced in detail. She had loyally followed and served Kongsan, not causing any trouble or going out of her way to commit sinful deeds. She was a very obedient and loyal subordinate.

  “It seems as though she is not a villain by nature. I suppose I can accept it.” This was the reason why Ning had been willing to take her own as a retainer. If she was a very vile person, Ning probably would’ve slain her without a second glance.

  And so, Ning led Su Youji, Pillsaint, and Naia on their journey. They first visited the Brightshore Kingdom, making use of its spacetime tunnels to travel to a very remote part of the Endless Territories which was closer to the Eastroad Territory. This was an extremely long journey. Fortunately, Ning had a vessel which flew at a hundred times the speed of light, and had also saved a great deal of travel time by using the Brightshore Kingdom’s spacetime tunnels. And so, after five hundred or so years they finally reached the distant Eastroad Territory.

  “The Eastroad Territory. This puts us at the outermost borderlands of the
Endless Territories.” The black flying vessel flew out of a chaos star and into the primordial chaos. Ning and the others were aboard the vessel, and they stared at the vast territory before them. This was the Eastroad Territory!

  “Master.” Daolord Naia said respectfully, “The Eastroad Territory, as one of the outermost border territories, is a place of great danger. There are also sinister forces hidden here! When Daolord Eastroad was alive, his fame and reputation sufficed to stun and overawe the entire territory, ensuring that those sinister forces wouldn’t dare to cause any trouble. But now that he is dead… I’m afraid his homeland will never be so stable again.”

  “This is the reason why his greatest concern was for what would happen to his homeland after he died,” Ning said.

  “The borderlands of the Endless Territories…” Ning glanced off into the distance. “Outside the borderlands is the Great Dark, right?”

  “Right. The Great Dark.” Daolord Naia nodded.

  “An endless sea of darkness… darkness without end…” Pillsaint let out a sigh as well, and Su Youji had a complex look on her face.

  The Endless Territories was the region where countless cultivators, Aberrants, Aeonians, and others all lived. But what was outside of it? Aside from some incredibly dangerous places like the Terror Starsea, outside the Endless Territories lay the endless darkness of the Great Dark. There were no chaos stars there, nor chaosworlds, nor light, nor spacetime transfer arrays. There was nothing more than silent, deathly still darkness. Darkness without end! How long did the darkness stretch? No one knew, because it was simply too vast. Daolords would not dare to traverse it… but Eternal Emperors, who had endless longevity, would.

  Emperor Mirrorsnow, Emperor Waveshift, and other mighty figures were all filled with curiosity about the Great Dark, and so they had entered it and began a drifting journey through it. They had unlimited lifespans, which was why they dared do such a thing… but despite that, they had still yet to return.