Desolate Era

by RWX

  Riiiiip! Flamewing used its sharp claws to tear them apart by force while also biting at them. One tentacle after another was severed, but they continued to tighten around them. Flamewing had so much brute force that it was still able to split the tentacles apart, but they would then regrow to coil around it once more. This caused Flamewing’s speed to drop drastically.

  “Damn Sourcewalker!” The enraged Flamewing moved to pounce towards the red-robed maiden.

  “Stop it in its tracks,” the red-robed maiden instructed.

  Boom! The crimson bloodfiend leader struck out with its giant double-bladed battleaxe towards Flamewing, while the eight-armed giant sent its chains flying out and lashing towards Flamewing like a whip.

  Boom! Bang! The crimson bloodfiend leader and the eight-armed giant leader continuously attacked Flamewing, while the red-robed maiden continued to use her tentacles to bind and slow Flamewing down. For a time, Flamewing found itself surrounded and unable to break free.

  “Goodsong, go and help Flamewing out,” Ning instructed.

  “Got it.” Hegemon Goodsong was filled with the desire for battle, and he transformed into a streak of golden light that flew straight towards the four. However, halfway there he was slapped back by a black tentacle. That single black tentacle was enough to completely tie him down for a time. Hegemon Goodsong was just barely able to break it apart, but it then quickly regrew. Clearly, he was still quite a bit weaker than the Sourcewalker was.

  Ning frowned when he saw this. The two armies of strange creatures had yet to attack. If all of the cultivators of Houwu City all took part in this fight, they would naturally be able to defend against this attack! However, their foe still held the upper hand in the Blazesun Domain. If the Blazesun Ruler gave the order, even more Sourcewalkers and strange creatures would appear.

  “Darknorth,” Nuwa sent mentally, “Perhaps we should back down and pretend to negotiate with them, then immediately flee. Given our fleeing abilities and your assistance, we should be able to escape.”

  “This is the Blazesun Domain. The Blazesun Ruler’s influence is too great,” Ning sent back. “Even if you are able to temporarily flee, you’ll probably be caught soon. Resolving this matter here is the best solution.”

  Right at this moment, the red-robed maiden glanced downwards and shouted, “Did you think you’d be able to resist us just because you have a Chaos Primordial? The Blazesun Ruler has always been courteous to you cultivators, but do you really think that he is someone to be trifled with? You wrecked his estate and destroyed his beloved lamp. The five of them have to die! Obey my orders and attack!”

  “Attack!”

  “Attack!” The crimson bloodfiends and the eight-armed giants simultaneously let out earth-shaking bellows, then began to swoop down from the skies. An aura of endless might enveloped the entire city of Houwu.

  * * *

  Book 39, Chapter 18 - Ji Ning Attacks

  When the cultivators inside Houwu City saw that swarm of creatures swooping down towards them, they couldn’t help but start to panic slightly. In truth, they were unwilling to fight with these creatures to the death. According to the customary rule, everyone would just help out a bit to give the person who caused the problem a chance to flee; that was as far as everyone was willing to go.

  The problem was, this time the one standing behind Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa was Daolord Darknorth. Thus, they hesitated.

  “All of you, enter the city!” Lord Houwu immediately barked mentally, then turned to look at Ning desperately. “Daolord Darknorth, what should…”

  If it wasn’t for Ning, Lord Houwu would’ve followed the usual rule. There was no way he would be hesitating for this long.

  Ning raised his head to stare upwards at the throng of creatures swooping down towards them. Suddenly, the ‘ordinary’ aura surrounding Ning began to dramatically skyrocket in power!

  Boom! Boom! Boom!!! The skies above the city of Houwu began to shake as countless streams of sword-light appeared out of nowhere. Many millions of swords manifested with Ning at the center, and all of them hung up high. In a single instant, the entire region had transformed into a world of swords.

  The creatures which had been furiously swooping down towards Houwu City came to a sudden, startled pause. The crimson bloodfiends and eight-armed giants stared at the sword-light in terror, not daring to move at all. They could sense how sharp the sword-light was, and in fact some of them were nicked by the sword-light, causing wounds to appear on their bodies.

  They all understood that the omnipresent sword-light was able to annihilate them all with ease.

  “This…”

  “This is…” the crimson bloodfiend leader, the eight-armed giant leader, and the red-robed maiden were all stunned as they stared at the countless streams of sword-light in the world around them.

  This was a world of the sword. Some of the sword-light seemed lively and joyful, some seemed moody and ghostly. Some were filled with malevolence, others were ephemeral and drifting. The countless streams of sword-light combined to form a perfect world of the sword.

  “Commander?”

  “Clan leader!” The crimson bloodfiends and the eight-armed giants all turned to stare at their leaders. They were filled with terror that sprang from within their very bones.

  The red-robed maiden swallowed, hard. Her face was rather ashen, and she stared with a degree of fear at the white-robed youth who continued to stand there calmly. “He’s too terrifying. He hasn’t even attacked; all he’s done is unleashed his domain, and it’s already terrifying. T-t-this domain… most likely, there’s no way Hegemons can survive it at all. They’d be wiped out instantly.”

  This was indeed Ning’s Sword Dao domain! Or, to put it another way, this was a domain formed by the prime essences of the Dao of the Sword! Anyone who wasn’t powerful enough would be slaughtered with ease by this domain. Ning didn’t wish to intensify the problems between him and the Blazesun Ruler; otherwise, the terrified creatures would’ve all been wiped out long ago, save for perhaps those three leaders. It wouldn’t have cost him a single scrap of his own power.

  ……

  This scene stunned all of the cultivators within Houwu City.

  “So this is the power of the Eternal Omega Sword Dao?” They stared at the omnipresent streaks of sword-light in the skies. They could sense how terrifyingly powerful the sword-light was. Daolord Darknorth had reached such a terrifying level of power that he didn’t even need to personally strike; his domain alone could effortlessly annihilate anyone below the Otherverse Lord level of power.

  “Now THIS is the real Daolord Darknorth!” Patriarch Treewind said with a sigh.

  “It seems we’ll survive this,” Imperator Jade Rainbow said, still filled with awe and fear.

  Lord Houwu raised his head to stare at the skies, his gaze filled with envy. “If only Daolord Darknorth was willing to transmit the Dao to me…”

  “Master.”

  “Darknorth.” Right now, there were two people who cared about Ning the most. The first was Su Youji, while the second was Nuwa.

  The two of them truly cared about Ning’s life. For him to merely release a Dao domain was one thing, but if he truly wished to kill the three leaders he would have to use his own energies… which was akin to Ning using up his own lifespan! Su Youji’s feelings towards Ning went without saying, and while Nuwa had only met Ning a short while ago she already viewed him as one of her closest friends.

  Her homeland had produced such a dazzling genius… someone who, even after failing the Daomerge, cared enough to then seek her out to ensure that she would safeguard the Three Realms. Nuwa felt a sense of admiration towards Ning; she naturally didn’t wish for Ning to use up any more of his life energy. This was doubly true because Ning was getting into this dispute for her sake!

  ……

  The two hundred-plus Hegemonic creatures all stood in midair, terrified. None of them dared to move at all.

  “S-s-s-senior!�
�� The double-bladed battleaxe-wielding crimson bloodfiend leader was the most frightened of them all. Even his voice quavered when he spoke.

  Ning turned to sweep them with his gaze, and as he did the three leaders felt a sense of terror rise in their hearts. This Dao domain had completely enveloped the surrounding area and suppressed everything here.

  “Scram!” Ning barked coldly, his voice echoing for countless kilometers around. The crimson bloodfiend leader lowered his head and gulped, so terrified that he immediately turned tail and fled. As for the other crimson bloodfiends under his command, they all followed him in fleeing.

  The ashen-faced red-robed maiden took two steps back. She was hesitating. As a Sourcewalker, she was extremely intelligent and possessed tremendous skills of comprehension. She could naturally tell how terrifying this Daolord was… but the Blazesun Ruler truly was extremely angry. She wanted to try and negotiate and see if a better resolution was possible.

  As for the eight-armed giant, he stared intently at Ning without backing down in the slightest.

  The red-robed maiden spoke out: “I am Walker Scarletbind, and I serve the Blazesun Ruler. Dare I ask who you are, senior?”

  “Darknorth,” Ning said.

  “Scarletbind greets you, Daolord Darknorth.” For the first time, the red-robed maiden bowed her head with great respect. She showed nothing but disdain when meeting with other cultivators, but as soon as she saw the sword-light flooding the skies she understood just how terrifying this cultivator Daolord was, and how worthy of respect he was. His skill in sword-arts alone vastly surpassed the Blazesun Ruler she served.

  “Walker Scarletbind.” Ning nodded. “I imagine you understand what I am intending. I do not wish for a battle to arise between the Blazesun Ruler and myself. A minor matter like this isn’t worth it.”

  “I do understand,” the red-robed maiden said respectfully, “But… this time, the Ruler is extremely angry. I’m afraid that he won’t just let things rest.”

  “Scarletbind, why are you wasting time on him? You there! Cultivator Daolord!” The eight-armed giant let out an earth-shaking shout: “What technique did you use to unleash this domain of swords? However… this thing isn’t a threat to me at all! Your sword domain is harmless to me. I’ll kill you with one lash of my chains. Let’s see how long you can maintain your arrogance then!”

  “Eight-Armed Hill, do NOT be rude,” the red-robed maiden said frantically.

  “Don’t be fooled, Scarletbind! This cultivator Daolord is just putting up a false front of bravado. Cultivators love to lie, cheat, and steal, but all of them are very weak. He’s just a Daolord! How strong can he be?” The eight-armed giant leader forced down the fear he had felt earlier, transforming it into rage at the thought of having been deceived by Ning.

  “DIE!” the eight-armed giant leader howled as he ran through the air towards Ning.

  “You…!” The red-robed maiden hurriedly waved her hand, sending out one of the black tentacles and intending to use it to catch the eight-armed giant. However, the eight-armed giant’s chains began to clatter and clack, smashing the black tentacles apart. The eight-armed giant howled loudly, “Scarletbind, do you think I don’t know all your little tricks?”

  The eight-armed giant turned towards Ning once more. “DIE!” His chains clanked with terrifying power that was nearly equivalent to the Flamewing God’s as he struck out at Ning.

  The red-robed maiden felt both frantic and helpless. These creatures all had a far lower level of intelligence. Chaos Primordials weren’t so bad; they simply had childlike personalities. These creatures, however, had personalities as bizarre as their appearances. Some were sly, some were sinister, some were stupid, some were brutish… and as for this eight-armed giant, he was famous for his explosive temper. He easily went berserk… and now, he had just gone berserk again.

  “Master, I’ll go stop him!” Flamewing moved to charge out.

  “Leave it to me!” Ning commanded coldly. Flamewing stared wide-eyed at Ning, as did Nuwa and Su Youji from behind.

  “Do not!” Nuwa said hurriedly.

  “Flamewing won’t be able to dispose of him. It’ll keep causing trouble for us.” Ning stared at the distant eight-armed giant, which had almost instantly charged towards him. A murderous look was in Ning’s eyes which caused all the major powers present to hold their breaths. At his current level, Ning was invincible in all the Chaosverse against everyone save the Autarchs. How could he not feel a degree of pride in himself?

  Whoosh. Ning stepped forward as well. All the cultivators in Houwu City raised their heads to look, with Patriarch Treewind and Nuwa staring particularly intently.

  In this instant, time itself seemed to have froze. Ning stepped forward in a graceful and casual manner, and as he did so space itself seemed to have shrunk between him and the eight-armed giant. He instantly appeared in front of the giant, whose eyes had been filled with berserk savagery… but in the next instant, the look in the giant’s eyes was replaced by a hint of shock.

  Swoosh. Ning struck out with his sword. All of the cultivators present were able to see with clarity how Ning drew a single black sword from the sheath on his back, and then as part of the same motion delivered a chopping blow downwards.

  * * *

  Book 39, Chapter 19 - Blazesun Ruler

  The godlike sword carved through the air, leaving behind streaks of sword-light that looked like petals frozen in the air. The streaks of sword-light then all connected to each other into a beautiful arc, and it was as though the dazzling, snow-white sword-light had come alive. It was like a dazzling snow flower that had bloomed with breathtaking beauty, and the petals of that flower just so happened to pass through the eight-armed giant’s body, leaving behind a single giant wound.

  Ji Ning’s sword-intent spread out through the power of karma, instantly annihilating every scrap of truesoul the eight-armed giant possessed. The giant’s life energy instantly vanished… but the dazzlingly beautiful snow flower of sword-light continued to hover there in the air.

  Clink! Ning once more returned his sword into the sheath on his back… and with that, time seemed to return back to normal once more.

  “Ah?!”

  “This…”

  “He twisted time?”

  “That scene… it’s been forever burned into my memories.” The cultivators of Houwu City were all shocked. That sword-strike had been so beautiful! In addition, they had been able to see everything with perfect clarity. The drawing of the sword, the chopping, the flower of sword-light, the re-sheathing… it had all been clearly visible.

  It must be remembered that it was extremely difficult to see the attacks of Hegemons with clarity! And to be precise, it wasn’t that they had really seen Ning’s attacks clearly; rather, Ning’s sword-arts had emblazoned themselves into their memories, making it impossible for them to forget any detail.

  Boom! The eight-armed giant fell down from the skies, landing on the ground below.

  “It has a Sithe treasure on it!” Quite a few cultivators instantly grew excited. Everyone could tell that those chains were quite extraordinary… but none of them dared to go and take it.

  “Ugh. A major power like him would never suffer insults lightly.” The red-robed maiden couldn’t help but sigh as she watched from afar. She had wanted to stop the giant, but failed. “They are fine when calm, but when angered the end result shall be calamity. He had always been an idiot, but how could he be such an idiot in front such a major power?”

  It was much like how no one would dare to offend an Autarch, or even an Autarch’s friends, family, and servants. There was no one who could endure the consequences of enraging an Autarch! The red-robed maiden could see that Daolord Darknorth was also someone who couldn’t be offended by the likes of her.

  “The Eight-Armed Hill was simply too stupid. He deserved to die for offending you, Daolord Darknorth,” the red-robed maiden said hurriedly. “As for those cultivators the Ruler seeks to capture… Daolord,
what do you think?

  “There’s no way I can hand them over to you,” Ning said. “Go ahead and tell the Blazesun Ruler that there’s no way I’ll hand them over. That’s my bottom line! Anything else is negotiable, but if we cannot come to an agreement and he insists on killing them… then there’s nothing I can say or do. Your Ruler can come by himself or bring his army; I, Darknorth, will be waiting for him.”

  The red-robed woman’s heart trembled. What a fierce thing to say. There really were very few cultivators who would dare to say something like this to the Blazesun Ruler.

  “I’ll inform the Ruler about this. I’ll be leaving now, then,” the red-robed maiden said. As she spoke, she turned and immediately departed alongside the remaining creatures under her command. No one paid any attention to the eight-armed giant’s corpse, nor did they dare to go pick up the Sithe weapon he had left behind.

  Ning watched from afar as those creatures hurriedly departed into the horizons.

  “Darknorth,” Nuwa said, a hint of apology in her eyes, “Because of me, you…”

  “Haha, I’m someone who failed the Daomerge. Even if I’m extremely careful, I only have a few thousand chaos cycles left. A few less years won’t make any difference,” Ning said with a laugh.

  “Then what of the Blazesun Ruler?” Nuwa was worried.

  “Daolord, the Blazesun Ruler is a truly supreme Sourcewalker,” the nearby Hegemon Goodsong said.

  Ning slowly nodded. “The Blazesun Ruler’s power cannot be underestimated. If we can avoid battle, that would be the best solution. Everyone, make your preparations. This very day, we shall depart from Houwu City!”

  “Alright.”

  “We’ll head out today.” Patriarch Treewind and Imperator Jade Rainbow had come over as well, and they fully supported Ning’s decision. Although they knew Daolord Darknorth was incredibly powerful, they still felt a degree of fear towards the Blazesun Ruler! It was better to avoid battle.