Desolate Era

by RWX

  “After he dies, I need to go have a taste of that youth’s flesh. Such a powerful human youth…I haven’t seen another like him in the three hundred years I have spent training.”

  “Huh.”

  “How unfortunate for him.” The white robed man shook his head as he watched.

  Most of Ji Ning’s beast fur clothes had been ripped to tatters, and blood was dribbling down his chest. His hair-bindings had been shattered, and his hair was now loose and unbound. But he still wielded those two Darknorth swords with hands that were as stable as ever, and his eyes were still very bright, as though fires were burning in them!

  Desire!

  A desire to achieve victory. Even though he was currently at a disadvantage and was being wounded repeatedly, Ning had never even thought of giving up.

  –––––––—

  “So what if you trained in a Fiendgod Body Refining method?” The white robed man snickered. “He’s still only at the Houtian level. Injured repeatedly, then healing repeatedly. Each recovery will take up a large amount of his energy! After the energy in his body is depleted…then, utterly exhausted, he will no longer be able to fight back.”

  He could all but see the astonishingly talented youth collapse, and then be dismembered and eaten by the Diremonsters.

  “How sad. A heroic figure who would have doubtlessly become legendary throughout this area is going to die, right here.” The white robed man watched, not wanting to miss a thing.

  “Huh?”

  The white robed man’s face changed slightly. “Why is his swordplay…”

  –––––––-

  The Azure Skysnake King was simply too strong. After having shrunk in size, the body of the Azure Skysnake King became even tougher, like an iron whip. It had also become even more agile and even fiercer! In terms of strength, defense, speed, it was superior to Ning…Ning’s only advantage was that the pair of Darknorth swords he wielded in his hands.

  The Azure Skysnake King’s pressuring attacks had caused Ning to enter an empty mental realm where nothing existed except the next attack! He didn’t have any other thoughts, other than thoughts of battle!

  Kill!

  Kill!

  The Azure Skysnake King in front of him was like a nightmare. Its striking attacks was even faster than Ning’s ‘Thunderflint Flash’! Its coiling body was even more elastic than Ning’s ‘Thin Streams Flow Forever’ attack! Its whip-like tail struck against Ning, causing him to lose his breath, but fortunately, his two Darknorth swords were able to complement each other.

  If one sword couldn’t take it, then the second sword would join in!

  “Clang!” “Clang!” “Clang!”

  At first, he was constantly being wounded.

  However, because he had a Fiendgod Body and had eaten an antivenom spiritual pill, the venom of the Azure Skysnake King, despite causing a bit of numbness, didn’t have any effect on his ability to perform in battle. As for bloodloss…Ning cared about that even less!

  Slowly…

  The Azure Skysnake King seemed to find it harder and harder to break through the defenses of the Darknorth swords. It was growing harder for him to wound Ning.

  “Huahuahua…” The swords flashed everywhere, summoning the power of the world.

  The Azure Skysnake King transformed into an emerald ray of light, swirling around Ning, attacking him wildly time and time again, but that perfect, mastered swordplay which carried with it the power of the world had created an utterly unbroken defense…one sword attack flashed after another, flowing like quicksilver, revealing no cracks at all, causing each of the Azure Skysnake King’s attacks to be fruitless.

  “Hrm?” Ning suddenly found that he was able to think again.

  Earlier, the Azure Skysnake King had simply put him under too much pressure, forcing him to totally concentrate on defense and on this battle. But now, that pressure had decreased, and he could spare a little bit of time to think. And when he did, Ning discovered that under the pressure of the Azure Skysnake King’s attacks, his swordplay had become perfected, with each sword blow that he delivered having not a single flaw at all.

  “My swordplay…” Ning’s face slowly was covered with a smile.

  “Hahahaha!!!!”

  Ning suddenly laughed loudly, laughed joyfully. “I broke through, hahaha! Azure Skysnake King, thank you for helping me make this breakthrough. I’ve finally reached the level of becoming ‘one with the world’ in swordplay.”

  One with the world!

  After having experienced these two major, bloody battles, especially with the amount of pressure which the Azure Skysnake King had placed him under, Ning had finally taken the final step and reached the level of being ‘one with the world’ in swordplay! Actually, Ning had already reached the end of the ‘advanced’ level in both sets of sword techniques he knew, and had already been very close to breaking through. All he needed was a bit of good luck.

  If he had stayed in the West Prefecture City and slowly trained on his own through constant repetition, he probably would’ve needed a few more years to break through.

  ––––––––—

  “Hisssss!” A low, growling hiss. The Azure Skysnake King had been enraged. The arrogant beast hadn’t expected that the youth he was hunting would suddenly have improved.

  “What’s the point of being angry?” Ning ran atop the surface of the water. “I no longer fear you now!”

  “Hisssssssssssss.”

  Hissing with fury, the Azure Skysnake King pounced wildly towards Ning, moving with even greater ferocity, no longer paying attention to its own defense. Previously, as the Azure Skysnake King had the advantage, it didn’t pay too much attention to receiving wounds, but now, the Azure Skysnake King had decided that even at the cost of being wounded, it would still kill this arrogant, belittling human.

  “Come, you liddle widdle snakey!” Ning wielded Darknorth swords in his two hands. At this moment, he felt as though being able to display his swordplay was a sort of enjoyment, something which was graceful and elegant.

  He delivered one sword stroke after another, each one perfect and flawless.

  Even the simplest of chops and stabs were utterly unbreakable and immaculate!

  “Our fight comes to an end here for today, Azure Skysnake King. This time, thank you so very much for helping me break through.” Ning laughed loudly as he began to run away.

  Both of the Darknorth swords in his hands were currently executing the ‘Watertight’ stance of the [Raindrop Sutra]. He wasn’t striving to land any blows, only to be able to defend himself, causing the Azure Skysnake King to be utterly unable to do anything to Ji Ning…and in the blink of an eye, Ning fled far away.”

  A long time later…

  “Grrrrrrr.”

  The Azure Skysnake King swam back. All it could do was raise its head towards the sky and roar in dissatisfaction. Over the course of its life, it had met multiple Xiantian level humans who had reached the ‘one with the world’ level, but it had still beaten the snot out of those humans…but that youngster with the twin swords he had just faced used those two swords as though they were wielded by two separate people who were perfectly linked in their thoughts. Indeed, the threat posed by those twin swords was ten times greater than normal.

  No matter what sort of disadvantage Ning had been put into, and even if one of his swords had been forced out of position and no longer at the pseudo ‘one with the world’ level granted by his sword techniques, the other sword would still maintain the ‘one with the world’ level, causing his actual battle ability to be no lower than that of a single-weapon expert at the ‘one with the world’ level.

  But now…

  Ning had truly reached the ‘one with the world’ level, and his power had exploded. Even facing against a Xiantian Godbeast, he was still able to flee easily.

  ––––––––-

  Swoosh!

  He ran as fast as the wind.

  “Hahahaha…
” Ning was extremely delighted. He ran as he pleased atop the surface of the water, moving through Eastmount Marsh before entering the mountain forests. After running a long time, Ning leapt atop a large tree. Passing by the crown of the tree, with another leap, he sent himself floating gracefully several dozen more meters before landing by atop a cliff. With only a few more bounds, he ended up at the peak of this little mountain.

  Sitting down on the mountain peak, he leisurely withdrew a bottle of fruit wine from his kalestone, then raised his head and poured it into his mouth. And then, Ning happily shouted, “Enjoyable! Today was so enjoyable.”

  He had battle against two Diremonsters, and had executed the Aquatic Rhino King! The other, more powerful Diremonster, the ‘Azure Skysnake King’, was indeed extremely powerful. Under the pressure of its attacks, Ning’s swordplay had suddenly broken through and reached the ‘one with the world’ level.

  “One with the world!”

  Ning couldn’t help but feel self-satisfied. “Although the Xiantian level experts of West Prefecture City can use magic treasures, in terms of skill level, I imagine most of them are inferior to me.”

  “Only, I don’t know what level Father is at, exactly. Even before going out and adventuring, Father had become acknowledged as the number one expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, and had reached the ‘one with the world’ level long ago. Afterwards, he had gone adventuring for nearly ten years and met my mother…and then ever since then, he had been living peacefully at the West Prefecture City. Nobody knows how strong he has become!” Ning pondered this question. “But previously, when that Diremonster, Serpentwing, had attacked, that sword blow Father sent out from far away…”

  That sword blow had truly been terrifying.

  “My father’s skill level should still be stronger than mine.” Ning shook his head. “Enough of that. I’m not even at the Xiantian level yet.”

  Xiantian lifeforms possessed extraordinary power.

  Even Ki Refiners at that level would be able to use all sorts of magic treasures, seals, and formations. As for Fiendgod Body Refiners…they had all sorts of incredible transformations available to them, and they would truly be able to be described as Fiendgods. After all, during the ancient Fiendgod Era, those Fiendgods were all born at the Xiantian level.

  “The technique I am training in is acclaimed as the most powerful Fiendgod Body Refining technique. Not a single member of the Ji clan, in its entire history, has ever successfully reached the Xiantian level in it.” Ning was worried about this. “So how should I break through, exactly?”

  The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] was simply too difficult!

  Actually, Ning’s natural gifts, such as his utterly pure body, as clean as a newborn’s, and the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique, caused the power of his already mighty soul to increase every day! It was extremely beneficial to him in body training, causing his rate of improvement to be extremely rapid. If he had been training in an ordinary Fiendgod Body Refining method, he would have broken through to the Xiantian level long ago.

  By contrast, in terms of Ki Refining, Ning’s talent was a bit weaker.

  Because he had been injured while he was in the womb, his meridian system had been damaged. At that time, when his father, Ji Yichuan, and Prefecture Lord Ji Young had investigated the quality of the meridians in his body, they had found that it was very average. The vast majority of Xiantian lifeforms relied on Ki Refining to traverse the Path of Immortals. Fiendgod Body Refining was even more difficult. None of them had expected that although Ning’s Ki Refining talent was rather poor, he would have such a monstrous aptitude for Body Refining.

  “The [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] has notes.”

  “I have to ‘merge Yin and Yang, fuse fire and water’. The power of the Moon and the power of the Sun must combine into a whole, transforming into the ‘Crimsonbright’ divine power.” Ning pondered this. “But how would one cause fire and water to fuse? How would one cause the power of the Moon and the Sun to combine into a whole?”

  All Ning knew was that fire and water didn’t mix! How, then, could fire and water be fused?

  This was an extremely difficult step.

  “I have to reach the Xiantian level!” Ning suddenly rose to his feet. Standing at the mountain peak, his eyes were filled with desire. “The Xiantian level, in the distant Heaven Realm, is nothing more than a starting point! To the ancient Fiendgods, the Xiantian level is nothing more than the level they were at when they were first born! If I can’t even break through to the Xiantian level, how can I possibly talk about being able to control my own destiny?”

  * * *

  Book 2, Chapter 16 - The Fur Collectors

  The exquisitely cut and stitched beast furs were very form fitting, causing Autumn Leaf to seem rather heroic and valiant. She stood there in the area outside the Metalstone Tribe, staring off into the distance.

  Her figure had attracted the attention and the gazes of this rustic tribe’s youths. Ever since Autumn Leaf had arrived at the Metalstone Tribe, there had been no question that she had become the most beautiful girl here…one youngster after another did their best to find opportunities to show off their strength and valor in front of her, but not a single one had been able to attract her interest.

  “Miss Autumn Leaf is waiting for her young master, right?”

  “Right. I hear that Uncle Dala, upon returning, said that her young master is extremely powerful. Over a hundred Blue Guards of the Ironwood clan were all killed by that young master in the blink of an eye!”

  “Only a powerful young master like that would be worthy of someone as beautiful as Miss Autumn Leaf.”

  “It’s a pity that he encountered a Diremonster! Most likely, that powerful young master won’t be able to survive his encounter with the Diremonster. When angered, Diremonsters can cause the entire area to change. That one had immediately killed a large group of people by freezing them to death. Uncle Dala and the others were only lucky enough to survive because they fled quickly. If that young master were to die, Miss Autumn Leaf would have to find another person to marry!”

  The youths of the tribe all watched from their position by the gate while speaking quietly amongst themselves.

  As far as they considered, a girl like Autumn Leaf was like one of the legendary goddesses…compare to Autumn Leaf, the other girls of their tribe were as far beneath her as the earth was beneath the heavens.

  –––––––––-

  Autumn Leaf stood there, staring into the distant mountain forest.

  She was waiting. Waiting for the most important man in her life.

  “Autumn Leaf.” A powerfully built figure strode out from the tribe. It was the other servant, Mowu. Mowu urged her, “Go back and get some rest. Once the young master arrives, the guards at the gate of the tribe will definitely see him.”

  “No.” Autumn Leaf shook her head gently.

  Mowu looked at Autumn Leaf, and then he sat down as well on a nearby, chopped-through tree trunk. His forehead was furrowed in worry as well. After Uncle Dala had returned, he had found out that Ji Ning had begun battling with the ‘Aquatic Rhino King’, a Diremonster. As to what the results of that battle were, no one knew. Although in his heart, of course he still hoped that his young master would return, his rational mind was telling him…the young master probably had met with misfortune!

  This was because Uncle Dala and the others had spent roughly two days on the journey back from Eastmount Marsh.

  Given young master Ning’s speed, if he was still alive, he probably would have made his way to the Metalstone Tribe under half a day. Logically speaking, he should have reached the Metalstone Tribe before Uncle Dala and the others had arrived! But Uncle Dala and the others had been back for more than two days, but Ning had yet to return.

  “If the young master is dead…Autumn Leaf and I will most likely have to die as well.” Mowu said quietly.

  If their master died
, how could the servants continue to live?

  Local hegemons such as the Ji clan had very strict internal regulations.

  “Huh?” Mowu suddenly blinked. From afar, he faintly saw an indistinct, yet familiar figure…the young master’s figure!

  “Young master!” Autumn Leaf had already begun to rush over there.

  “Young master?”

  “Miss Autumn Leaf is running over.”

  “Look, there seems to be someone coming from that side. Could that be the young master which Miss Autumn Leaf has been waiting for?” The youths standing guard at the gate whispered to each other, while some of them also immediately began to run inside the tribe to inform the other tribesmen.

  –––––––––—

  Autumn Leaf watched as the fur-clad, smiling young man walked over. The past two days, she had been constantly repressing her own fear, her nervousness, her wild thoughts…and now, all these various emotions caused her to suddenly begin to shed tears.

  “Young master.” Autumn Leaf looked at Ning. “I, I…”

  “Hey, I’m back.” With his astonishing eyesight Ning noticed that from afar, in the middle of the tribe, Uncle Dala and the one-armed man were currently walking in their direction. He couldn’t help but laugh, “So Dala made it back already. Was he the one who told you that I was battling with the Aquatic Rhino King? Just because I didn’t come back for a few days, you were frightened this badly?”

  Autumn Leaf did her best to hold back further tears.

  “It was just an Aquatic Rhino King. To your young master, it’s barely worth mentioning.” Ning winked at her, seemingly in extremely high spirits.

  Autumn Leaf breathed out in astonishment, “Young master, you killed the Diremonster?”

  “Yep.” Ning nodded delightedly.

  “Wow, a Diremonster. Young master, you killed a Diremonster.” Autumn Leaf was extremely excited. “Young master, you are only eleven years old, but you killed a Diremonster. This…this…” As a personal maidservant, Autumn Leaf’s life centered around Ning. As she always revolved around him, to her, Ning was like her most important family member. Naturally, Autumn Leaf was truly excited to learn that Ji Ning was now capable of killing Diremonsters.”