by RWX
“I understand!” Ning murmured softly, his voice filled with suppressed excitement. “These Sithe elders truly were incredible. They actually managed to use formations in such a manner! Even though I had all those Sithe techniques to serve as references, it still took me an incredibly long period of time to understand and solve these formations.” The more Ning researched the Sithe, the more impressed he felt, even though he was currently just focusing on formations. No wonder the Sithe had been so daring as to try and enslave all the cultivator civilizations!
“How is it?” The distant Azurefiend had been taking a nap while seated. He opened his eyes to look at Ning, a hint of excitement in his gaze. “Have you solved it?”
“Master?” Whitethaw looked at Ning as well.
“I think I have.” Ning nodded.
“What do you mean, you THINK you have?” Azurefiend stared at him.
“My mental visualizations should be correct, but I need to actually try them out.” Ning took a deep breath, manifesting three heads and six arms as his aura grew markedly more powerful. All six of his arms expanded in size as they simultaneously reached out to the six black chains.
Each of the fingers on Ning’s six hands turned crystalline in color as he drew hand-seals with them. His fingers began to naturally come together into a series of formations. The formations around his six palms began to naturally merge together, almost like a marvelous mechanism that was coming together in layers. Then, Ning’s six hands separated to touch the black chains on six different spots. Some moved slowly, some moved quickly, but there was a certain natural beauty to the cadence.
Clack! One of the black chains let out a series of clattering as it began to move. The black chains began to undergo certain changes, transforming to become significantly thicker in size. The thickened black chains began to reach out towards one direction, moving alongside the Flamewing God’s leg.
Clack! The black chain covering the leg suddenly expanded and then naturally separated from the others. Once this happened, the second black chain began to stretch out as well…
All six black chains seemed to be influencing each other. In the end, all six of the chains imprisoning the Flamewing God began to naturally separate from each other.
“Get over here.” Ning reached out with all six hands, his crystalline fingers once more tapping the six chains on six different locations. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. Whoosh. All six black chains were released from their void anchors and flew over towards Ning. Ning dispelled the [Three Heads, Six Arms] technique. He reached out with his right hand, causing all six chains to become very fine and delicate as they coiled obediently around his arm like a bracelet.
“This is a fine treasure, a unique weapon which the Sithe used in war.” Ning smiled. “Once these chains coil around someone, they can fully suppress it. Even Chaos Primordials can be suppressed by them! Most likely, anyone below the Autarch level of power who is trapped by them would be unable to break free.” However, Ning also knew that no one would be so stupid as to allow the chains to just coil around them.
“Flamewing. Flamewing!” Ning lept off the Flamewing God’s back and moved to stand in front of it, then gave one of its paws a little kick.
“Eh?” The slumbering Flamewing God opened its gigantic bleary eyes, then stared downwards at the tiny white-robed figure standing in front of it. Rather unhappy, it said, “Master, I’m still sleeping! Call me once you break the formations.”
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Book 38, Chapter 12 - The Flamewing God Descends
Ji Ning secretly smirked. You are a Chaos Primordial! But all you do is eat and sleep. You have no gravitas whatsoever. “Hurry up and get up. Haven’t you noticed that the chains are gone?” Ning shook his head.
“The chains are gone?” The Flamewing God’s eyes turned huge. He hurriedly turned his head to stare at his two wings, then stared downwards from his flank to look at his four stubby legs.
“Hahaha! They’re gone! They’re really gone! Those damnable chains are finally gone!” The Flamewing God jumped to its feet, its giant body quivering in excitement. “I’ve been trapped here forever. I couldn’t even change my size or appearance, or find anything good to eat! I didn’t have a good meal until you came, Master! That was absolutely agonizing. Now? Ahahahaha!”
Flamewing raised his head and let out a delighted laugh. His laughter echoed within the hidden room, forcing Ning, Azurefiend, and Whitethaw to all press their hands over their ears. The laughter was simply far too large.
“Change!” Flamewing boomed loudly. Whoosh! His large and winged frame instantly transformed to become the same size as Ning and Azurefiend. He was just slightly taller and very chubby. His skin was ruddy, and his eyes were rather vacant-looking, as though he wasn’t all that clever. His aura was completely reserved; he didn’t look like he posed the slightest threat to anyone at all.
“Whoah. It’s been ages since I’ve taken human form. This feels nice! None of those cultivators or Sithe would be able to recognize me like this.” Flamewing smugly shook his rear a few times. In his normal form, he was like a giant winged giant bear who loved to stretch his wings. In human form, he naturally liked to shake his rear.
“Human form?” Intrigued, Ning asked, “Flamewing, can it be that you normally spent the majority of your time in human form?”
“That’s right!” Flamewing nodded. “I only use my true form when I was wandering in the Great Dark. That allowed me to travel faster. When I reached a realmverse, I’d occasionally feel so hungry that I’d eat the entire thing. The vast majority of the time, however, I wouldn’t want to do that. That’s because there are a lot of things in realmverses which are unappetizing.”
A thought suddenly entered Ning’s mind. Birth and death, destruction and creation… this was a form of natural rhythm the Chaosverse went through. Chaos Primordials had the intelligence levels of children… that made them perfect tools for the prime essences of the Chaosverse to exert their will. Powerful cultivators had incredibly strong Dao-hearts, making it very hard for the Chaosverse to guide them. However, guiding a Chaos Primordial was far simpler. When they felt a sudden, powerful desire to eat, they’d eat entire realmverses!
Natural destructive celestial bodies like Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels were terrifying, but they took time to be born. Even the Chaosverse needed time to create them, as well as many other factors.
“No wonder the Flamedragon Realmverse is threatened by the ‘Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels’, but the Autarchs won’t intervene. If they intervene, they’ll suffer a backlash from the Chaosverse.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh.
Flamewing continued, “When I’m not in the mood to eat the realmverse, I’ll secretly take human form. No one will be able to discover my true entity, and I can just relax and wander through the various places within that realmverse, searching for delicacies to eat. Eheheh… when I accidentally reveal my true identity, I’ll immediately slip away!”
“I’m able to sense when powerful cultivators appear nearby. It is a form of precognition, and I’ll immediately slip away to ensure they cannot find me,” Flamewing said smugly.
Ning nodded. No wonder so few had ever encountered a Chaos Primordial!
“Unfortunately… the last time, I sensed danger coming and immediately fled, but the Sithe were still able to catch up to me. After that, they caught me.” The Flamewing God ground its teeth. “If I ever see another Sithe, I’ll eat him alive.”
“The Sithe were wiped out long ago. Even if a few of them are still around, you wouldn’t have a chance to kill them. The Autarchs would’ve intervened long ago,” Ning said. “Alright, now that the formations have been disrupted, you are free to leave. Come, accompany me in a visit to my homeland.”
“Alright!” Flamewing’s ruddy face was covered in excitement. “I wanna go right now! It’s been so long since I’ve visited a realmverse.”
The nearby Azurefiend and Whitethaw both felt rather embarrassed. It really was like talking to
a child.
Flamewing glanced sideways at Azurefiend and Whitethaw. Suddenly, Flamewing narrowed his eyes and sauntered over to them. He soon reached Azurefiend, who stared at him, rather puzzled. “Eh?”
“Burp.” Flamewing suddenly used his rear to shove Hegemon Azurefiend to one side. “Starting today…” Flamewing slapped his chest with a pudgy hand. “I’m the boss of Master’s servants. Whitethaw, you are second. As for you, you ugly old man? You are ranked third?”
“What the hell?” Azurefiend was instantly irritated by this. The Flamewing God was like a child but was terrifyingly strong. For it to be ‘above’ him was one thing… but why the hell was the Sithe Protector golem also ranked above him?
“Because I said so, and because I don’t like you!” Flamewing glanced sideways at Azurefiend. “Don’t think I’m too stupid to notice. I can tell just from the way you look at me that you look down at me. Hmph! I’ve visited countless realmverses and seen countless cultivators. I can tell at a glance who likes me and who dislikes me. Whitethaw’s much better than you!”
The nearby Ning let out a startled laugh. At the same time, he couldn’t help but sigh. Flamewing wasn’t very smart, but he had the pure heart of a child. He could immediately tell who was good to him and who wasn’t.
“Did you hear me? I’m the boss, Whitethaw’s second, and you are third! If you don’t agree, I’ll beat you up until you do.” Flamewing tapped his pudgy white finger against Azurefiend’s chest.
“I hear you.” Azurefiend was speechless. “Fine. You are the boss, Whitethaw’s second, I’m third.” There was no point squabbling with a Chaos Primordial.
“That’s more like it.” Flamewing walked over to Ning, then said in a very fond manner, “Let’s go, Master.”
Ning rubbed his head. He felt as though he had suddenly adopted a child. “Alright. Let’s go back to the Flamedragon Realmverse,” Ning said.
“Darknorth, should we finish off Winterflame first?” Azurefiend suddenly said.
“No rush. Winterflame is like meat that’s already on the chopping block, but we would need Flamewing to actually kill him. Once Flamewing attacks, Winterflame would definitely spread the news to everyone before he dies.” Ning shook his head. “Best not to introduce too many variables into the mix for now. I’m planning to use Flamewing against the Icepeak Army.”
“The Icepeak Army dares to attack you, Master? Hmph. Leave them to me. I’ll eat them all.” Flamewing held the Icepeak Army in no regard at all. Aside from the Autarchs and the Sithe Exalts, Flamewing truly feared nothing and no one whatsoever.
……
The Flamedragon Realmverse. An empty region within the imperial palace of the Brightshore Kingdom. Hegemon Brightshore’s vast form was located here.
“Eh?” Hegemon Brightshore slowly opened his eyes, a hint of confusion in them. “Why do I suddenly have a strange premonition that something major has just happened within the Flamedragon Realmverse? The last time I felt something like this was when Crimsonwave Temple appeared. The fruits within it were quite useful to Hegemons and Emperors, and the temple itself is tremendously important.”
“This time… it doesn’t feel as though a treasure has emerged. Rather, I can sense a strange sort of pressure.” Hegemon Brightshore was puzzled. It was as though something had just happened which caused a wave of invisible pressure that pressed down on his heart, causing him alarm.
……
When one had reached certain heights in cultivation, one would be able to sense when something incredibly important to them had just happened! Hegemons were second only to Autarchs when it came to actual insights into the Dao. The so-called ‘Otherverse Lords’ were nothing more than Hegemons who had managed to take control over an otherverse. With regards to the Dao, Hegemons and Otherverse Lords were on the same level. This was true even for figures like Realmslord Windgrace or the Lonely King, who had managed to take control of terrifyingly powerful Sithe war machines.
“Eh? What just happened in the Flamedragon Realmverse? I feel my heart clenching for no reason, as though something terrifying just happened.” Hegemon Windrain of the Aberrant special lifeforms was awoken from his meditations. He began to worry.
……
“My senses can’t be deceiving me. Something has to have happened in the Flamedragon Realmverse. I’ll go talk to Brightshore and Windrain and see if they know what just happened.” Hegemon Netherlily of the Ancient cultivators felt rather uneasy. In the past, the truly supreme powers of the Flamedragon Realmverse had always been the three of them. They would always discuss any major events that happened.
……
Ning had successfully resolved the formations, unshackling the Flamewing God and bringing it to the Flamedragon Realmverse with him into Vastheaven Palace. The only ones in the Flamedragon Realmverse who could sense that this had happened were the three Hegemons.
The major powers of other realmverses were simply too far away, and this matter was of negligible impact to them. They naturally couldn’t sense anything at all. However… there was one major power in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance outside the Flamedragon Realmverse who was able to sense something. This was the true leader and most powerful member of the alliance… Realmslord Windgrace!
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Book 38, Chapter 13 - Emperor Waveshift Returns
The Hiddenfiend Realmverse. The Blacksun.
An old man was seated atop an extremely slick boulder within a secluded courtyard. This old man had a large, tousled beard and mussed-up hair. His eyebrows were so messy that they were growing into a unibrow, giving him a very unkempt appearance. However, his face was extremely calm. His eyes were closed, and he just sat there silently in the lotus position. Each time he entered this form of silent meditation, it would last for varying amount of times. Sometimes, he could sit there for more than ten thousand chaos cycles.
Realmslord Windgrace enjoyed sitting quietly like this. When meditating, his spirit felt free and unencumbered. All sorts of thoughts and insights flowed through him. It was like both thinking and not-thinking at the same time.
At his level of insight, treasures which assisted in cultivation were of no further use. He had simply been training for far too long; he had already made breakthroughs in everything he possibly could. Right now, what he needed was a true epiphany… but true epiphanies could not be achieved via any treasures at all. The Autarch’s stone dais which Ning used simply allowed him to emulate a quasi-epiphany state that allowed him to train at incredibly faster speeds, but there was nothing it could do to allow him to breach a true bottleneck.
Once one had reached a bottleneck, no treasures would be of any use in assisting you in the breakthrough. Only insights and epiphanies would suffice.
“Eh?” An invisible tendril of power suddenly snaked its way through his empty spirit like a premonition. Realmslord Windgrace suddenly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise within them. Moments later, he regained his usual calm, but he frowned in thought: “I have the feeling that a terrifying force has just emerged, one which even I am incapable of controlling. And yet, I can sense that it should be connected to me. Is it within the Hiddenfiend Realm? Or is it elsewhere in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance?”
The Sixteen Realmverses Alliance was his territory. Even a force as arrogant as the Icepeak Army wanted to first verify that Daolord Darknorth didn’t have a connection to Realmslord Windgrace before taking action. Even then, they chose to sneak into the Flamedragon Realmverse and would only act against Ji Ning and Ji Ning alone! They didn’t want to cause too much trouble. This was a testament to what a preeminent power Realmslord Windgrace was.
Generally speaking, the likes of Realmslord Windgrace or the Lonely King wouldn’t get involved in minor squabbles. Avoiding causing too much trouble was the key!
“If even I am incapable of controlling it… what could it be?” Realmslord Windgrace was puzzled. He immediately began to engage in some Numerancy divinations.
He had been a
Hegemon for far, far too long; he was far more ancient that even Hegemon Brightshore. He had been a legendary figure even during the Dawn War, and he had been given guidance by more than one Autarch. He had reached an incredibly high level of insight into multiple Daos, and had mastered three Hegemonic Daos! However, the Dao of Numerancy was simply far too difficult to master. He had yet to reach even the Archon level in Numerancy; in fact, he was far from it. Most likely, he was merely on par with the level which Daolord Badlands would reach once the latter became a Daolord of the Fourth Step. Still, he was able to divine a few things.
“It is connected to me, and it is indeed something within the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. However, no further details can be divined.” Realmslord Windgrace frowned. The uneasy feeling in his heart made it impossible for him to meditate calmly any further.
“I have no idea where Emperor Waveshift is. My only choice is to ask Blackwood to help out,” Realmslord Windgrace mused. Emperor Waveshift had obviously reached terrifying heights in the Dao of Numerancy; he had actually reached the Hegemon level in this Dao! Although he was a bit weak in actual combat, he had reached the apex of Numerancy for anyone aside from the Autarchs! Thus, not even the likes of Realmslord Windgrace or the Lonely King were willing to offend Waveshift. Everyone treated him with the utmost of respect.
Realmslord Windgrace’s first reaction was to seek out Waveshift… but alas, he was unable to find him and thus could only ask Blackwood for assistance. Although Hegemon Blackwood only trained in Numerancy as a secondary Dao, he had at least reached the Archon level in Numerancy and thus was still incredibly skilled.
……
A planet that was 900 million kilometers in diameter. This planet was surrounded by eight gigantic azure wooden boards, each of which was 1.8 billion kilometers tall, 36,000 kilometers wide, and 9000 kilometers thick.
