Desolate Era

by RWX

  “If we lost, we lost. We ran into that otherverse by accident anyhow,” Nuwa said with a laugh. “Besides, an extra otherverse wouldn’t make much of a difference to our upcoming explorations.”

  “Agreed.” Patriarch Treewind nodded slowly. “Although it was disappointing and frustrating, to see an otherverse be stolen from right in front of us, Nuwa is right. Brother Jade Rainbow and I already have otherverses, while Nuwa has a Sithe weapon. This otherverse wouldn’t have made too much of a difference to us. We’ve joined forces to enter the Blazesun Domain, and our true goal is the Sithe armory Nuwa spoke of! That otherverse was nothing more than something on the side.”

  “Forget it.” The dazzlingly handsome Imperator Jade Rainbow still had a cold look on his face as he snorted, “I’ll spare that stupid bitch Palegrace this time. Next time I see her, I’ll teach her a lesson. Nuwa, how far are we from the Sithe armory?”

  “When I discovered that Sithe armory, I was still just a World-level cultivator,” Nuwa said. “I was lucky enough to somehow survive, but I only have a vague idea of where it was located. Based on what I know, we should be fairly close to it now.”

  Nuwa had appeared in the Blazesun Domain as a World-level cultivator. Back then, she had discovered a Sithe armory but was too weak to fully obtain it. She had barely managed to drag away a single treasure, then had immediately fled. She had nearly died on multiple dangerous occasions before eventually running into Patriarch Treewind, who had taken her on as his disciple. He had led her out of the deadly Blazesun Territory and over to the Bluesky Domain.

  Nuwa had never truly understood what the ‘Sithe armory’ she had discovered truly represented. Only when she became a Daolord of the Fourth Step did she understand, but she didn’t dare to make it public. Only when she succeeded in her Daomerge and became a Hegemon did she mention it, electing to invite a large number of Hegemons to join forces and search for those treasures.

  “Eh?” Imperator Jade Rainbow suddenly revealed a look of shock as his face actually turned pale.

  “What’s wrong, brother Jade Rainbow?” Patriarch Treewind was rather surprised. What could have happened, for the perpetually cold and arrogant Imperator Jade Rainbow to lose control of his emotions like that?

  “Something huge just happened.” Imperator Jade Rainbow was no longer as cold and grim as he usually was. Even his voice was rather shaky.

  “Something huge?” Nuwa listened with curiosity. She had trained for the shortest period of time out of the five, and she was filled with great admiration towards Imperator Jade Rainbow, who was as strong as her master. Without question, he was an incredible figure.

  “Old man Treewind, you know the Lonely King of the Icepeak Army?” the Imperator asked.

  “I know of him.” Patriarch Treewind nodded.

  “He’s dead.” Imperator Jade Rainbow said somberly, “He was killed by a single sword-strike from a terrifying person known as Daolord Darknorth.”

  “What?!” Patriarch Treewind revealed a look of shock. “How is that possible?”

  “Wait, there’s more. I don’t know the full details yet. Give me a moment,” the Imperator said. His Primaltwin was in another extremely distant place, and it was chatting with some other major powers about Daolord Darknorth. Eventually, the Imperator was given the full story… and then he heard that Daolord Darknorth was searching for Nuwa.

  “Huh?!” Imperator Jade Rainbow turned to stare at Nuwa in astonishment.

  Nuwa blinked, puzzled at the look on the Imperator’s face as he stared at her.

  “What’s going on, brother Jade Rainbow? What’s the story behind Daolord Darknorth? The Lonely King used the Ritual Sacrificium to become a Golden Emperor; his body was tougher than even yours, and he was protected by multiple Sithe war machines. Most likely, the only cultivators capable of killing him in one blow are the legendary Autarchs.”

  “Daolord Darknorth is very powerful.” Imperator Jade Rainbow stared at Nuwa as he continued to speak: “Based on what my friends have deduced, he has most likely managed to master the Eternal Omega Dao of the Sword! He’s at an unfathomable level of might. The Lonely King died before even being able to react to that single sword-strike from him.”

  Patriarch Treewind was stunned upon hearing this.

  “Darknorth?” Nuwa had never heard this name before, but for some reason she had the vague feeling that he was connected to her in some way. It was as though some blurry lines of karma were linking them together. Alas, Nuwa’s skill in the Dao of Karma simply wasn’t strong enough for her to fully investigate every single karmic thread attached to her… but she was still able to at least sense it.

  “He’s been publicly acclaimed to be second to only the Autarchs amongst the cultivators of the Chaosverse. He’s so powerful that he can wipe the two of us out with just a wave of his hand.” Imperator Jade Rainbow stared at Nuwa. “And… he’s currently looking for a cultivator named Nuwa.”

  “Nuwa?” Patriarch Treewind and the other two Hegemons all turned to look. Now, all four of them were staring at Nuwa.

  “He said that Nuwa is an incredibly talented female cultivator who has probably trained for roughly a hundred chaos cycles. He said that she is either a freakishly powerful Daolord or possibly an Eternal Emperor.” Imperator Jade Rainbow stared intently at Nuwa.

  “That’s a huge coincidence.” All of them were stunned by this. As for Nuwa herself, she didn’t say anything, but a puzzled look appeared in her eyes.

  * * *

  Book 39, Chapter 8 - One Last Thing

  Who was this ‘Daolord Darknorth’? She definitely didn’t know him… but how could he possibly know that she had trained for roughly a hundred chaos cycles? She had encountered many profound encounters; when factoring in temporal acceleration, the actual amount of time she had spent training was far longer than just a hundred chaos cycles. And yet, it was true that she had only spent a hundred chaos cycles of ‘normal’ time in training!

  “Daolord Darknorth is incredibly talented,” Imperator Jade Rainbow continued, “And based on what I know, he should have trained for roughly the same length of time as you have, Nuwa! Unfortunately, he failed his Daomerge. He must have immediately mastered the Eternal Omega Sword Dao after failing the Daomerge. His sword-arts are unequalled throughout the entire Chaosverse. Nuwa, he knows you and has trained for roughly the same length of time as you. Do you know him?”

  Nuwa frowned slightly.

  “Nuwa,” the nearby Patriarch Treewind asked hurriedly, “Do you know Daolord Darknorth or not?”

  “I’ve never heard of him. There’s no way I can be mistaken about this. None of the old friends I used to know were named ‘Darknorth’.” Nuwa slowly shook her head.

  “Odd.” Patriarch Treewind was puzzled. “Is it possible that the ‘Nuwa’ he is looking for is someone else?”

  “There are countless beings with same names, but the chances are very low that there is a second person who just so happens to be Nuwa who is also incredibly talented and has trained for just a hundred chaos cycles.” Imperator Jade Rainbow was puzzled as well. “Is it possible that this really is just a crazy coincidence? Is there really a second incredibly talented female cultivator named ‘Nuwa’ out there?”

  Nuwa pondered silently to herself. She had the strange feeling that the person this ‘Daolord Darknorth’ was searching for was her, even though they had never met before. “Daolord Darknorth… who is he?” Nuwa mused to herself.

  ……

  The Flamedragon Realmverse was indescribably far away from the Blazesun Domain. A white-robed Ji Ning was seated in the lotus position atop a solitary mountain within Vastheaven Palace. In front of him was a table, while the red-robed Su Youji was by his side, pouring his wine.

  Ning gulped down one cup of wine after another, a hint of a smile on his lips as he analyzed the boulders placed in front of him. Some were jagged, some were slick, and some had plants growing next to them. There was even a little bug that was clambering
up a plant quite slowly, even though it was furiously working its tiny little claws.

  “Haha…” Ning watched as the beetle managed to climb atop one of the leaves. Its weight caused the leaf to droop downwards, resulting in the beetle falling back down to the ground again. Ning couldn’t help but laugh when he saw this.

  “Master, you seem to be quite happy just watching the bugs.” Su Youji continuously poured wine for Ning.

  Ning smiled as he pointed at the bug. “Bugs need to fight for food and mates. Their lives are short, but spectacular. Ordinary mortals might live for a bit longer, but they generally only last a hundred years. I seem to have been sitting here drinking some wine for quite a long period of time.”

  “Master, you’ve already been drinking wine here for exactly 32,822 years,” Su Youji said.

  “Oh.” Ning laughed. “I’m a Daolord who has failed the Daomerge. All the Eternal Emperors sigh at how short my life will be, but I still have thousands of chaos cycles left. I have far, far more time than those bugs or those ordinary mortals. Hell, ordinary chaosworlds rise and fall within the span of a single chaos cycles. If you look at it from that perspective, I actually have a lot of time left. I wonder, though… will I be able to last long enough to find any word of Nuwa?”

  “You definitely will, Master,” Su Youji said hurriedly.

  “Mm.” Ning nodded. Ever since he had failed the Daomerge, he had focused his efforts on making preparations for the people he cared about. He had mostly finished his preparations for his disciples; the rest would be up to them. Success or failure, life or death… it would all be based on their own efforts. As the saying goes, the master can show the way, but the student must walk it himself.

  Right now, Ning still worried about the Three Realms more than anything else! This was because the Three Realms held his parents, his daughter, his master, his fellow disciples, and many of his good friends. It was also his homeland!

  “The final task I have is to find a good protector for the Three Realms.” In the past, he had borne this burden by himself. Alas, he didn’t have much time left. Ning was entrusting all of his hopes to Nuwa.

  If he couldn’t find Nuwa, he was entirely capable of forcing a few major powers to swear lifeblood oaths to protect the Three Realms! However, someone who was doing something willingly would be far more effective than someone who was acting out of compulsion. There was a limit to how effective a compulsory lifeblood oath would be; the best solution was for him to find someone who truly cared about the Three Realms and would be willing to sacrifice for it.

  Ning trusted Nuwa. She had once been the true leader of the Three Realms, with the Three Sovereigns, Lord Tathagata the Buddha, Daoist Three Purities, and the others all serving by her side. This was a testament to her personal charisma.

  Whoosh. Ning could sense a ripple manifesting outside. He turned to stare, his gaze piercing through the dimensional walls and allowing him to see a streak of azure light descending into the emptiness of space outside the Vastheaven Everworld. Realmslord Windgrace had arrived via the Blacksun!

  “Daolord Darknorth.” Realmslord Windgrace quickly arrived at Vastheaven Palace. He descended, then walked over to face Ning.

  “Sit,” Ning said calmly.

  “Daolord Darknorth, we’ve found Nuwa,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

  Ning’s eyes instantly shone with utterly dazzling light. The entire world around him seemed to have been bathed in infinite joy, and even Realmslord Windgrace couldn’t help but be caught up by it.

  “Where is she?” Ning asked.

  “She’s currently in the Blazesun Domain, but she was previously living in a realmverse,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “That realmverse is extremely far away from us. It’s actually fairly close to the Quintessence of the Chaosverse! Its name is the Bluesky Realmverse.”

  “It’s fairly close to the Quintessence of the Chaosverse?” Ning was rather surprised. His will was connected to the incomparably distant prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, and thus he knew just how incredibly far away it was.

  Realmslord Windgrace nodded. “Oh, right. Nuwa is a Hegemon of the Bluesky Realmverse. She recently succeeded in her Daomerge and gained Hegemony, and is the disciple of Patriarch Treewind. She’s only trained for a hundred chaos cycles, yet has already reached Hegemony; in terms of talent, she is probably second only to you yourself!”

  Ning felt even more excited upon hearing this. Nuwa had become a Hegemon after training for just a hundred chaos cycles! This had to be her! And she was a Hegemon? That meant she would be capable of truly protecting the Three Realms. Weaker cultivators weren’t capable of using the Sithe weapons Ning had acquired from the Lonely King.

  “Why is she all the way over there?” Ning was puzzled. He immediately asked, “Do you know anything about her?”

  “I heard that she first appeared in the Blazesun Domain, all by herself. She experienced many dangers before being discovered by Patriarch Treewind, who accepted her as his disciple. Thus, she’s technically a foreigner and not native to the Bluesky Realmverse,” Realmslord Windgrace said.

  “A foreigner?” Ning now felt absolutely certain it was her… and his subconscious was whispering the same. She was Mother Nuwa of the Three Realms!

  “You said she is currently in the Blazesun Domain?” Ning frowned. “Why is she in the Blazesun Domain?”

  “I heard that she is accompanying Patriarch Treewind and several other major powers in an alliance to explore its depths,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “I heard this information from someone named Hegemon Goodsong.”

  Ning frowned. “The Blazesun Domain… that’s one of the Eight Domains next to the place where the prime essences of the Chaosverse are located.”

  The prime essences of the Chaosverse were located in a marvelous place known as the Quintessence. You couldn’t simply find them through normal means; not even Hegemons or Otherverse Lords were able to locate them by simple ‘searching’. The Quintessence was the font for all things in spacetime, and it resided in the very core of the Chaosverse itself. Only those who were at a sufficiently high level of enlightenment would be able to find them! Autarchs were able to locate the Quintessence, but Hegemons were not. Ever since Ning had taken control over the prime essence of the Dao of the Sword, he knew that he too would be able to discover the location of the prime essences of the Chaosverse.

  The land of the prime essences… the Quintessence was a truly marvelous place, capable of giving birth to Chaos Primordials, Sourcewalkers, and many other living beings.

  Chaos Primordials were born as gluttonous wanderers. They would slowly drift away into the vast Chaosverse, making it quite rare for someone to encounter one… but Sourcewalkers were different. They were highly intelligent and thus generally preferred to stay in the general vicinity of the prime essences! The region around the prime essences would be naturally blessed with an incredible density of treasures, and every so often even armories of Sithe weapons left over from the Dawn War would appear, as well as otherverses.

  The eight domains around the Quintessence with the highest concentration of treasures were all incredibly famous. Ning had never been there before, but he had heard of them long ago.

  “If Patriarch Treewind, Nuwa, and the others have joined forces, they should be able to keep themselves safe,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “According to the legends, those eight domains are incredibly dangerous to us but of no danger at all to the Autarchs. I imagine they should be of no danger to you either, Daolord Darknorth.”

  “Agreed.” Ning nodded. “If Nuwa is at the Blazesun Domain, then I’ll go pay it a visit.”

  “The Blazesun Domain is far too distant from us. It’ll take you several billion years to get there by realmship,” Realmslord Windgrace said. “Although my Blacksun is able to tear open spacetime tunnels and allows for instantaneous transportation, there’s a limit to what it can do. The farther the tunnel must stretch, the greater a cost must be paid… and at a certain point, it ju
st can’t stretch any farther.”

  “I understand.” Ning smiled. “If that wasn’t the case, the Sithe would’ve been able to spread out throughout the Chaosverse without any limitations.”

  “If it takes a few billion years, it takes a few billion years. Doesn’t really matter.” Ning was in a superb mood. He had found Nuwa and had discovered that she was a Hegemon! This absolutely delighted Ning. He now had a chance to bring a final resolution to the last thing he was worried about.

  * * *

  Book 39, Chapter 9 - Travelling Together

  At the peak of that solitary mountain. Ji Ning and Realmslord Windgrace remained seated facing each other, while Su Youji poured their wine.

  “Master,” Su Youji suddenly said.

  “Hm?” Ning turned to look at her.

  “I’m going to go with you on this trip to the Blazesun Domain,” Su Youji said hurriedly. She knew that since Ning had failed the Daomerge, there was a limit to how much longer his lifespan would be. He might end up in a battle, resulting in his lifespan depleting even more quickly. She wanted to accompany Ning in his final days for as long as she could.

  Ning hesitated for a moment. He knew what Su Youji was thinking. In the end, he nodded: “Very well. However, you need to stay with me and listen to my orders.”

  Su Youji immediately smiled radiantly. “Alright.”

  “Daolord Darknorth, shall I use the Blacksun to help speed you on the first part of your journey?” Realmslord Windgrace was rather hesitant.

  “If you poured in all the treasures you own, how far would you be able to send me via the Blacksun?” Ning said with a laugh.

  “Tearing through space consumes an enormous amount of energy! The Hiddenfiend Realmverse is fairly close to the Flamedragon Realmverse, which makes things easy for me. But if I did that a few hundred times, I’d completely use up all of my treasures,” Realmslord Windgrace said.