Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Ah.” Daolord Thunderheat revealed a look of of pain and sorrow, and the two yellow-robed disciples by his side quivered, their hearts filled with pain, sorrow, and regret. Why was it that the other two had survived while their Patriarch had died?

  “All three of them knew that it was possible they would perish, and so they all left behind wills for the survivors to carry out,” Ning explained. “Before Daolord Eastroad died, his greatest and only concern was for his homeland. After the other two survived and escaped, they asked me to help deliver some treasures to the Eastroad Sect. Take a look and see if they will be of assistance to you.”

  Ning tossed out a storage bracelet, one which Daolord Soleman had used to store various magic treasures. Swoosh. The bracelet flew before Daolord Thunderheat, who accepted it rather excitedly. He quickly bound it, then began to scan the items within as the two yellow-robed disciples behind him waited impatiently.

  Just a short while later, Daolord Thunderheat put away the bracelet with a rather mixed expression on his face. This bracelet had also contained a talisman from Daolord Eastroad, one which all three Daolords had left behind with each other.

  “And?” Ning asked.

  “Seniors Soleman and Skyaxe left behind quite a few treasures.” Daolord Thunderheat sighed. “They even included two Dao-seals of incredible power; both of them created one, and I can tell they poured many resources and energy into each. There are also a number of formations and other things. In a normal situation, they would be enough for us to protect the Eastroad Sect… but our enemy is now the Ninedust Sect.”

  “Master, is it still not enough?” The two yellow-robed disciples behind him grew nervous.

  “The Ninedust Sectlord is close to Soleman and Skyaxe in power. Even if they came in person, they would at most be able to defeat the sectlord but probably be unable to kill him.” Daolord Thunderheat continued, “Just two Dao-seals… they might be enough to kill ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step, but they absolutely wouldn’t be of any use against the Ninedust Sectlord.”

  Ning nodded. the Ninedust Sectlord was most likely on Kongsan’s level of power. He was slightly weaker than Skyaxe and Soleman, but would be able to stay alive if attacked by them.

  “Fellow Daoist Thunderheat, is the Ninedust Sect truly preparing to move against the Eastroad Sect?”

  “Yes.” Daolord Thunderheat let out a hate-filled growl. “Brother Overgold was killed by the Ninedust Sect.”

  “What?” Ning’s face tightened.

  “Brother Overgold’s avatar personally told me this just before he died.” Daolord Thunderheat said with hatred, “Unfortunately, when he was attacked he was very, very far away from the Eastroad Sect. There was no way for us to save him. But of course… I wouldn’t have been able to do so regardless.”

  Ning had a solemn look on his face. So it was indeed the Ninedust Sect which had killed Daolord Overgold? Everything was now quite clear.

  “My clansmen have been evacuated quite some time ago, to ensure that our line won’t be completely extinguished.” Daolord Thunderheat said softly, “As for us… no matter what, we’ve sworn to defend this place to the death. This is our home, the place where we have lived for countless years. We’ll rely on the formations protecting the formation as well as the treasures the old Patriarch left behind. In the end, we’ll ensure that the Ninedust Sect will lose a few teeth as they devour our clan.”

  “We’re going to fight to the death,” the two yellow-robed disciples said furiously.

  Cultivators sought their own Daos, their own paths. Once they chose to fight to the death, they would be truly fearless.

  “Gentleman.” Ning spoke out. “I’ve already promised senior apprentice-brother Soleman and the others that I will ensure the safety and security of your homeland.”

  Daolord Thunderheat and the others stared at Ning, startled.

  “Since I’ve promised it, I’ll carry my promise out.” Ning said calmly, “There’s no need for you to worry about the Ninedust Sect. I’ll handle everything!”

  “You’ll handle everything?” Daolord Thunderheat and the others stared at this Daolord of the Second Step in astonishment.

  Ning waved his hand. Whoosh. Three figures suddenly appeared by his side, each with the aura of a Daolord. They were Pillsaint, Su Youji, and Daolord Naia. Daolord Naia’s aura was particularly overwhelming.

  “Master,” Daolord Naia, Su Youji, and Pillsaint said respectfully.

  Daolord Thunderheat and his two disciples stared at them in astonishment. A Daolord of the Fourth Step was respectfully calling a Daolord of the Second Step ‘master’?

  Ning glanced at Daolord Thunderheat. “Fellow Daoist Thunderheat, I didn’t realize how grim the situation was. However, since I’ve promised senior apprentice-brother Soleman to handle this, I will! If the Ninedust Sect dares to attack, I’ll kill as many as they come!”

  * * *

  Book 30, Chapter 4 - The Void Pathway

  Daolord Thunderheat and his two yellow-robed disciples were all rather stunned. These words were a bit too dominating. Kill as many as they come?

  “F-Fellow Daoist Darknorth…” Daolord Thunderheat felt both eagerness and nervousness. “Are you saying that this lady Daolord will be able to resist the Ninedust Sect?” As he spoke, he glanced at Daolord Naia.

  “Her name is Naia,” Ning said. When Daolord Thunderheat heard her name, he felt a cold feeling crawl past his heart. This was a name he had never heard before! Although he rarely went out adventuring, he knew almost all of the truly famous figures. This meant Daolord Naia wasn’t all that famous.

  “Greetings, Daolord Naia. May I ask, if you are supported by the formations which protect my Eastroad Sect, will you be able to defeat the Ninedust Sectlord?” Daolord Thunderneat asked.

  “Even with the formations helping me, I would probably be defeated and slain by him in a single strike,” Daolord Naia said.

  “Ah.” Daolord Thunderheat was flabbergasted. Daolord Naia was telling the truth; the Ninedust Sectlord was on the same level as Daolord Kongsan. Naia couldn’t even withstand a single strike from Ning, who in turn didn’t dare to fight Daolord Kongsan in close combat. There was an enormous and obvious difference in power between ordinary Daolords of the Fourth Step and the truly freakishly powerful ones. The Ninedust Sectlord was one of the latter.

  “Senior Darknorth, didn’t you just say that you would kill as many as come?” The white-haired disciple couldn’t help but ask this question.

  “I did say just that.” Ning nodded. “But I meant, I would kill them personally.”

  “Uh?”

  “Personally?”

  Daolord Thunderheat and the others all stared at Ning. “It isn’t that I look down upon you, fellow Daoist… but if my judgement is correct, you should be a Daolord of the Second Step,” Daolord Thunderheat said.

  “Yes. A Daolord of the Second Step.” Ning nodded.

  “A Daolord of the Second Step, fight against the Ninedust Sectlord?” Daolord Thunderheat couldn’t help but shake his head. Daolords trod a line between life and death with each step, and the difference in power between each step was very apparent. Someone at the second step, challenge someone who was at the fourth step? The Ninedust Sectlord himself was a freakishly powerful Daolord, even amongst his peers at the fourth step. Ning, defeat him? The prospects were remote.

  But Daolord Naia said coldly, “My master defeated me in a single blow.”

  Daolord Thunderheat and his two disciples were badly shocked by this.

  “In the outside world, I probably wouldn’t be a match for the Ninedust Sectlord. But if I was in the Eastroad Sect’s base? I trust that Daolord Eastroad personally established the formations protecting this place, and that they possess extraordinary power. With it reinforcing me, I won’t fear him at all.” Ning chuckled.

  “Yes, yes! The old Patriarch personally established all of the formations around the Eastroad Sect, and they truly are incredible.” Daolord Thunderheat f
elt both excited and ashamed. “Please pardon me, fellow Daoist. I previously didn’t dare imagine that you would be as powerful as this.”

  “Generally speaking, even the most freakishly talented of Daolords of the Second Step wouldn’t be at this level of power. I only am due to certain special secret arts,” Ning said casually.

  “Secret arts are part of your power as well.” Daolord Thunderheat was extremely excited. Hope! He finally saw hope. He certainly didn’t believe that Ning was nothing more than issuing empty boasts. No one who was capable of making a Daolord of the Fourth Step would be so foolish, because the consequences would arrive alongside the Ninedust Sectlord… and the consequences would be fatal. Thus, it seemed likely that this ‘Darknorth’ fellow really was capable of handling things.

  ……

  A short while later, Daolord Thunderheat prepared a sumptuous banquet for Ning and the others. After the banquet concluded, Daolord Thunderheat personally escorted Ning away.

  “Fellow Daoist,” Daolord Thunderheat said softly, “If you were to break through to the third step, would your chances of defeating the Ninedust Sectlord improve?”

  “A Daolord of the Third Step?” Ning chuckled as he glanced at Daolord Thunderheat. “If I can reach the third step, my chances will greatly improve. In that situation, even without the assistance of the Eastroad Sect’s formations I still wouldn’t need to fear him. In fact, I might even be able to kill him.”

  Ning wasn’t just bragging. If he truly did break through from the first step and become a Daolord of the Second Step… given the power of his Omega Sword Dao, he really would become on par with the likes of Daolord Kongsan and the Ninedust Sectlord. In addition, his Omega Sword Dao was flawlessly perfect in every aspect, making it absolutely perfect for actual combat. So long as the opponent did not flee and chose to continue the fight, the end result would definitely be the opponent getting the worst of it! But of course, no one would be so foolish as to stand there and get beaten down like that. Clever Daolords like Kongsan would retreat as soon as the situation turned south for them.

  The reason why he hadn’t been able to flee was because the Hegemon’s Dao-seal was simply too powerful, causing even spacetime to be bound and suppressed. Daolord Kongsan had used two life-saving treasures in a row without being able to escape. It wasn’t that his fleeing abilities were weak, it was simply that the Dao-seal was far too powerful. It would have been easy for him to flee from most Daolords he battled.

  “Then how long would it take you to break through to become a Daolord of the Third Step, fellow Daoist?” Thunderheat asked.

  “I’m not too far off,” Ning said. To go from the first step to the second step was quite quick, and to go from the second step to the third step didn’t take that long either. Reaching the fourth step, however, was a very long process. As for succeeding in the Daomerge and gaining Eternity? Chances were slim, no matter how much time you took.

  “Alright.” Daolord Thunderheat clenched his teeth. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, the Eastroad Sect has a sect-guarding treasure which the old Patriarch brought back from the Terror Starsea.”

  Ning’s eyes lit up. Something from the Terror Starsea?

  “Technically speaking, I shouldn’t divulge its existence to outsiders. However, I am now the sole master of the Eastroad Sect, which is now facing an existential crisis. I’m going to ignore those rules.” Daolord Thunderheat looked at Ning. “This supreme treasure is known as the Void Pathway, and it is extremely beneficial to cultivators. Perhaps, fellow Daoist, you will be able to seize this opportunity to break through to become a Daolord of the Third Step.”

  Daolord Thunderheat was simply too worried. He hoped that Darknorth would be able to grow even more powerful, as this matter would have an impact on the life and death of the Eastroad Sect.

  “Void Pathway?” Ning couldn’t help but begin to feel curious.

  “Follow me,” Daolord Thunderheat said solemnly.

  ……

  Daolord Thunderheat led the way, while Ning followed from behind. Thunderheat dispelled one formation after another as he guided Ning to a seemingly ordinary courtyard.

  “Do you see that?” Daolord Thunderheat pointed at a decorative sculpture of a mountain located in the corner of the courtyard. The ‘mountain’ even had some vines and ‘trees’ growing from it.

  “What about it?” Ning was puzzled. There was nothing unusual about that artificial mountain. In fact, he couldn’t sense any formations from it at all. Daolord Thunderheat stepped forward, then waved his hand. The vines instantly were reduced to dust, revealing what was hidden beneath them. This ‘mountain’ actually had a sculpted stone ‘door’ on it!

  “Is that a doorway?” Ning was puzzled.

  “Yes. A door. A door that you can open,” Daolord Thunderheat said. “Daolord Darknorth, please follow me.”

  Daolord Thunderheaet walked towards one of the sculpted stone doors, then pressed his hand upon it. Instantly, the doorway split open with a rumbling sound, revealing a deep, dark tunnel beneath it. The entrance to this tunnel ebbed and flowed with spatial ripples.

  Ning was surprised. Prior to the stone door opening, this had seemed like nothing more than a very ordinary sculpture of a mountain. He hadn’t sensed any thing special or magical about it at all… but it now had a dimensional hallway within it.

  “Come in.” Daolord Thunderheat turned to look at Ning, then stepped inside. Ning followed him without hesitation.

  ……

  Whoosh. Space twisted and flowed around Ning as a dazzling, glowing golden region appeared before him.

  “What’s this?” Ning and Daolord Thunderheat were standing within a long walkway. The floor was black, and the walkway itself was hanging in empty space, with nothing but the void on each side of the walkway.

  “This is the Void Pathway. Everything around this golden region is just empty space; the only thing here is this Void Pathway hanging in space.” Daolord Thunderheat pointed towards the front. This walkway was an extremely long one, stretching off at least ten million kilometers. In front of the walkway stood a number of armored soldiers and guards. Ning’s visual prowess allowed him to clearly see to the very end of the walkway, where there was a royal golden throne.

  “There are a total of thirty thousand soldiers here,” Daolord Thunderheat said. “Once you begin advancing through the Void Pathway, you will be impeded by these soldiers. The deeper you go, the more terrifyingly powerful the soldiers will be.”

  “Oh?” Ning revealed a smile. This seemed quite similar to the Brightshore Kingdom’s ‘Daolord Cloudworld’.

  “These soldiers have very unique combat Daos. Very, very unique.” Daolord Thunderheat looked at Ning. “You’ll see for yourself when you fight them. The weakest of them are comparable to Daolords of the Second Step, which is why only the Daolords of the Eastroad Sect are permitted to enter it.”

  “Did Daolord Eastroad manage to reach the throne?” Ning asked.

  “The old Patriarch tried twice. He failed the first time. He later gained certain insights, then went all out in a second attempt and managed to succeed. The two final soldiers are all comparable to him in power,” Daolord Thunderheat said.

  Ning was stunned. This was much more impressive than the Daolord Cloudworld. Anyone who had reached the threshold of power for a Daolord of the Fourth Step would be able to battle their way to the very end of the Daolord Cloudworld, but it seemed as though this place required the trial taker to be comparable to Daolord Eastroad in power. Daolord Eastroad was already comparable to the weaker Eternal Emperors. How was it that these guards were as powerful as this?!

  “Unfortunately, there’s no way to bring out even one of these thirty thousand soldiers. In fact, there’s no way to control them at all.” Daolord Thunderheat sighed. “If there was, why would we worry about the Ninedust Sect?”

  Ning nodded, his gaze focused on the golden throne at the end of the walkway. “What happens once you reach the throne? Anything g
ood?”

  “A legacy,” Daolord Thunderheat said. “The old Patriarch didn’t tell me in detail, and so I imagine that the so-called legacy wouldn’t be all that interesting to freakishly strong Daolords like yourself.”

  Ning chuckled. He had the legacy of the Sword Hegemon and the [Seven Leafpill Chapters] of the Paragon of Pills. There really weren’t many legacies that would interest him.

  “However, when those thirty thousand soldiers fight against you, you’ll benefit from the insights into the Dao you will gain.” Daolord Thunderheat sighed. “Even the old Patriarch benefited from his first attempt, resulting in him becoming much more powerful.”

  * * *

  Book 30, Chapter 5 - Ten Thousand Years of Cultivation

  Ji Ning nodded, then suddenly asked, “Fellow Daoist Thunderheat, might I ask if my retainers can enter as well?”

  Daolord Thunderheat let out a pained laugh. “Fellow Daoist Darknorth, the Void Pathway is the most important treasure of the entire Eastroad Sect. You have vowed to save our entire sect, and the debt we owe you is endless! Your retainers and your closest friends can all make the attempt as well, but I ask that you not divulge anything about it at all.”

  Ning was briefly startled, then nodded. “I swear on my very life itself that aside from my retainers, I will not speak of the Void Pathway to anyone else.” His voice echoed within the void and within his very own soul. This was a lifeblood oath.

  “That wasn’t necessary. The Eastroad Sect trusts you fully, fellow Daoist Darknorth,” Daolord Thunderheat said hurriedly. In reality, however, he couldn’t help but let out a sigh of relief. He did want Ning to swear a lifeblood oath, but he was also begging Ning to prevent his entire sect from being wiped out, which was why he had never proactively mentioned any oaths.

  “It was only proper,” Ning said casually. He could tell what the man was thinking. Still, he really wasn’t all that concerned about this opportunity. The cultivators of the Three Realms had their own opportunities to exploit.