Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Chaos Godbeasts and Ancients… they are present in virtually every realmverse. They are quite common,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “However… two types of living beings are born within the prime essences of the Chaosverse, and they are even more elite. One type is fairly unintelligent, and they are known as the ‘Chaos Primordials’. The other is fairly intelligent and also has human form, and they are known as ‘Chaos Essence Walkers’, or ‘Sourcewalkers’ for short.”

  “Chaos Primordials and Sourcewalkers are born with far more exalted bloodlines than Chaos Godbeasts and Ancients,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “However… they represent even greater extremes as well.”

  “Chaos Primordials are as unintelligent as mortal children, but are born with virtually indestructible bodies. In contrast, Sourcewalkers are very intelligent and have incredible comprehension skills. They are incredibly solitary and proud figures who do not dwell in ordinary places. They delight in dwelling in treasured places where countless streams of essence from the Chaosverse gather together, and they treat those places as their own territories,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “Unlike Chaos Primordials, they cannot be ‘tamed’; they are simply far too intelligent. There is no way one can force them to submit.”

  “If you wish to go to one of those sacred places where Daomerge Firecloud Flowers can be harvested, that means you are going to steal treasures from a Sourcewalker’s territory. You will enrage them.” Realmslord Windgrace shook his head.

  Ning pondered this matter. He wasn’t surprised at all. Although this was his first time hearing of ‘Sourcewalkers’, he had already heard of strange beings that were on par with the Autarchs themselves. Why would he be shocked to hear that there were certain creatures on par with Chaos Primordials in might?

  “Sourcewalkers are all extremely intelligent, which means they do have a weakness; their bodies aren’t nearly as indestructible as that of the Chaos Primordials, and they are born with much lower levels of strength. However, they can slowly cultivate and grow with time! Thus, there are varying levels of power amongst Sourcewalkers. The weaker ones are perhaps merely at the Hegemonic level, while the most powerful were supposedly on par with the Sithe Exalts, capable of killing us in an instant,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

  Ning relaxed slightly. If even the most powerful were ‘merely’ on par with Sith Exalts, that meant they were still much weaker than the Autarchs. It must be remembered that it took three Sithe Exalts working together to capture the Flamewing God; a single one wasn’t able to do the trick. Plus, he wouldn’t be so unlucky as to run into literally the most powerful type of Sourcewalker in existence, right?

  “When the Sithe furiously invaded those sacred places to loot the treasures, they enraged the prime essences of the Chaosverse with their greed. The prime essences allowed the Sourcewalkers to borrow from the inherent power of those sacred places, resulting in them becoming much more powerful. This was why the Sithe suffered greatly for their actions,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “However… you must be cautious if you do go.”

  Realmslord Windgrace suddenly waved his hand, causing a jade slip to appear. He then filled it with his godsense, imprinting it with a great deal of information.

  “This is one of the closer locations. If you ride on your realmship, you should reach it in just a few hundred thousand years. As I recall, this place has Daomerge Firecloud Flowers within it. This slip now contains all of the information I know regarding that place.” As Realmslord Windgrace spoke, he delivered the jade slip to Ning. “Remember, the information I provided covers just the vast majority of situations, not all situations. I didn’t delve too deeply into that place either. You really must be careful.”

  “Thank you, Realmslord.” Ning accepted the slip.

  ……

  After having received the intelligence he needed, that very day Ning bade Realmslord Windgrace farewell and embarked on a return journey.

  He had to first deal with Emperor Melobo, then take on ten honorary disciples for Emperor Mirrorsnow. Only then could he go adventuring with a calm heart. Anything was possible while out adventuring, after all. He might be forced to initiate the Daomerge for some reason, which would be disastrous if these karmic knots were not resolved.

  * * *

  Book 38, Chapter 27 - Emperor Melobo

  After sixty thousand years, Ji Ning returned from the Hiddenfiend Realmverse to his homeland in the Flamedragon Realmverse, at which point his first course of action was to go meet with Hegemon Brightshore.

  Whoosh. Hegemon Brightshore noticed right away when Ning and the others entered the Brightshore Kingdom. He appeared at the peak of a tall mountain, having set a banquet in welcome.

  “Darknorth!” Hegemon Brightshore called out loudly. Ning and the others turned to look, then all flew over and landed. They sat down, with Flamewing naturally beginning to eat and drink with delight.

  “I’m embarrassed to say this…” Hegemon Brightshore shook his head, stroking his beard after downing two cups of wine, “I thought I’d definitely be able to find Emperor Melobo within a hundred thousand years, but this Aeonian Emperor truly is slippery. I’ve been tracking him in secret, but I haven’t been able to find his true body. Recently, I asked Netherlily to help out as well. Only when the two of us worked together did we managed to find him roughly ten thousand years ago.”

  Ning let out a sigh of relief upon hearing the words ‘managed to find him’. “I’ll have to thank Hegemon Netherlily,” Ning said.

  “A minor matter. The three of us are usually quite bored,” Hegemon Brightshore said with a laugh. “Honestly though, Emperor Melobo really did hide his tracks quite carefully. He’s afraid that the Dao Alliance will discover him devouring some of their Daolords of the Fourth Step, and so he has been cautious to the extreme. Not even the other Aeonians know his whereabouts.”

  “If you truly wish to go into hiding, you need to ensure that not even your allies know where you are. That’s the safest way to handle it.” Ning asked, “Oh, right. So where is Emperor Melobo currently?”

  “The Orchidfall Everworld of the Orchidfall Territory,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

  “The Orchidfall Territory?” Ning nodded slowly.

  ……

  The Orchidfall Territory was an ordinary territory located within the Dao Alliance. Inside the Orchidfall Everworld was a powerful sect known as the Sacred Orchidfall, with the most powerful member being a Daolord of the Fourth Step who had quite a few disciples.

  “You aren’t Daolord Orchidfall. Who are you?” An alluringly beautiful woman stared angrily at the plainly dressed man before her.

  “Haha… my aura is Daolord Orchidfall’s aura, and my appearance is his appearance. How could I possibly not be him?” The man’s voice seemed quite strange and sinister.

  “Daolord Orchidfall isn’t as powerful as you are. There’s no way he could’ve destroyed my avatar in just one strike, then caught me with such ease.” The woman’s forehead was creased in anger. “Who are you?!”

  The man laughed, his laughter becoming even more evil and piercing to the ear. It echoed within the vast palace, but there was no one else in the entire palace aside from the two of them. “Who am I?” The man’s appearance slowly began to change, as did his aura. Soon, he had transformed into an evil-looking man with long red hair. His eyes were staring greedily at the woman in front of him, as though he was caressing her with his gaze.

  “You…” A puzzled look appeared on the woman’s face. “An Emperor?”

  “Oh, it seems you do not recognize me.” The long red-haired man let out a smile. “I am an Aeonian, the mighty Emperor Melobo. I am your savior, the one who shall rescue you from your doomed path as a Samsara Daolord.”

  “What do you want?” The woman was rather nervous. Her power had been completely sealed away, making it impossible for her to fight back.

  “You are absolutely beautiful. Whew. Such beauty…” the long red-haired man said, a blissful look on his face, “I hav
e to say, Emperor Waveshift has truly been a blessing to the Flamedragon Realmverse. He gave us Crimsonwave Temple, and even techniques like [Vitalis]. As a result, I can now easily simulate the auras of others, allowing me to infiltrate the Dao Alliance and catch beautiful Daolords like yourself with increasing ease.”

  “Y-you… you are an Aeonian. Are you….” the woman began to panic.

  “Daolord Yu, do your best to fight back and struggle against me. That’ll make things more fun.” Emperor Melobo walked towards her one step at a time, licking his lips.

  Aeonians were a very special race. They devoured cultivators like food, which allowed their Aeonian bloodline to evolve. However, after completing the Daomerge and becoming an Eternal Emperor, eating Daolords became of negligible assistance no matter how many they ate. Alas, there were some Aeonians who simply liked to eat cultivators. Not for the sake of growing stronger, but just for the taste; it was just an intrinsic hunger they had! Emperor Melobo was one who delighted in devouring surpassingly beautiful female Daolords. Their auras made him feel extremely comfortable, which was why he viewed them as perfectly delicious morsels.

  Long ago, Emperor Melobo had devoured Daolord Allgod’s Dao-companion. Daolord Allgod had gone completely crazy, with killing Emperor Melobo becoming his strongest desire.

  “Aeonians…” the woman felt shock, horror, and anger. And yet, there was nothing she could do.

  “We view you cultivators the same way you might view wild animals! You, however, are the most delicious of morsels.” Emperor Melobo enjoyed the horrified look on the woman’s face. “Don’t worry. More and more female Daolords will accompany you in my belly.”

  “The Dao Alliance will definitely discover you. You’ll definitely die!” The woman was filled with hatred.

  “Impossible.” Emperor Melobo shook his head. “Prior to acquiring the [Vitalis] technique, I already moved with great care for fear of the Dao Alliance… and now that I have it and can disguise myself? It’ll be completely impossible for them to find me. I only act when all factors are completely under my control, and I never make any mistakes. Even if they try to reverse spacetime to scan for what had happened, they won’t find me.”

  Emperor Melobo was very confident in his own cautious nature. He felt certain that although a Hegemon who whole-heartedly searched for him via multiple channels might be able to find him, it was virtually impossible for anyone else. Only the most supreme powers of the realmverse would be able to find him, and that’s only if they were using all of their resources.

  “Y-you…” Daolord Yu felt a sense of sorrow and grief in her heart. There had to be a reason why Emperor Melobo had been able to stay alive for so long. How much longer would it be before he died?

  “That look of despair on your face is simply delicious.” Emperor Melobo continued to slowly walk towards her, extending a hand to gently stroke her face. Daolord Yu wanted to dodge, but her power had been completely sealed away; how could she possibly avoid him? A twisted, excited look appeared on Emperor Melobo’s face, and he began to open his mouth.

  Right at this moment, a foot was suddenly planted right in his face. This kick was lightning fast, giving him no time to dodge at all. A muffled boom could be heard as Emperor Melobo was knocked flying backwards, smashing into the distant dais at the end of the palace. He bounced off the dais, then smashed into an enormous pillar before finally falling to the ground. He was bleeding from every orifice, and his face had been completely wrecked.

  “Who?!” Emperor Melobo stared forwards in shock and horror.

  “Who is this?” Moments ago, Daolord Yu had been gripped by despair. Now, her eyes lit up as she saw that a white-robed youth who had a black scabbard on his back had appeared in front of her. Next to him were four figures. The first was a white-bearded, white-robed old man who had six curved horns on his head. The second was a wizened old man. The third was a muscular, white-furred creature. The fourth was a fat man who was eating some meat.

  Daolord Yu didn’t recognize any of the other four, but she instantly recognized the white-robed youth who had kicked Emperor Melobo. “Daolord Darknorth!” she cried out in delight. This was the most legendary Daolord to have ever existed in the Endless Territories.

  Ning turned to glance at her. He recognized her as well. Long ago, when he had first gone out exploring, he had acquired information on all of the known Daolords of the Flamedragon Realmverse. He immediately smiled and said, “Daolord Yu, everything has come to an end. There will no longer be an Emperor Melobo in this world.”

  Daolord Yu immediately understood what this meant. She said with grateful excitement, “Thank you, Daolord Darknorth.” When she looked at him, she felt for some unknown reason that his aura truly was special. In fact, she couldn’t help but begin to feel stirred by him. She was a female Daolord of the Fourth Step, but she had never had a Dao-companion in her life. This was her first time meeting Ning, and she could feel her heart stirring.

  “NO!” The heavily-bleeding Emperor Melobo hurriedly crawled to his feet, frantically smiling and bowing. “Daolord Darknorth, Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Azurefiend, Flamewing God… I’ve never offended any of you! Daolord Darknorth, please spare me. I’ll never dare to enter the Dao Alliance’s territory again. Never again!”

  Just now, when Ning had said that there would ‘no longer be an Emperor Melobo in this world’, Melobo had felt truly terrified. In truth, Daolord Darknorth’s very appearance had terrified him. Daolord Darknorth was now an exalted figure who had a Hegemon as his retainer and a Chaos Primordial as his servant. Even the other Hegemons dreaded him. Who would dare to antagonize him? There were now two transcendent figures in the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. One was Realmslord Windgrace, the other was this monstrously talented Daolord, Darknorth.

  “Hegemon Brightshore? Hegemon Azurefiend?” Daolord Yu was stunned. She didn’t know the secret identity of the Flamewing God, but she was shocked to hear that there were actually two Hegemons standing before her.

  “Darknorth.” Hegemon Brightshore chuckled and said, “Don’t waste words on Melobo. Just go ahead and kill him.”

  “Don’t kill me!” Emperor Melobo was on the verge of tears. He was an ordinary Emperor and didn’t have all that much courage. He begged, “I’ve never caused trouble for any of you. If there’s something you want, just tell me, Daolord Darknorth! I’ll definitely obey you.”

  Ning said, “Melobo, there’s a reason I didn’t just kill you with that earlier kick. There’s something I need to tell you first.”

  Melobo’s face turned pale. And indeed, Ning was telling the truth. Given his Hegemonic power, he was easily capable of annihilating Emperor Melobo with a single kick.

  * * *

  Book 38, Chapter 28 - Daolord Darknorths Era

  “I-I…” Emperor Melobo really did begin to cry. Begging was useless. What was he to do?

  Ji Ning continued, “The reason why I’m going to kill you… is because of Daolord Allgod.”

  “Daolord Allgod?” Emperor Melobo’s already-pale face turned completely ashen. Of course he remembered that madman! Daolord Allgod had been willing to pay any price in his efforts to kill Melobo, and he had nearly succeeded. Emperor Melobo had only been able to escape by the skin of his teeth.

  “He died! He died long ago! There’s no way you could’ve ever met him.” Emperor Melobo was panicking.

  “True. I never met him. When I was an Elder God, however, I received a bit of kindness from him. His formation-spirit bestowed me with a secret art,” Ning said, “And then expressed the hope that if I ever grew strong enough, I would help Daolord Allgod exact revenge upon you and kill you. Although this was nothing more than the dying will of a man who had already lost himself to despair… since I have benefited from him, I’m naturally going to help him carry out his wishes.”

  “The reason I’m telling you this is so that you’ll understand that you… are now dying because of Daolord Allgod,” Ning said.

  “I-I…”
Emperor Melobo now understood everything, and his mind was in a state of chaos. Daolord Allgod had once been an extraordinarily talented figure, and he and his Dao-companion had been like a pair of truly divine lovers. Alas, Emperor Melobo’s devouring of his Dao-companion had driven him completely mad. Daolord Allgod had been filled with resentment and hatred until the day he died, and even when he died his eyes remained open and filled with rage.

  Neither Emperor Melobo nor Allgod ever would’ve imagined that the Allgod Estate he casually set up before dying would result in an Elder God, Ji Ning, owing him a debt… and then coming to repay it. Today, Emperor Melobo would die!

  Slash. Ning waved his hand, causing a streak of sword-light to appear in the air. The sword-light was ephemeral and indistinct, hard to see with the naked eye. It instantly slashed across Emperor Melobo’s body, and as it did so it spread out alongside the Aeonian’s karma lines. Everything which had any of his soul or truesoul within it was completely severed!

  Emperor Melobo’s gaze grew dim. His soul was shattered, and he perished on the spot. Now that Ning had reached such incredible heights in the Dao of Karma, he had learned some new and truly terrifying ways of killing people.

  “Fine sword-arts,” Hegemon Brightshore said in praise.

  “A pity.” Ning glanced at Emperor Melobo’s corpse, then murmured softly, “Daolord Allgod was a true genius, but he spent most of his life a madman because of this Aeonian. Not even death was an escape for him.”

  “If Daolord Allgod knew what you did for him, he would feel relieved,” Hegemon Brightshore said.

  “But he has died and his Dao has vanished. There’s no way for him to know.” Ning sighed, then turned to leave.

  Daolord Yu continued to stare at Ning, her eyes shining. Ning gently waved a finger at her, causing a stream of Immortal energy to fly into her body. It easily undid the seals that were inside of her. Given Ning’s current level of mastery of the Dao of Formations, unlocking seals like these was incredibly simple.