Desolate Era

by RWX

  The Brightshore Kingdom’s Hegemon was another good example. He was able to easily appear anywhere within the Endless Territories, an ability that was far superior to Ning’s.

  “The explored regions of the Terror Starsea are vaster than the Endless Territories themselves! Since we are only over halfway in, that means that some Hegemons or ancient Eternal Emperors might’ve been here before,” the Ninedust Sectlord said.

  “Would you be able to ask one of those ancient powers to come guide us out?” Ning asked.

  “None of them would care about Daolords like us,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “At most they would give us a star map.”

  “Agreed. At most, we’d get star maps.” Ning was worried as well. “We’d know what was around us, but we’d still have to face any danger on our own. The two of us would only be considered second-tier even amongst Daolords. To travel such a great distance and escape the Terror Starsea… even though my sword-art transcends space, it’ll be far too difficult.”

  “Yes, yes it will.” The Ninedust Sectlord felt an enormous sense of pressure as well. He then muttered, “Why did the Universe treasure send us here?”

  “You can’t blame him for that.” Ning shook his head. “The Dawn War was carried out in the Terror Starsea; that cave we were in is probably located deep within the Terror Starsea as well. It might be somewhere right next to us, in fact. The treasure was only able to send us here. No matter what, we can’t just give up and lay down to die. We have to fight our best. Right now, we should first acquire star maps. Perhaps a good star map will be able to guide us through a fairly safe path.”

  The Ninedust Sectlord laughed. “Right. Patriarch Vulturas, one of the oldest members of my race, probably came here once as well. He obviously was able to return. I’ll send my avatar to find a star map first, while you should acquire one from the Dao Alliance. The Dao Alliance has the most complete star maps.”

  “Look over there!” The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly pointed off into the distance, a complicated look on his face. “I think I already know where we are in the Terror Starsea.”

  “What is it?” Ning followed the Ninedust Sectlord’s finger with his gaze. Off in the distance, there was a circle of green light.

  “Let’s go over there,” the Ninedust Sectlord said softly. “Darknorth, this part is up to you.”

  “Alright.” Ning drew his Northbow sword, then with a flicker of sword-light created a dimensional passageway before them. The Ninedust Sectlord and Ning both entered the beautiful rainbow dimensional passageway.

  They flew side-by-side through this different spatial continuum, advancing rapidly towards their target.

  “Time to exit.” The two flew out from the glowing dimensional passageway, having arrived at another patch of empty, blank dark space. They were already more than ten territories away from their previous location.

  “Eh?” Ning stared forwards in astonishment. Up ahead was an enormous green whirlpool that was surrounded by layers of green light. The green light was filled with boundless vitality, and the rocks and boulders that flew close to it quickly turned white in color, then disappeared into nothingness. Next to the green whirlpool there was a similarly sized black whirlpool which was devouring everything nearby it, sucking all stones, shattered corpses, and various items that flew nearby into itself.

  A green whirlpool and a black whirlpool. The former was filled with life energy, but it sucked all the life from the surrounding area and destroyed it. The latter was filled with death energy and devoured everything around it.

  The two seemed to be parts of a whole. Although they were diametrically different, neither interfered with the other at all.

  “What are those?” Ning could hardly believe it. He could sense that they were still very far away, but the two whirlpools looked absolutely enormous. Ning’s best guess was that these two whirlpools were each roughly the size of a hundred territories.

  “This is the one thing in the Terror Starsea which terrifies all six organizations… the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels,” the Ninedust Sectlord said softly. “Do you know? Long, long ago, the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels was smaller than a single territory.”

  Ning’s face turned pale. “Are you saying that it is growing?”

  “Yes. It is growing.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels… the life wheel draws away all vital energy, while the death wheel devours and destroys all. They are stealing and devouring all the life and matter from the area around them, and as they do so they continuously grow larger and larger. The rate at which they are growing is only increasing. In the future, they will grow to encompass the entire Terror Starsea. In fact, they’ll swallow the entirety of the Endless Territories and destroy all within it. It is destined for the Endless Territories to be destroyed one day.”

  “What?!” Ning could hardly believe it. The Endless Territories were doomed to destruction?

  “When the six powers originally discovered the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, they immediately began to panic. All three Hegemons sought to work together to destroy it.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head. “Unfortunately, any attacks launched against it were all swallowed. The energy of the attacks just made it grow bigger. There was simply no way to harm it in the slightest.”

  “The most supreme Emperor-class cultivators and a few of the most powerful Daolords all know of this.” The Ninedust Sectlord looked at Ning. “Given your power, I imagine the Dao Alliance would soon inform you of this.”

  Ning stared at the distant Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.

  They’d continuously grow until the day they wiped out the Endless Territories?

  “This is something which was naturally born from the endless primordial chaos. There is no way cultivators can possibly resist something like this,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “However, there’s no need for us to worry too much. Based on our current predictions, it’ll be more than a million chaos cycles before it starts to destroy the Endless Territories. As Daolords, if we fail our Daomerge we’ll definitely die within 108,000 chaos cycles. Let the Hegemons and Emperors deal with this problem.”

  Ning stared at the distant Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, still unable to believe what he was hearing. “The Endless Territories… are doomed to be destroyed?”

  * * *

  Book 31, Chapter 2 - Travelling

  Those two enormous whirlpools continued to slowly spin in the darkness of space, continuously absorbing and devouring all things around them.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Even the empty void of space around them was being continuously shattered and devoured as the power of chaos and all other prime essence ripples were drawn into the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.

  “Nothing can stop them at all?” Ji Ning stared at them, murmuring softly to himself.

  “Yes. Nothing can stop them.” The Ninedust Sectlord shook his head.

  ……

  As Ning’s true body was staring, stunned, at the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, his avatar in the incredibly distant Vastheaven Palace of the Endless Territories was off to visit Daolord Solesky.

  Within a private courtyard. Daolord Solesky’s avatar was relaxing with some wine while staring at the darkened horizons.

  “Big brother Solesky,” the golden-robed Ning called out.

  “Ji Ning.” Solesky turned to look at him, then suddenly started to laugh. “This is rather diverting.”

  “Why are you laughing, big brother?” The golden-robed Ning was rather surprised.

  Solesky smiled. “I’m laughing because both of us are avatars! Two avatars are holding a meeting with each other… haha…”

  The golden-robed Ning was briefly startled before letting out a chuckle as well. Both of their true bodies were outside, adventuring. Avatars were much weaker, but they’d be strong enough to stand guard over a school or clan.

  “Ever since you created an avatar, you’ve been spending your time strengthening it. Aside from the Kongsan matter, you haven’t come to see me at all.” Daolord Solesky
asked, “Why is it that you’ve suddenly come to seek me out?”

  “There is indeed something I need help with.” The golden-robed Ning nodded. “I’m currently trapped in the Terror Starsea.”

  “Trapped in the Terror Starsea?” Daolord Solesky leapt to his feet, no longer relaxed in the slightest. He said solemnly, “Where in the Terror Starsea?”

  “Close to the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels,” Ning said.

  Daolord Solesky’s face immediately turned ugly to behold. “W-why the hell did you go there? Even I have only heard of that thing from an old friend of mine. Supposedly, they are the most terrifying things within the Terror Starsea. Even the almighty Hegemons are helpless against them; if they tried to charge into those wheels, they would instantly be obliterated by them! They are still continuing to slowly grow larger. Supposedly, in the distant future they might even sweep over the entire Terror Starsea, then devour all of the Endless Territories and wipe it out completely.”

  Ning nodded. “I have heard the same.”

  “But that’s something that should only happen a long, long time for now. We probably won’t live long enough to see that.” Daolord Solesky said seriously, “The Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels are extremely deep within the Terror Starsea. Not even the most overwhelmingly powerful Daolords would dare to venture that deep. Why did you go there?”

  “It wasn’t my choice.” Ning shook his head. “I had an unexpected encounter, resulting in me being transferred there.”

  “Transferred?” Daolord Solesky shook his head and sighed.

  “Big brother Solesky, do you have a map of the Terror Starsea?” Ning asked.

  “I do.” Daolord Solesky nodded. “I reached the Verge long ago, and so I sought out every opportunity possible for succeeding in my Daomerge. As a result, I prepared star maps of the Terror Starsea for myself, and they include the location of the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels. However, they are too far away. If you wish to exit the Terror Starsea, you’ll have to traverse a distance equivalent to more than half of the Endless Territories.”

  “Wait a moment. I’ll prepare a copy for you.” Daolord Solesky waved his hand, sending his Immortal energy out and forming an enormous star map in the air. This star map was filled with many markings and pathways.

  It took roughly the amount of time needed to prepare a kettle of tea before Daolord Solesky finished drawing the complete star map. By then, Ning had silently memorized it all.

  “This star map of mine came from the Dao Alliance,” Daolord Solesky said. “It won’t be easy to find a more detailed one.”

  “This will be enough.” Ning nodded, his heart heavy.

  “Be careful.” Daolord Solesky truly was worried. As he saw, Ning’s chances of surviving this were quite slim.

  ……

  Deep within the Terror Starsea, close to the titanic Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels. Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord stood shoulder-to-shoulder in the darkness of space, staring at the enormous representation of annihilation in front of them.

  “I have a star map now,” Ning said.

  “My avatar has gone out to beg a meeting with Patriarch Vulturas. I trust I shall acquire a map of my own soon,” the Ninedust Sectlord said. “Have you looked at that star map of yours yet? What do you think?”

  “This is going to be very hard.” Ning shook his head. “I’ve already taken a look at things. The ‘safest’ route will still require us to go through sixty-two dangerous zones. Given our current power, our chances of surviving will be less than ten percent.”

  “Sixty-two?” The Ninedust Sectlord frowned. “Darknorth, your sword-arts transcend space itself. We should be able to avoid many of those dangerous regions, no?”

  “I’ve already factored that into my considerations.” Ning said helplessly, “Without it, we would have to go through more than five hundred danger zones! That would be certain death.”

  “Damn.” The Ninedust Sectlord stared at his surroundings. “How the hell did we end up this deep inside?”

  Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord really did feel rather aggrieved. They had been teleported all the way from the Eastroad Sect, only to find themselves incredibly deep inside the Terror Starsea.

  “Ninedust, perhaps Emperor Vulturas will have a better path than the one I found,” Ning said. “My star map isn’t all that detailed.”

  “Right. Wait for now. My avatar is now meeting with Patriarch Vulturas,” the Ninedust Sectlord said expectantly.

  Ning waited as instructed. A short while later…

  “Haha, I have the star map.” The Ninedust Sectlord suddenly began to chuckle merrily.

  “And?” Ning looked at him.

  “There’s hope after all.” The Ninedust Sectlord was extremely excited. He waved a finger, sending out his Immortal energy to form an enormous star map in the void of space. “This is the star map which Patriarch Vulturas bestowed upon me. He once exited the same cave we did, and he also came out in this general area. He was much more powerful than us, and so he was able to return home with ease. However, he made repeated trips back to hear in search of the cave again, and so he is actually very familiar with this region and this route.”

  “The safest route for us to take is this one.” The Ninedust Sectlord pointed towards a newly created route on the map. “Other powerful Daolords would find this route a difficult one, but your power over space will allow us to take it.”

  Ning stared at the star map of energy hanging in the air, an excited look on his face.

  “There are four danger zones in total. We must first pass through Dreamdust Way, then enter the Starflow River. After passing through the entire Starflow River, we’ll exit from this point. We will then traverse two fairly short danger zones… and then we’ll be out safely.” The Ninedust Sectlord said excitedly, “There are four danger zones in total. For three of them, we should be able to traverse them safely if we use the protective resources we have at our disposal. The only tougher part will be the Starflow River.”

  Ning nodded. Both of them had multiple life-preserving resources. They might not have enough Dao-seals for traversing several dozen or several hundred danger zones, but three? Both felt quite confident in their chances.

  “The Starflow River?” Ning said, worried, “We have to pass through the entire thing?”

  “Yes.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “That’s the only real obstacle before us. Based on my calculations, we’ll have to spend at least three hundred thousand years traversing it. The other places, all combined, will only require perhaps ten years. Most of our time will be spent going through the entire Starflow River.”

  The Starflow River was an enormous area that was like an enormous river of stars flowing through the darkness of the void. To traverse it would take a very long period of time.

  To them it wouldn’t be too dangerous, and both stood a good chance of making it out alive. However, they’d still be in there for quite some time. The more time passed, the more variables might appear and the more danger might arise. The entire Terror Starsea was the battlefield for the Dawn War, after all, and the Starflow River was part of it. It wouldn’t be that easy.

  “For us, this truly is the safest route we can try.” Ning nodded. “The route I suggested earlier gave us less than a ten percent chance of surviving. This one, I’d say our chances are fifty-fifty.”

  “Agreed.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded.

  Fifty-fifty wasn’t bad at all. Given Ning’s ability to transcend space and the incredibly detailed map and route which Patriarch Vulturas had given them, they now stood a very good chance of surviving.

  “Thank goodness Patriarch Vulturas has been here many times. Otherwise, there’s no way we could’ve possibly found such a safe route.” The Ninedust Sectlord nodded. “Time to go, Darknorth.”

  “Let’s go. I hope both of us will make it back to the Endless Territories alive.” Ning looked at the Ninedust Sectlord.

  “We’ll definitely make it back alive, together!” The Ninedust Sectlord
added, “I just received the ancestor’s legacy. There’s no way I’m going to die before making it back.”

  Ning and Ninedust shared a smile. Both of them understood that this would be a dangerous, life-and-death journey. “Let’s go.”

  Ning and Ninedust both stood at the prow of the black vessel. Northbow sword in hand, Ning tore a black passageway with his sword-arts through the darkness of space. Swoosh! The vessel flew into the passageway, which shut behind them.

  The two of them, homeward bound, had just embarked on an incredible journey.

  * * *

  Book 31, Chapter 3 - Heartforce Eradicator

  The two advanced carefully, with Ji Ning only opening the tunnels once they found a fairly safe starting point and stopping point. Every so often, they would have to rely on the black vessel to avoid a few special areas that couldn’t be traversed.

  Half a month went past.

  Rumble… spacetime was distorted here. Space debris filled the region, and countless dangers lurked hidden. A black vessel was paused within this field of chaotic spacetime, enduring the chaotic waves of shattered space.

  Ning and the Ninedust Sectlord both stared towards the front. Up ahead of them, right in the middle of that region of chaotic space, was a bluestone road that was ten million kilometers wide. For an extremely beautiful and peaceful road to suddenly appear within this region of dark, chaotic space… they could sense that this stone path had to be hiding some sort of hidden danger.

  “The Dreamdust Way.” The Ninedust Sectlord said heavily, “If we wish to go back, we need to go through four danger zones, with the most dangerous one being the Starflow River! It’s so enormous that it’ll take us roughly three hundred thousand years to traverse it. The second most dangerous location will be Dreamdust Way! The final two danger zones are in the outer reaches of the Terror Starsea. Given how strong we are, the danger level it will pose us should be fairly negligible.”