by RWX
After Ning had completed and mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he was able to sense through the whispers of fate that Nuwa was still alive in an extremely remote part of the Chaosverse!
“Nuwa?” The three generals, Realmslord Windgrace, and the Black Emperors all revealed puzzled expressions.
“None of you have heard of her?” Ning couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed when he saw the looks on their faces. Realmslord Windgrace had many friends but was permanently stationed in the Hiddenfiend Realmverse; it wasn’t surprising that he hadn’t heard of Nuwa. The Icepeak Army, however, roved the Chaosverse and visited many places. Ning had thought that they might have heard of her, especially since Ning felt certain that Nuwa’s level of talent must have led her to accomplish great things!
It must be remembered that when the Pangu Chaosworld and the Seamless Chaosworld collided, that represented the smashing together of two Autarch-level godgems. In the resulting battle, Nuwa had broken through to the World level! Karmic luck had descended upon her, resulting in a great deal of the essence fragments of the Autarch’s godgems to swirl around her as well.
It was incredibly rare and marvelous for a cultivator to break through to the World level without any guidance whatsoever. Even Ning had merely been at the Elder God/Ancestral Immortal level when he left the Three Realms. True, Ning had only trained for a fairly brief period of time… but Mother Nuwa was definitely in a class of her own during the ‘Primordial Era’ of the Pangu Chaosworld. She had definitely surpassed the Three Sovereigns, Tathagata, Three Purities, and Subhuti, and she was the unquestioned leader of the Nuwa Alliance. By now, even Subhuti and Windfiend had fused multiple Supreme Daos together. Ning felt certain that Nuwa wouldn’t be inferior to any of them.
That meant that Nuwa would probably be quite famous in the region she was currently in! If the Icepeak Army had visited her region, it was highly likely that they would’ve heard mention of the name ‘Nuwa’.
“Haven’t heard of her.” Lord Wulf shook his head, then turned and barked, “Have any of you heard of a ‘Nuwa’ before?”
“No.”
“We’ve roamed through many places, but we’ve never heard of a powerful female cultivator named Nuwa.”
“Haven’t heard of her.” They all shook their heads.
Ning turned to look at Realmslord Windgrace, who immediately shook his head. “I haven’t heard of her either. Daolord Darknorth, the Icepeak Army has visited many places. If even they haven’t heard of her, she’s not going to be easy to find.”
Ning frowned. “Nuwa has only trained for a short period of time; perhaps she isn’t well-known yet. Icepeak Army, the mission I have for you is for you to ride realmships to one realmverse after another. Spread the word on my behalf! Say that I, Daolord Darknorth, am searching for a female cultivator named ‘Nuwa’. She should have only been training for roughly a hundred chaos cycles of ‘normal’ time. You can also make it known that I, Daolord Darknorth, will owe a debt to the first person to find Nuwa for me. I can use treasures to pay off my debt, but I can also help deal with someone… such as the Lonely King, who I slew!”
“This…” Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army were shocked. This offer was a crazy one. The Lonely King had been an incredible figure in the Chaosverse, a mighty ruler in his sector. Daolord Darknorth’s promise was definitely enough to drive many major powers wild with excitement.
A favor from Daolord Darknorth was definitely something worth having!
“Hurry up and spread the word to as many realmverses as you can. This is the only task I have for you,” Ning said. “Once I find Nuwa, you’ll gain your freedom. If I cannot find her, then you’ll be released from this oath after I die and my Dao vanishes.”
“Very well.”
“Don’t worry, Daolord Darknorth.” The three generals and the Black Emperors all immediately agreed. This was an incredibly simple task; all they had to do was serve as a messenger! Daolord Darknorth wasn’t going to be around for much longer; at most, he’d survive for another thousand chaos cycles. This was quite easy. The Icepeak Army immediately swore the requisite lifeblood oaths.
“Go now. If anyone discovers Nuwa, they can immediately inform Windgrace. When he knows, I’ll know,” Ning said. In the end, he himself simply didn’t know enough people. Even if someone did locate Nuwa, it would be quite difficult for that person to find Ning. Windgrace, however, had a wide network of friends; it would be far easier for others to reach him.
“Understood.” The members of the Icepeak Army all assented to his order, then excitedly departed.
How could they not be excited? This wasn’t the calamitous punishment they had expected; in fact, it was a huge blessing in disguise! Now that the Lonely King was dead, their lives were their own again. They would truly be free once more. How many major powers were truly willing to serve as pawns and footsoldiers for another? Long ago, they had been weak and thus lusted after the power which becoming a Black Emperor or Gold Emperor would grant them, which was why they had gritted their teeth and accepted servitude.
Now? They didn’t lose any of the power they had gained, nor was their fate in the hands of another. They were all free. Wasn’t this a wonderful thing? And once they helped Daolord Darknorth locate ‘Nuwa’, they would become truly and perpetually free.
“Windgrace.” Ning looked at Windgrace. “You can probably guess what I need you to do.”
“A simple task. I’ll send the word out as widely as I can,” Realmslord Windgrace said.
“Good.” Ning nodded. “Sorry to trouble you, Realmslord.”
“Tis nothing at all.” Realmslord Windgrace secretly let out a sigh of relief as well. Daolord Darknorth truly was an easy-going person. Many cultivators in his position would behave much more ruthlessly! Given that Ning had already failed the Daomerge, no one would’ve been surprised if he had turned ruthless and chose to simply kill Windgrace. If that happened, Windgrace wouldn’t even have had a chance to feel regret! Thus, he had waited nervously for Ning’s judgment, not daring to argue in the slightest. But now, it seemed, Ning’s request was quite simple. All he had to do was to spread the word.
……
The story of the legendary battle which occurred after Daolord Darknorth’s attempted Daomerge was quickly spread by Realmslord Windgrace, the Hegemons and Emperors of the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance, and the Icepeak Army. The latter rode realmships in every direction, spreading the news far and wide. As a result, word spread like a tempest!
Although the Chaosverse was so vast that spreading information was usually quite difficult, this particular bit of news was utterly astonishing, especially given how famous the Lonely King was. As a result, news truly did spread quite fast.
……
“Old man! Old man! A giant foot came crashing down through the clouds and slamming against the surface of an enormous planet, causing the earth to tremble. The towering figure to which the giant foot belonged continued to bellow, “Hurry up and wake up, you blind old man!”
“FUCK OFF!” a hoarse, ear-piercing voice rang out from deep underneath the earth.
“Hurry up and wake up! Something big just happened. Stop sleeping! This time, the towering figure stomped down on the ground using his two bare feet, causing the earth to shudder and shake.
“One day, I’m going to EAT you,” the hoarse, unpleasant voice said. A boom rang out, followed by the entire planet exploding as an ugly black bird appeared in its center. This bird had just a single eye, but the eye was shut. It looked rather like an owl, but it had a pair of extremely large black wings.
“I’ve got some good news for you, you blind old man! A while ago, the Lonely King sent the Icepeak Army after you and forced you into fleeing, right?” The speaker was an alien Hegemon dressed in simple armor and who had two furry heads. “The Lonely King died!”
“Why are you mentioning this again? I TOLD you to never… huh? Did you just say the Lonely King died?” The black avian let out a startled, ear-pie
rcing screech.
“It’s true! Word has spread to our Fivebug Realmverses. You’re probably the only one who doesn’t know because you spend all your time sleeping!” the two-headed Hegemon said.
“How’d he die?” the black avian immediately asked. “Given how strong the Lonely King was, so long as he didn’t do anything suicidal there shouldn’t be anyone capable of killing him.”
“Heh heh heh… I have to tell you a story about someone truly remarkable named Daolord Darknorth.” The two-headed Hegemon immediately began to narrate the story.
* * *
Book 39, Chapter 5 - Arrangements
In a different, incredibly distant part of the Chaosverse.
A vast layer of golden clouds could be seen here within the emptiness of space. Above the clouds, there were many divine palaces that emanated rays of golden light. The palaces were all connected together and emanated such incredible light that it illuminated the cosmos.
Within a side room inside the tallest, most towering palace. A white-winged man was standing by himself, staring into the endless darkness outside his window. He said calmly, “Demon Empress, why have you come here?”
Another person was within the room, a blood-winged woman with a single horn. She had a smile on her face that was filled with strange, beguiling charisma. “God Emperor Helong, we were once Dao-companions. Why must you be so heartless to me? For the sake of your Dao, of your [God Emperor’s Apocalypse], you were willing to give up even your Dao-companions. Even if you do succeed in becoming an Autarch, would it all be worth it?”
“Karma brought us into each other’s path, then took us away from each other. Our ties are ended,” God Emperor Helong said calmly. “No need to waste time on such nonsense. Why have you come here?”
“You’ve always thought of yourself as being an extraordinary figure,” the blood-winged woman smirked, “But have you heard of someone known as ‘Daolord Darknorth’?”
“Daolord Darknorth. A Daolord?” God Emperor Helong was puzzled.
“Hmph. I knew you wouldn’t know.” The blood-winged woman said, “While meeting with a few of my friends, I heard some interesting news. You should’ve heard of the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army, yes?”
God Emperor Helong said coldly, “He was destroyed by his love and went insane. He’s not worth discussing.”
“But he was still fairly strong,” the blood-winged woman laughed. “Are you able to kill him?”
“He engaged in the Ritual Sacrificium to become a Golden Emperor, and is also protected by multiple Sithe war machines. I heard that he once destroyed an otherverse. I admit that he’s quite strong. Killing him would be very difficult… but someone like him, who purely focuses on power, will have a Dao-heart which is riddled with flaws,” God Emperor Helong said disdainfully.
“The Daolord Darknorth I just mentioned to you? He killed the Lonely King with just one swing of his sword,” the blood-winged woman said.
“Impossible!” God Emperor Helong’s face completely changed. “Impossible. There’s no way it could be done with one strike, and no way it could be done by a Daolord! One would at least have to have the power of a Sithe Exalt to accomplish this!”
The blood-winged woman said, “Let me finish. Daolord Darknorth is an incredibly talented figure, and he trains in one of the legendary Omega Daos. He convinced a Hegemon to follow him as a retainer, and also tamed a Chaos Primordial! Not long ago he finally attempted the Daomerge! Although he failed in the Daomerge, the failure allowed him to truly understand and comprehend the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, and so he used just one strike of his sword to slay the Lonely King, who had come to take his Chaos Primordial from him. Realmslord Windgrace and the Icepeak Army were so terrified that they immediately moved to obey all his commands.”
“Eternal Omega Sword Dao?” God Emperor Helong was stunned.
“There’s always someone stronger than the strongest! Even in the cultivator civilizations, there are now those aside from the Autarchs who are more powerful than you, such as Daolord Darknorth.” The blood-winged woman smirked. “Do you still think you are all that extraordinary? You aren’t even close to being his equal.”
“An Omega Dao can actually be perfected into eternity?” A stunned look was in God Emperor Helong’s eyes. “Incredible, simply incredible. I truly am not a match for him. I, Helong, have only ever admired the Autarchs. Now, I also feel admiration for Daolord Darknorth.”
The woman was stunned. She had wanted to use the story of Daolord Darknorth to belittle the endlessly arrogant God Emperor. Who would’ve thought that Helong would immediately begin to feel admiration for Daolord Darknorth?
“If I could borrow his Eternal Omega Sword Dao and study from it, how wonderful that would be!” the God Emperor murmured softly, eagerness in his eyes.
“Stop dreaming. The Dao is not to be casually taught to others, and only Daolord Darknorth has ever successfully mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao! You can stop dreaming about it,” the woman mocked. However, she didn’t see any anger or frustration on God Emperor Helong’s face. This displeased her greatly, causing her to turn and leave. Still… at least she had achieved her goal of mocking the man.
……
The Twelve Palaces of Brightshore, especially the Sword Palace, were filled with just as many excited discussions as the outside world.
“I heard that our Palace Lord Darknorth has already been praised as the number one expert of the Endless Territories.”
Right. The Eternal Emperors all seem to be talking about this. Palace Lord Darknorth failed in the Daomerge, but he has actually reached an inconceivable level of power as a result of it. Even Hegemons are far beneath him!”
“Even Hegemons are far beneath him? How powerful must he be?!”
Although the Daolords of the Sword Palace didn’t really know the details or what the Icepeak Army was, there had been so many Emperors present watching the battle that details of it had quickly leaked. Thus, the Daolords all knew one thing – Daolord Darknorth might have failed the Daomerge, but he was so powerful that he surpassed even the Hegemons by a great amount. He was able to kill Hegemons with a flick of his wrist! This caused the countless Daolords to feel stunned, and the Daolords of the Sword Palace were especially proud.
“Even Hegemons are far beneath him?” The Universe treasure within Armaments Gorge, the broken sword, suddenly manifested a pink-robed woman above the sword. She was the sword’s spirit, and she couldn’t believe this news. “How can someone be more powerful than a Hegemon? Are we talking about that silly Daolord who visited me twice?”
“Hmph. Even if it’s true… so what? He failed his Daomerge, which means he will die soon,” the sword-spirit murmured to herself. “Besides… given how he asked me to join him last time, he probably still doesn’t have any Universe treasures. Hmph.”
……
The many major powers in the vast Chaosverse, including the Hegemons, the Emperors, and other incredibly famous ancient figures who were on par with Realmslord Windgrace and the Lonely King, were all stunned by the news they heard regarding this ‘Daolord Darknorth’.
The weaker ones were able to gain a general sense of how terrifying Daolord Darknorth was… but only the strongest ones truly understood what the ‘Eternal Omega Sword Dao’ truly represented! All of them knew that Daolord Darknorth was most likely second only to the Autarchs in all the parts of the Chaosverse ruled over by the cultivator civilizations! Even though he failed the Daomerge and his life would be brief as a result, no one would dare to challenge him so long as he was alive.
The legend of Daolord Darknorth only continued to grow… as did a second person’s name. ‘Nuwa’.
Daolord Darknorth was searching for a female cultivator called Nuwa. The first person to find her and send word of her to Daolord Darknorth would be owed a favor by the Daolord! Such a favor had tremendous uses and implications.
“Nuwa?”
“Have you heard of a powerful female cultiva
tor named Nuwa?”
“An incredible Daolord or a powerful Hegemon? Never heard of her.”
“Based on what Daolord Darknorth has told us, Nuwa has probably only trained for a hundred chaos cycles or so. She can’t be all that strong. Maybe she’s already dead?”
“Impossible. Think about the level which Daolord Darknorth has reached; he’s second only to the Autarchs! How could he be mistaken about her being alive?”
News continued to spread.
……
The Flamedragon Realmverse.
Rumors continued to bubble and froth in the outside world. By now, Vastheaven Palace had become something of a holy place, the most unique power in all the Sixteen Realmverses Alliance.
Ning, however, was busy taking care of many things he had to handle.
Whoosh. Ning and his team rode the realmship into the Terror Starsea.
“Master?” Flamewing looked at Ning, puzzled.
“Here we are.” Ning stared up front.
“Here we are?” Hegemon Azurefiend stared towards the front as well, puzzled. The only thing in front of them was an area of jumbled primordial chaos. “There’s nothing in front of us.”
“A cave is hidden there,” Ning said with a laugh, “And it holds a world where my third disciple, Skywind, resides. I’ll go in first.” As he spoke, he took a single step forwards and disappeared from the realmship.
Ning’s mastery over the Dao of Spacetime was such that he was able to easily enter the cave within that hidden pocket of spacetime, while his sword-light was even more easily capable of cutting a hole into it.
“Same old cave.” Ning swept the area with his gaze. He saw the two Hegemon’s corpses as well as the Black Emperor’s corpse.
“Disciple.” Ning stared into the Black Emperor’s corpse. His gaze pierced through the dimensions, allowing him to see Daolord Skywind within a planet inside that corpse.
“I have several disciples… but you, alas, have the toughest destiny,” Ning sighed softly. His mastery over the Dao of Karma had long ago reached the Archon level. Now that he had mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao, he was able to see even farther into the future.
