Desolate Era

by RWX

  Both Ning and Ninedust let out sighs of relief.

  “Should we hit’m?” Ninedust looked at Ning.

  “Of course.” Ning nodded. “If they title themselves ‘Sithe’, then they are actual Sithe survivors or inheritors of the Sithe legacy. No matter what, they definitely know some of the secrets of the Sithe! If all three great clans had to work together to deal with an ordinary Daolord who broke through to become an Eternal Emperor, they shouldn’t be all that powerful.”

  “At least they don’t have any Eternal Emperors at present.” Ninedust nodded as well. If they didn’t have any Eternal Emperors, it didn’t mater if they had access to Sithe technology and techniques. Ning and Ninedust were both supreme Daolords! They were both capable of slaying ordinary Eternal Emperors, especially Ning; Ning was now close to being on the same level as the eight lords of the Sacred Cities. Perhaps he was still rather lacking when compared to them, but he would be able to utterly dominate any Daolords.

  ……

  As Ning and Ninedust discussed this secretive matters, they didn’t let Maji or the others overheard them. Maji and his World-level companions only watched as Tianello stared blankly as he spoke words they couldn’t hear.

  “Awaken,” Ning commanded softly. Tianello immediately came back to his senses, as did the subordinates behind him. When he did so, he instantly felt terrified. He could clearly remember what he had just told Ning.

  “Y-y-you…” Tianello couldn’t believe it. There was actually a person in this world capable of controlling him and forcing him to reveal some of his secrets.

  “Self-claimed Sithe… interesting.” Ning looked at Ninedust. “Let’s do it.”

  “You first,” Ninedust grinned.

  There was a limit to how strong the three great clans were. They didn’t even have a single Emperor! They did, however, claim themselves to be the ‘Sithe’, which meant they definitely were in command of certain Sithe mysteries. Given that it shouldn’t be all that dangerous, how could Ning and Ninedust just leave?

  “Heartworld, descend!” Ning immediately unleashed his heartworld projection.

  ……

  The vast heartworld projection came crashing down, filling every single inch of this entire planet. The powerful sense of pressure brought terror to all of the countless living beings in the planet… but of course, Ning didn’t use it to attack any of those weaklings.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Why do I feel as though an illusory world just fell upon us?”

  The countless living creatures all raised their heads to stare upwards.

  ……

  “This must be a Heartforce Cultivator’s heartworld projection.”

  “It has been a long time since a Heartworld Cultivator has appeared in our planet. Has a new one arisen?”

  “This heartworld projection is far too powerful. Even I feel a sense of fear! If it releases just a bit of its power, it could kill the two of us with ease.” A male and female pair of Daolords raised their heads to stare into the skies, a look of shock on their faces.

  ……

  “Who is it?”

  “Who dares to act with such arrogance, using a heartworld projection to suppress my Nonti clan!” A furious roar rang out from a beautiful golden palace.

  ……

  Everyone on this entire planet, from the three great clans to the countless ordinary living creatures, all raised their heads to watch as the awesome heartworld projection descended. A short while later, the image of a white-robed youth who had a sword on his back appeared within the heartworld projection. He was absolutely towering in size, and he stared down upon the great earth, his gaze seeming to fill every inch of it.

  “I hear that the Fumo clan, the Juwah clan, and the Nonti clan are the three most powerful great clans of this world and have unified it under their rule! But… no matter how hard I try, I can’t discern anything particularly impressive about these three great clans. I was planning to wipe them out, but their Daolords are so weak that I can’t even be bothered to do so.”

  “Listen closely. I can’t be bothered to wipe your three clans out, but from this day forth you should obediently listen to my commands. If you do so, I’ll let you live. Otherwise… hmph!”

  “Impudence!”

  “He’s courting death.”

  “Where did this fool even come from?” Three enraged roars rang out from the three great clans, shaking the entire planet. The leaders of the Fumo, Juwah, and Nonti clans had been thoroughly enraged. They had ruled this planet for countless years. No one dared to challenge them… but this mysterious Heartforce Cultivator was being far too arrogant.

  “Haha, you seem rather bold. I, Darknorth, shall be waiting for you at the Cranesoar Mountains. If you insist on coming to your deaths, feel free to come find me here.” The illusory white-robed youth within the heartworld projection peered downwards at the three great clans. “But I really suggest that you not come. You’d simply be throwing your lives away if you did… because all of you really are quite weak. Aha, ahaha, ahahahahaha!” Ning’s laughter echoed throughout every inch of this planet.

  The wilderness at the base of the Cranesoar Mountains.

  Maji and the other World-level cultivators stared at Ning and Ninedust, completedly dazed. Tianello and the World-level cultivators behind him were dazed as well. All of them had seen that heartworld projection and had heard Ning’s provocations.

  “He’s… actually challenging the three great clans?” Tianello’s voice was trembling.

  “W-who in the world are they?” Maji and the others were petrified as well.

  Ning and Ninedust, however, remained quite calm. “All done.” Ning nodded at Ninedust. “Given the status these three great clans hold, there’s no way they’d just take that lying down. They’ll definitely attack.”

  “Agreed.” Ninedust concurred. “That way, this battle is at a time and place of our choosing. That’s of benefit to us.”

  Given that these three great clans called themselves the Sithe, Ning and Ninedust were concerned that their headquarters probably wouldn’t be easily destroyed. Thus, they would choose a different place for the battle! Ning’s deliberate provocations were aimed at forcing his enemies to come to the Cranesoar Mountains, as there were no dangerous formations here to worry about.

  Although Ning was talking tough, he wasn’t so foolish as to actually charge straight into the headquarters of the three great clans.

  * * *

  Book 34, Chapter 13 - Emperor Golems

  The challenge having been issued, Ji Ning and Ninedust entered the Cranesoar Mountains and awaited the arrival of the three great clans. In truth, Ning was right to be cautious. This planet held many mysteries within it.

  Deep within the planet’s core. There was a bubbling lake of lava here, and there were three figures seated next to it. These three figures all had silver skin, and the auras they emanated were different from the auras of normal cultivators. They were quite bizarre and inscrutable.

  One of them, a particularly muscular silver man, let out a growl: “He actually dares to challenge all three of our clans simultaneously. My fellow clan leaders of the Juwah clan and Nonti clan, have either of you heard of this ‘Darknorth’ before?”

  “Never heard of him.” “I have no idea where he came from.” the two other silver men responded.

  “This ‘Darknorth’ is extremely arrogant, and his heartworld projection is incredibly powerful. In heartforce, at least, he’s reached the utter apex.” The muscular silver man said, “I find it very likely that he’s a supreme Daolord.”

  “A supreme Daolord? Haha, after so many years, this planet of ours has finally given birth to yet another supreme Daolord,” the skinnier silver man said.

  “The birth of every supreme Daolord is rather diverting to our three clans,” the long silver-haired man said. “To our three clans, there is nothing in this planet that can pose a threat to us. That makes life rather boring. The other six
clans are only ‘great clans’ because they have some small portion of our bloodlines and lineage, and so we’ve bestowed the title of ‘great clan’ upon them. If it wasn’t for that… hmph.”

  “How can those other lowly clans compare with us, the exalted Sithe?” The muscular silver man said coldly, “Since this supreme Daolord has chosen to challenge us and is an extremely strong Heartforce Cultivator… how do the two of you think we should response?”

  “I’ll go personally kill him,” the skinny silver man said.

  “Both of us have undergone the ‘Ritual Sacrificium’, making us the only true Sithe in this entire planet.” The silver-haired, silver-skinned man shook his head. “For noble Sithe like us to lower ourselves to fight against these lowly races is demeaning. Sending golems is enough.”

  “I also feel that sending golems should suffice. My recommendation is that each of our three clans should send out two Emperor-class golems. What do you think?” the muscular silver man asked.

  “Fine.”

  “Sending two Emperor-class golems is more than enough.” The other two silver men agreed with this proposal. Their clans possessed exalted power. Even a tiny fraction of their full might was enough to completely dominate this entire world.

  Over the course of countless years, their world had actually given birth to an Eternal Emperor. However, that Eternal Emperor had been extremely weak. In comparison, there had been far more supreme Daolords in the history of this world. There was usually at least one in every generation! Some of them dared to try and challenge the status of the three great clans… and all of them died!

  Nobody could resist them! They were the true, indisputable, unshakeable rulers of this planet. They always had been and they always would be! In truth, the power they had revealed to wipe out those upstart challengers had always been nothing more than a fraction of their full power.

  ……

  Within a dark room in the Fumo clan. There were six pitch-black figures seated with their eyes shut, completely unmoving. Suddenly, two of the pitch-black figures opened their eyes. Their eyes gleamed with green, crystalline light.

  “Master.” both golems called out respectfully.

  “There’s a Heartforce Cultivator known as Darknorth. He seems to be a supreme Daolord, and he’s chosen to challenge the Sithe. The two of you shall head to the Cranesoar Mountains and kill him.” The muscular silver man’s voice boomed out, echoing throughout the room.

  “Understood,” both figures said respectfully. The other four pitch-black figures opened their eyes as well.

  “The two of us are going to go out and have some first, brothers. Hahaha…” The two golems laughed quite smugly.

  “Hurry up and kill this Daolord Darknorth, then come back and tell us all about it.”

  “Yeah, I’m bored senseless.”

  “A pity that Master has only sent the two of you.” The other four golems spoke out as well. As golems, they possessed eternal lifespans. This world wasn’t all that large; they knew every inch of it by now! This was why they normally preferred to spend their time in slumber. Only when the clan encountered some fairly troublesome opponents like ‘supreme Daolords’ would they be sent out.

  Swoosh! Swoosh!

  The two Emperor-class golems immediately left the room and soared into the skies.

  ……

  The Cranesoar Mountains. Tianello, Maji, and the others all watched nervously. Ning and Ninedust, however, simply waited patiently.

  “Eh?” Ning’s face tightened slightly as he stared off into the distance.

  “What’s wrong?” Ninedust was puzzled.

  “The three clans have sent their troops out towards the Cranesoar Mountains.” Puzzled, Ning continued, “But… they each only sent a pair of golems. All combined, there are six of them.”

  “Six golems against the two of us?” Ninedust was puzzled as well. “Darknorth, the heartworld projection you revealed should’ve alerted them that you are probably at the supreme Daolord level. Why have they only sent six golems? Based on what I know, most golems are merely comparable to fourth-step Daolords at best.”

  “There ARE some golems that are stronger than the Daolord level,” Ning said.

  “True.” Ninedust nodded. The major powers of the Endless Territories were only able to create golems comparable to Daolords of the Fourth Step at best. However… some particularly dangerous regions sometimes held golems that had been left behind since the Dawn War which surpassed this level. Ning had personally seen those two mighty golems which stood guard over the palace of the Brightshore Imperials. One looked like a humanoid statue while the other was a bestial statue, but both were actually golems which held the power of Eternal Emperors. No one knew where the Brightshore Hegemon had found them.

  “You are talking about Emperor-class golems,” Ninedust said. “We Ancient cultivators have some, but they were passed down to us from many, many years ago. The Endless Territories have very few Emperor-class golems, and the number we Ancient cultivators have can be counted on one hand. Are you telling me that all six golems attacking us are Emperor-class? Since when did they become as common as the grass?”

  “I find it hard to believe as well,” Ning said with a sigh. Emperor-class golems… they could only be found in truly dangerous zones such as the battlefield of the Dawn War. They were incredibly rare… but now, six had appeared at the same time?

  “But if they aren’t Emperor-class, how would the three great clans dare to send just six of them against us?” Ning shook his head. “They should know that I have the power of a supreme Daolord; sending Daolord-class golems against me is tantamount to just gifting me with treasures. Thus… although I still find it hard to believe, it does seem as though these should be Emperor-class golems.”

  “Six Emperor-class golems.” Ninedust revealed a wary look. “Can we handle them?”

  “There should be differences in power amongst Emperor-class golems; some are strong, some are weak. We should be able to handle them,” Ning said.

  The creation of every Emperor-class golem was extremely difficult. The Endless Territories weren’t even able to make them, with only fourth-step Daolord golems being forgeable! Thus, every single Emperor-class golem had their own unique traits. They all had invulnerable bodies, and in accordance with the wishes of their makers they often knew certain ultimate attacks as well! Even Ning felt nervous at the thought of fighting six at once.

  If he was still ‘merely’ at the supreme Daolord level, he would probably be even more nervous. However, the Northbow swords and the [Heartsword] art put Ning close to the level of the lords of the eight Sacred Cities. Thus, he still felt fairly good in his chances.

  “What’s going on with them?”

  “Those two… something seems off with them.” Tianello, Maji, and the others all noticed the somber looks appear on the faces of Ning and Ninedust, who had appeared quite relaxed just a short while ago.

  Tianello shook his head and sighed, “None of the three great clans are easy to deal with. Ever since the earliest annals of recorded history, the three great clans have always jointly ruled over our planet together. No one has ever been able to threaten them. Ugh. These two Daolords might be very powerful, but they were too over-confident. They are courting death.”

  Ning and Ninedust couldn’t even be bothered to talk to the cultivators behind them. They simply stared into the skies, somber looks on their faces.

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The six distant golems soared through the skies, emanating auras of incredible power as they flew towards Ning and Ninedust.

  “This level of power…” Ninedust murmured softly, “The aura emanating from them as they are flying is already far beyond what Daolords of the Fourth Step are capable of. They are definitely Emperor-class. Darknorth, this is going to be seriously troublesome. I didn’t expect the three great clans to be this strong.”

  Emperor-class golems were far more difficult to deal with than ordinar
y Eternal Emperors. They were virtually indestructible! Ning had only trained his body to make it comparable to a middle-grade Eternal treasure, but Emperor-class golems were all top-grade Eternal treasures. The techniques they used were based on the designs of their makers.

  “Since the three great clans are connected to the Sithe and even call themselves the Sithe, it’s not that surprising that they have a few tricks up their sleeves.” Ning’s eyes radiated an eagerness to do battle.

  * * *

  Book 34, Chapter 14 - Surrounded And Attacked

  “Move a bit farther away,” Ji Ning suddenly said, his voice ringing out by the ears of Tinello, Maji, and the other cultivators.

  “Huh?” The cultivators were all stunned.

  “He’s telling you to run the hell away.” Ninedust turned to stare at them. “Once the battle starts, even the smallest of shockwaves will be enough to claim your lives. We certainly won’t be able to pay attention to you and keep you safe.”

  “Let’s go.”

  “Quickly.” Tianello, Maji, and the others immediately reacted, transforming into streaks of light that flew far away.

  Ning raised his head, watching as the six figures flew towards them at high speeds. He manifested three heads and six arms, then drew all six Northbow swords. “Here they come. Good.”

  “I’m also curious as to just how tough Emperor-class golems are.” Ninedust had his longstaff at the ready and was also watching.

  The six golems in midair all came to a halt. They hung in the air, staring downwards as if they were looking at ants. As Emperor-class golems who had been working for the three great clans since the clans had been established, they had killed many supreme Daolords over the course of countless years. Thus, they were completely confident in their chances.

  “Which one of you is Daolord Darknorth?” The swordsman golem stared downwards. Of the six golems, this one was the only one wielding a sword.

  “Me,” Ning said.

  “You actually dared to challenge the three great clans. Poor kid… do you have any clue as to how powerful they truly are? You really didn’t know your own limits.” The swordsman golem stared at Ning in a rather sympathetic way, then glanced at Ninedust. “And this Daolord next to you. Is he with you? If he leaves immediately, we can spare him. Otherwise, we’ll have to wipe him out as well.”