Desolate Era

by RWX

  “There’s no need to worry about that,” Autarch Titanos said hurriedly. “What we’re trying to do is produce a Lord of Chaos who will be in charge of our Chaosverse. How could we possibly dare to let an evil person take that role? He could well become a calamity unto all of civilization!”

  “The only reason we even allow those evil cultivators to exist is to ensure that the cultivator civilizations remain in a state of constant combat, which helps to temper cultivators and allow for more powerful cultivators to arise. If it wasn’t for that, I personally would’ve wiped out many of the vilest cultivators long ago,” Autarch Skyfeeder said coldly. By her very nature, she was someone who felt extreme hatred for evildoers.

  Ning nodded.

  “Haha… now that you’ve agreed, Darknorth, things will be simple.” Autarch Titanos beamed merrily.

  “We’ll immediately send word throughout the Chaosverse of the existence of Omega Daos. We’ll even give copies of the various Fourth Step Omega Dao techniques we already possess to the Hegemons of the various realmverses and let them impart them to those they favor.” Autarch Ekong smiled. “We have quite a few Fourth Step Omega Dao techniques. Once one of them becomes a Daolord of the Fourth Step, we’ll transmit your Eternal Omega Dao to them, Darknorth.”

  “Very well. I’ll immediately record a copy and also include all the many experiences I had and insights I gained during the Daomerge process,” Ning said.

  “Darknorth.” Autarch Bolin looked at Ning. “In doing this, you will have contributed far more to this Chaosverse than any of us ever have. Tell me, is there anything you need? We’ll do whatever we can to help you.”

  “Yes, what do you desire?” Autarch Titanos and the others all looked at Ning. They knew that Ning had already failed his Daomerge and wouldn’t have much time left to live. Most likely, he had certain things he wished to ensure were taken care of.

  Ning was briefly startled by this. “My greatest desire…” Ning’s mind instantly became filled with images of his homeland, of his wife Yu Wei.

  His homeland was the place he cared the most about, a source of warmth… while his wife, Yu Wei, was the person he would never be able to forget about.

  “Unfortunately, we aren’t able to reverse spacetime to revive your Dao-companion.” Autarch Titanos let out a sigh.

  Ning chuckled. “There is one thing that worries me… the safety of my homeland! But I’ve already sent Nuwa to stand guard over it. If something truly dangerous happens, I’ll have Nuwa ask you to help out, Autarchs.”

  “A minor matter.”

  “That’s a miniscule request.” The five Autarchs all felt that this was very simple.

  “There IS one more thing, but it’ll be a bit trickier,” Ning said. “My homeland is located within the Flamedragon Realmverse! Thus, I don’t wish to see the Flamedragon Realmverse be destroyed. The Terror Starsea is close to the Flamedragon Realmverse, and it has a slowly-growing pair of Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels. I’m fairly strong, but I can’t last too long in combat; if I tried to destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels, I’d probably die in the attempt due to my truesoul collapsing. Thus, I would like to ask you to help destroy the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.”

  “I’ll handle this one,” Autarch Ekong said immediately. Although destroying the Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels would be rather taxing even for the Autarchs, it still wasn’t an excessively major request.

  Of course, they normally wouldn’t intervene in this manner as they would allow the Chaosverse to develop in its own natural manner! There was no point in them exerting so much effort for something of little benefit… but now that Ning had made the request, they immediately accepted.

  “Anything else? These are all simple tasks.” Autarch Titanos smiled. “To be honest, the five of us feel like we have wronged you and owe you a tremendous debt. You have blazed a trail for us and brought hope to our Chaosverse, after all.”

  “I really can’t think of anything else for now,” Ning said with a laugh.

  His greatest desire was to revive his wife. If he could somehow manage to reach Autarchy with his Omega Dao before his truesoul disintegrated, he’d probably be able to avoid dying… but that was nothing but a foolish dream! The Autarchs weren’t capable of reviving his wife, while Ning himself didn’t have enough time. There was no way he could upgrade his Omega Dao to Autarchy.

  “I heard that you were searching for Nuwa,” Autarch Skyfeeder said suddenly. “You’ve now arranged for her to safeguard your homeland. The more powerful she is, the more effective she will be in this task. Based on what I know, she hasn’t become an Otherverse Lord yet, right? There are some unbound otherverses within the Eight Domains. I’ll gift one to Nuwa and let her become an Otherverse Lord.”

  * * *

  Book 40, Chapter 14 - A Perfect Technique

  “Thank you, Autarch Skyfeeder.” Ji Ning revealed a delighted look. Finding an ownerless otherverse was no easy task, but it was quite simple for Autarchs because they were the creators of the otherverses.

  “Darknorth.” The calm and stoic Autarch Bolin said, “You failed the Daomerge, resulting in your truesoul crumbling away. I have a treasure that can help fortify and stabilize your truesoul, ensuring that the crumbling speed is somewhat slowed down!” Autarch bolin waved his hand, causing a palm-sized white disc to appear in front of him. This white disc was covered with two golden runes that emanated mysterious ripples of power which caused Ning’s truesoul to feel very comfortable. Just as Ning was sighing in amazement, it flew into his hands.

  “With this treasure, I should be able to live 30% longer than I originally anticipated.” Ning didn’t decline, immediately accepting it into his body.

  “I have one as well. It might not be as good as Bolin’s, but it should still be of help to you,” Autarch Skyfeeder said immediately.

  “Me too,” Autarch Titanos said with a smile.

  “I can give you one of these toys as well.” All five Autarchs took out a variety items for Ning. Some were unique Sithe treasures, while others were naturally formed curios that were born from the primordial chaos. All of them were beneficial to the soul and the truesoul. In truth, the Autarchs really didn’t care about treasures like these, because they had truly infinite lifespans; why would they even need these things? They only thought of them after Autarch Bolin raised the subject.

  Ning didn’t decline any of the offers. All of the treasures served to firm up the soul and truesoul, but of course using multiple treasures resulted in diminishing returns. All combined, these treasures would slow down his truesoul’s disintegration by nearly half. He would most likely be able to live roughly 60% longer than he had originally anticipated! But of course, if he had to engage in fierce combat then his truesoul’s disintegration would be hastened dramatically.

  “Unfortunately, our civilization is far weaker than the Sithe civilization,” Autarch Titanos said with a sigh. “The Sithe have far more profound techniques, and they don’t even differentiate between ‘divine power’ or ‘Immortal energy’. They’ve perfectly merged everything into one type of energy, and their Daolords don’t even face any mortal danger during the Daomerge.”

  “Their World-level cultivators become Daolords, their Daolords become Emperors, and their Emperors become Autarchs! None of them face any mortal danger during each step of the process. This is a truly perfect cultivation system they have,” Autarch Titanos said. “Our civilization, however, only has access to cruder techniques. Daolords tread the line between life and death with each step they take. The first four steps aren’t so bad, but the Daomerge is the greatest obstacle all of us face.”

  “No danger at all?” Ning was shocked. He knew that the Sithe followed a completely different path of cultivation that was akin to the azureflower mist energy, which Autarch Awakener had created based on his research into the Sithe.

  “Correct,” Autarch Skyfeeder agreed. “At the Daolord level, they can make repeated mistakes but still try again. Even if they fail the Daomerge,
their truesoul will not disintegrate; they can try the Daomerge a thousand times if they so choose. Their only limitation is that there is a limit to their lifespan; if they cannot succeed before their lifespan comes to an end, they will die.”

  “What?!” Ning immediately asked, “Have any of you received the Sithe training techniques?”

  “We have. Many of them, in fact.” Autarch Titanos shook his head. “But it is useless. They are completely different types of lifeforms who were birthed from a completely different Chaosverse. There’s no way for us to use their cultivation techniques at all! We tried to make use of them long ago, and Awakener poured his heart into researching them, but to no avail. This was his greatest regret when he died.”

  Ning couldn’t help but ask, “Can you give me those Sithe techniques and let me take a look?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I have plenty as well.”

  “Take a look, Darknorth.” The five Autarchs knew what Ning was thinking. The Sithe cultivation techniques were truly perfect, ensuring that there were no fatal obstacles at any stage of cultivation. In truth, this wasn’t all that surprising. There were no fatal obstacles for World level cultivators seeking to become Daolords, nor were there any obstacles for Emperors seeking to become Autarchs. Why, then, was it so difficult for Daolords to become Emperors? It was precisely because of existing flaws with their cultivation techniques!

  The five Autarchs immediately handed over storage-type treasures to Ning, each of which was filled with many jade slips.

  “None of these techniques are suitable for us cultivators to train in,” Autarch Titanos said. “You would have to retrofit them in order to make use of them. Some technical techniques are usable, but the cultivation techniques are completely unusable.”

  “Let me take a look first.” After acquiring all these jade slips, Ning waved his hand and caused one to appear at random, which he immediately began to read.

  The jade slip was filled with the Sithe language. The Sithe script was actually quite similar to the script used to write the words ‘Crimson’ ‘Wave’ ‘Temple’, and they also seemed similar to the azureflower seal-script within the Azureflower Estate. This was an extremely profound and abstruse language. The language alone was a testament to how much more advanced the Sithe were compared to local cultivators. This was why a mere Sithe incursion force had such an enormous number of Exalts within it!

  Thankfully, the Autarchs and the local cultivators had the advantage of geography. The invading Exalts were unable to manifest the power of the Dao and were constantly suppressed by the prime essences of this Chaosverse, ensuring that they were ‘merely’ at the power of the Blazesun Ruler. This invasion force had paid an enormous price! Invading another Chaosverse and taking control over its Quintessence was an extremely, extremely difficult task.

  “This truly is a perfect cultivation technique.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh in awe when he read through the jade slip. There was literally nothing to change or improve on. Every single part of the process, from start to finish, was filled with boundless mysteries. It was profounder than profound and represented true and utter perfection.

  This sort of cultivation ensured that the energies produced by cultivation were all one and the same, making it even more complete than the azureflower mist energy Ning used. In the end, the azureflower mist energy still had some flaws. Sithe cultivators, however, were able to use their energies to both control magic treasures and refine their bodies to make them comparable to the bodies of Ancient cultivators. At the Daolord stage, no truesoul crumbling would occur whatsoever.

  “Such perfection.” After reading through the technique, Ning couldn’t help but feel a sense of despair. He was completely incapable of creating something like this; the difference between them was incredibly vast.

  Autarch Titanos and the other Autarchs had been alive for countless years, but they couldn’t create anything like this either. All of them had given up! Ning felt certain that this technique was probably created by the Chaoslord of the Sithe Chaosverse, as in order to create a technique like this you would first have to create an appropriate language for it! Every single character of this language was filled with the boundless mysteries of the Dao, and the language only completely surpassed Ning’s abilities.

  Only with that marvelous, arcane script could such an even more arcane technique be created.

  “Once our civilization gives birth to an Omega Autarch, we’ll have our own Lord of Chaos and will also be able to produce such marvelous techniques,” Autarch Titanos said. “We’ll skyrocket in many different ways, and our weapons and treasures shall also rise to become comparable with those of the Sithe.”

  Ning nodded. Right now, they were behind in every single area; techniques, weapons, warships, and more. Their only advantage lay in geography! This was their home, and so every single stance they used was filled with the tremendous power of the Dao. In contrast, their opponents were being constantly suppressed and stifled by the prime essences.

  “Oh, right. Darknorth, every single Autarch has a message-talisman that allows us to communicate with each other across great distances. So long as we are within the Chaosverse, we’ll be able to speak to each other right away,” Autarch Titanos said as he produced a dark-red jade talisman in his hand. “These talismans aren’t easy to make. Previously, only Autarchs had access to them. You, however, are special. You get one as well. If there’s anything you need, just notify the six of us!”

  Ning accepted the dark-red message-talisman. It was so red, it looked like it had been bathed in blood. After binding it, Ning was able to immediately sense the other six who were connected to it. He was able to tell who each of the six was due to their unique auras, with the most unfamiliar one most likely being the Autarch who was in charge of safeguarding the Sithe lair, Autarch Mogg.

  ……

  The Autarchs spent quite some time chatting with Ning. They stood at the very apex of the cultivator civilizations and thus concerned themselves with affairs that involved the entire Chaosverse. Now that Ning had reached the same level, he couldn’t help but sigh at how little he could do. There was a limit to how much longer he would be alive for, after all. In the end, it would be up to the Autarchs and the future Omega Emperors to defend their realm… and the Omega Autarch everyone was waiting for!

  That Omega Autarch would catapult their civilization to brand new heights.

  Ning used the jade slip to leave behind a full and complete record of his Eternal Omega Sword Dao, and also fully explained the experiences he had during his Daomerge. For example, he wrote that one had to have truly perfected one’s Dao-heart as a prerequisite. Even the Autarchs couldn’t help but shake their heads when they heard this requirement. This was incredibly difficult! Only when one’s Dao-heart was perfect could one perfectly fuse heartforce, divine power, and Immortal energy together. This truly was very, very difficult.

  However, having Ning’s experiences to serve as a guidepost was far better than going in completely blind. If Ning had the benefit of something like this, he would’ve succeeded in the Daomerge long ago.

  After spending half a day here, Ning prepared to bid them all farewell.

  “Darknorth, let me send you off,” Autarch Ekong said with a smile. “Didn’t you say that once you left the Blazesun Domain, you would head back to the Flamedragon Realmverse? That’s quite a distance away! I’ll save you the trouble and send you myself; that will be much faster. Once I reach the Flamedragon Realmverse, I’ll go ahead and deal with that set of Yin-Yang Samsara Wheels.”

  “Then I’ll have to trouble you to help out, Autarch Ekong,” Ning said appreciatively.

  * * *

  Book 40, Chapter 15 - Autarch Ekong

  Creeeeak. The wooden door swung open, with Ji Ning and Autarch Ekong walking out side-by-side. Autarch Titanos, Autarch Skyfeeder, Autarch Bolin, and Autarch Stonerule remained inside the cottage, but they rose to their feet to send the two off. As for the eight Domain Ru
lers, they hurriedly and respectfully parted before the two.

  “Master.” The Flamewing God was being exceptionally obedient today. The five Autarchs had given it a rare sense of enormous pressure.

  “Let’s go,” Ning said with a smile.

  “Done already?” Flamewing blurted out. It was common for major powers to spend a million years gathered together and chatting about the Dao.

  “How long did you think it would take?” Ning smiled as he glanced at the eight Domain Rulers. “Shall you come with us?”

  “We’re in no rush to leave.”

  “Please go right on ahead, Daolord.” It was quite rare that the eight Domain Rulers had a good excuse to come visit one of the Autarchs; how could they simply return like this? They naturally wanted to get some tips or pointers out of Autarch Skyfeeder first.

  “Darknorth, just notify us if there is anything you need at all,” Autarch Titanos said.

  “If there’s anything we can do, we’ll put all our effort into carrying it out,” Autarch Stonerule agreed.

  And so, watched by four Autarchs and eight Domain Rulers, the two departed. Autarch Ekong released a field of power which covered both Ning and Flamewing, then began to advance through the sea of prime essences at high speed. Whoosh! They almost instantly vanished off into the horizon.

  “This has been my first meeting with Daolord Darknorth, but it is also most likely a final farewell,” Autarch Bolin sighed. Ning didn’t have much time left. Given how strong he was, he probably wouldn’t need to trouble them for anything he needed. It was naturally quite unlikely that they would ever meet again.

  “Although we’ve only met him this once, he’s done something truly incredible for all of civilization,” Autarch Stonerule said.