Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Are you afraid?” The three Lonely Kings stared downwards and laughed coldly: “Realmslord cannot kill me, and he doesn’t even know all the tricks I have available. Faced with my Icepeak Army, he’ll probably have no choice but to flee. Thus, Daolord Darknorth… I recommend that you simply go ahead and hand the Flamewing God over to me and let it serve me. I am the most appropriate master for it.”

  Although the Lonely King had heard of the Blacksun long ago, when he actually saw Realmslord Windgrace produce it he couldn’t help but feel uneasy.

  The same was true for Realmslord Windgrace. When actually faced with the entire Icepeak Army, he could sense that this would be a truly vicious battle. It would be best for them to end this without a fight. Once Daolord Darknorth came out to openly support one side, the battle would becoming meaningless, because the side who had the help of the Flamewing God would be the side to win. The Flamewing God was virtually indestructible, and nothing could withstand its charge. Even the Blacksun would be knocked aside, while the Icepeak Army would be torn asunder.

  “Darknorth, you can choose for yourself.” Realmslord Windgrace looked at Ning.

  “Hmph. Windgrace made you some promises, I expect?” The Lonely King said coldly, “But you should know what type of a person I am. No one can stop me from doing what I want to do. If anyone offends me, I’ll pay any price needed to exact my revenge.”

  The entire area descended into a deep silence. All of the Hegemons and Emperors were quivering inside. They all knew of the Icepeak Army’s brutal reputation. The Lonely King truly was a terrifying figure when angered.

  “I’ve been waiting a long, long time for that Flamewing God,” the Lonely King said coldly. “You have failed the Daomerge. Even if you live with the utmost of caution, you will still be nothing more than a puny Daolord with at most a thousand chaos cycles of longevity left. If you make an enemy out of me… I swear that I will annihilate any friends or family who have any connection to you whatsoever, and I’ll wipe out your homeland as well. Based on the reports I uncovered, you first appeared within the Badlands Territory, yes? Back then, you were just an Elder God! I imagine a puny Elder God couldn’t have travelled all that far, which means your homeland should be near the Badlands Territory. Given my power and the power of the Icepeak Army, we’ll definitely be able to locate it.”

  The three Lonely Kings stared intently at Ning, the diamonds in their foreheads glowing with that eerie, evil blood-red light.

  “I trust you know what the right choice is.” The Lonely King all but palpitated with malevolence.

  Originally, Ning had been quite calm… but when he heard the Lonely King threaten to ‘annihilate any friends or family who have any connection to you whatsoever’ and say that Ning’s ‘homeland should be near the Badlands Territory’, a cold look flashed through Ning’s eyes.

  Snick. Ning drew a sword from the black sheath on his back.

  “What, are you about to go crazy? I hear that some Daolords who failed the Daomerge will cast caution to the wind and go berserk… but not even your Flamewing God is able to harm me in the slightest. No matter what, I’ll be able to annihilate everyone and everything you care about!” Murder all but radiated from the Lonely King’s eyes.

  Whoosh. Ning took a single step forwards, his body flickering as he moved so fast he vastly surpassed both the Flamewing God and the light which had shot out of those blood-red diamonds. He appeared right next to the left-most Lonely King, and he delivered a casual chopping blow with his Northbow sword.

  Swish. It was an ordinary strike which even the distant Hegemons and Eternal Emperors were able to see with clarity. It seemed so very slow, but it sliced through the Lonely King’s neck with ease, cutting through his silver robes and even his golden body as though they were made out of tofu. The cut was so clean that one couldn’t even see a wound actually appear on the Lonely King’s neck.

  The attack looked slow, but that was just a deceptive illusion caused by the temporal disruption inherent to this strike. In truth, it was so fast that no one was able to react at all.

  “Y-you…” the Lonely King’s eyes bulged out. An invisible power struck at him through karma, instantly wiping out his soul.

  At his current level, Ning didn’t need to worry about which of the three was the ‘real’ one; Ning’s sword was connected to karma itself. Even if the ‘true’ Lonely King was hidden away in a completely different realmverse or otherverse, he still would have perished.

  The Lonely King’s bulging eyes suddenly softened. A look of release appeared in his gaze, and his lips actually curved upwards in a smile. Moments later, his aura completely vanished.

  All three Lonely Kings slumped downwards. Two of them completely vanished, while the other lay fallen atop his silver throne.

  Ning glanced sideways at the already-perished Lonely King, then murmured softly, “You are right. As a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge, there’s a limit to how long I can live. I really didn’t want to use up any energy… but once you made those threats, I had no choice but to respond.”

  Snick. Ning resheathed the Northbow sword back into the scabbard on his back.

  * * *

  Book 39, Chapter 3 - Accept Punishment

  Ji Ning stared weighingly at the Lonely King’s silver robes, his blood-red diamond, and the silver throne he had been seated on. These were all extremely powerful Sithe weapons. They were of little use to him, but of incalculable value to others. He immediately waved his hand, collecting the Lonely King’s corpse, throne, and treasures.

  The entire area was completely silent. The skies above Vastheaven Palace had previously been the arena for the face-off between Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army. Moments ago, their auras had been flaring… but now, all of them held their breaths.

  The terrified Emperors who were watching from afar were all staring in disbelief. Even the people inside Vastheaven Palace such as Emperor Solesky, Hegemon Azurefiend, and the Flamewing God all stared with heads upraised.

  In this moment, every single cultivator’s attention was completely focused upon the white-robed youth with the black sheath on his back.

  His aura was quite ordinary, the aura of a Daolord. One could even sense that his truesoul was continuously crumbling away in tiny amounts. He was nothing more than a pitiful Daolord who had failed the Daomerge, but…

  They all watched blankly as the white-robed figure collected the Lonely King’s Sithe weapons. No one dared to stop him, even though they were deeply interested in those treasures.

  “Master… h-he…” Su Youji stared with her head raised. Her eyes were brimming with tears, and her face was red with excitement.

  She felt excited for Ning! She could still remember the first time they had met. Back then, he had been an Elder God while she had been an Ancestral Immortal. She had already been incomparably beautiful, with many cultivators wooing her in the hopes of becoming her Dao-companion. When she had met Ning, she had watched as Ning battled above his class against World-level cultivators, and thus she had immediately chosen to voluntarily join him as his retainer.

  She had followed him, watching him grow from up close. He had become increasingly dazzling, becoming the number one Daolord in all the history of the Flamedragon Realmverse. He had taken on a Hegemonic retainer and even tamed the Flamewing God… but in the end, he had still failed his Daomerge.

  She felt a sense of great heartache and sorrow as she watched her master’s truesoul slowly but surely crumble away… but then she saw that single, dazzling sword-strike. The Lonely King, someone who even Hegemons viewed with reverence, had collapsed supinely beneath that strike. First, Su Youji had felt stunned. Then, she had felt a true sense of excitement and delight for her master.

  “Even though he has failed the Daomerge, he’ll become the most dazzling star in all the night sky. Even though he will one day perish, his light shall illuminate countless realmverses and otherverses, and be forever whispered unto the end of time. He shall
become one of the most unbelievable of legends.” Su Youji stared upwards at him, her eyes blazing with eagerness.

  “Such power! H-how could he have… how…” Emperor Solesky mumbled nonsensically to himself as he stared.

  “The Lonely King? Finished with just one strike of the sword?” Hegemon Azurefiend’s wizened old face was contorted with shock. “I’ve wandered the vast Chaosverse for many years, but I’ve never even heard of such a thing. Most likely, only the exalted Autarchs or perhaps the supreme members of the Sithe race, those Exalts, would be capable of such a thing.”

  In the cultivator civilizations, the only ones capable of such an act were the Autarchs. Although the Sithe Exalts were weaker than the Autarchs, they were still definitely above the Otherverse Lords in power. They were unfathomably powerful and even faster than the Flamewing God. In a direct clash, the Flamewing God would be suppressed by a Sithe Exalt even though Flamewing had an indestructible body! Three Exalts working together had actually managed to capture it alive. In the cultivator civilizations, only Autarchs were capable of capturing Chaos Primordials.

  Now… a Daolord who had failed the Daomerge had actually reached that same, terrifying level of power?

  How powerful was he? Was he comparable to those Sithe Exalts, or was he even stronger than them and close to the Autarchs in might? The Hegemons and Emperors had no idea, and it didn’t really matter. The only thing that mattered was this truth: Hegemons and Otherverse Lords would all perish with just one strike from Ning’s sword.

  ……

  After Ning collected the Lonely King’s treasures, he swept the area with his gaze, then smiled. “Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army, please follow me. As for the other Emperors and Hegemons, you’ll have to pardon me; I won’t be able to accompany you for now.”

  “You are being far too courteous, Daolord Darknorth.” The ordinary Eternal Emperors off in the distance all felt surprised and delighted by his courtesy. They all relaxed quite a bit. Normally, they had to behave with great reverence when they were in the presence of Hegemons. This truly peerless Daolord had just slain the Lonely King with ease and was so powerful that even Hegemons wouldn’t dare to breathe too loudly in front of him, and yet he spoke with such courtesy!

  “Daolord Darknorth, I truly have never even heard of sword-arts like yours.”

  “Impressive, truly impressive. I, Daoist Violetstar, have truly been enlightened today. I’ve wandered for over ten million chaos cycles and visited many realmverses, but I’ve never been as stunned as I am right now. Even if I died the very next instant, I would still feel that it would all have been worth it.”

  “Daolord Darknorth, we won’t bother you any further.”

  “We’ll leave now.” The Emperors still felt a mixture of reverence and fear. Right now, they were even more nervous when facing Daolord Darknorth than they had been when facing Realmslord Windgrace or the Lonely King.

  Ning simply smiled, watching as the Emperors all departed.

  Hegemon Brightshore, Hegemon Windrain, Hegemon Netherlily, Daoist Bluestone, and a number of others all flew over. The others all felt rather nervous, but Hegemon Brightshore had always been on very good terms with Ning. As a result, he felt a bit more relaxed. His ancient eyes were filled with a look of amazement, and he let out a sigh: “Darknorth, after seeing your sword… I still feel panic in my heart.”

  “I didn’t want to draw my sword,” Ning said. “But the Lonely King was protected by Sithe artifacts. If I didn’t draw my sword, I wouldn’t be able to kill him. Using my weapons and exerting my energy will result in my truesoul crumbling even faster.”

  “Correct.” Hegemon Brightshore nodded. “From now on, you should avoid fighting whenever possible. Your sword-arts truly are dazzling to behold! A pity that we won’t be able to see it too many times in the future.”

  “You win some, you lose some. All you can do is meet it with a calm heart,” Ning said with a smile.

  “Darknorth?” Daoist Bluestone smiled. “You said that you had to draw your sword if you wanted to kill the Lonely King. Are you saying that you wouldn’t even need to draw your sword to deal with us?”

  Ning nodded. “Correct.”

  “You might not need to draw your sword, but you’d still need to use up a bit of energy to deal with us,” Emperor Goldisle said with a chortle. “So it’s best if you don’t just go crazy and start killing everyone, Daolord Darknorth.”

  “Goldisle, I won’t go crazy anytime soon, but… generally speaking, I should be able to kill my foes just by activating the might of my Dao. There’s no need for me to actually use up any of my divine power or Immortal energy,” Ning said. If one didn’t use one’s weapons, divine power, or Immortal energy, the amount of power that one could summon simply from the might of his Dao itself was quite low.

  But… Ning’s Dao was the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, and it represented the true prime essence of the Dao of the Sword itself! The domain generated by his Dao might not be able to kill the likes of the Lonely King, nor would it be enough to kill Otherverse Lords who were protected by the prime essences of their own otherverses, but it was more than capable of killing ordinary Hegemons. Ning wouldn’t need to use up any of his own power at all.

  “You…!” A sour look appeared on Goldisle’s face. “Can’t you let us save just a tiny bit of face?”

  “Haha, enough chit-chat. I need to go speak with Windgrace and the Icepeak Army,” Ning said.

  “Right. We’ll head off then.”

  “If there’s anything you need, just send word. We’ll definitely help out.”

  “We’re off.” The supreme powers of the Flamedragon Realmverse began to leave, their hearts filled with mixed emotions.

  In truth, by now they were able to guess that the reason why Ning was so strong was most likely due to him being in control of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao. But… he had also failed the Daomerge. There was no doubt about that.

  “What a true pity. A peerless major power is going to slowly fade away, and there’s nothing anyone can do.” Hegemon Windrain sighed.

  “We won’t be able to see his dazzling sword-arts many more times in the future. It will eventually become nothing more than a myth,” Hegemon Netherlily said.

  ……

  Ning simply stood there. It was for Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army to come meet him.

  “Daolord Darknorth.” A look of shock was in Realmslord Windgrace’s eyes, and he actually bowed slightly. “I truly am stunned by the sword-arts I just saw. The Autarchs might be powerful, but their power comes from their Daobirth, where ‘one Dao births many Daos’. As far as the pure Dao of the Sword goes… you, Daolord Darknorth, are number one in all the Chaosverse. I was a bit too arrogant when I came and asked for the Flamewing God; I’d like to ask you to pardon me. If there’s anything you need, just let me know. If you wish to punish me for my impertinence, I’m willing to accept it.”

  Ning nodded. No one had ever gained eternity for an Omega Dao in all of history; he was the first. That meant he was naturally the first to be the master of an Eternal Omega Sword Dao. He truly was the number one master of the sword in the entire history of the Chaosverse!

  “Windgrace. Icepeak Army.” Ning’s gaze turned to the nearby members of the Icepeak Army. The three Gold Emperors and the many Black Emperors of the Icepeak Army all felt very nervous.

  “Respectful greetings, Daolord Darknorth. We truly are ashamed to have offended you by our actions, and we too are willing to accept any punishment you may mete out. Now that you have slain the Lonely King, we actually feel a sense of gratitude in our hearts,” Lord Wulf said respectfully. “Myself, brother Wei, and brother Solefinger, along with the many Black Emperors under our command… although we gained the power of Gold Emperors and Black Emperors and became much more powerful, we lost something as well. Our lives fell under the complete control of the Lonely King, and we have never dared to oppose his commands. Now that you have slain the Lonely King, we h
ave finally been released.”

  Ning nodded. “I won’t punish any of you… but there is something I need you all to do for me.”

  “Please tell us what you need, Daolord Darknorth.” The three generals and the many Black Emperors all respectfully awaited Ning’s orders.

  * * *

  Book 39, Chapter 4 - Searching For Nuwa

  “I wish to find a female cultivator,” Ji Ning said.

  “Find a female cultivator?” The three generals and the Black Emperors were all rather puzzled, as was the nearby Realmslord Windgrace. They all knew that Ning had trained for a fairly brief period of time and hadn’t travelled to many places; it should be easy for him to find a female cultivator. There was no need to send the entire Icepeak Army to carry out a task like this.

  “Her name is Nuwa,” Ning said. “She hasn’t trained for very long either, and she should be incredibly talented. She might be a Daolord, but she might also have become an Eternal Emperor. She is most likely located in a place which is extremely far away from the Flamedragon Realmverse.”

  Ning hadn’t visited too many places, but he had accumulated records on all the Daolords and Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. There had been no records of Nuwa at all!

  Clearly, ever since Nuwa left the Three Realms she had never again appeared within the territory of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance. After Ning had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he had reached an inconceivably high level of insight. He was now in control of one of the prime essences of the Chaosverse, the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword. In other words, he now had a vague understanding of how the entire Chaosverse itself functioned, giving him a greater degree of insight into fate! Mother Nuwa and Ning were connected to each other by karma, because the very first step Ning had taken as a mortal… was to study the [Nuwa Painting]!