Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Huahuahua…” A stream of water slowly flowed through a small creek covered up by the wild grass.

  “Gugugu!”

  Night descended, and the forest was now filled with the croaking of frogs.

  Slowly….

  Rays of light began to surround Ning, still seated in the lotus position. First, some rays of watery light appeared, slowly forming one enormous lotus petal after another around him. One watery lotus petal after another surrounded Ning, currently blossoming while swaying gently in the breeze.

  Immediately afterwards, dots of fiery light began to gather as well, forming into fiery lotus petals. These enormous lotus petals of flame also wrapped around Ning.

  Two layers of lotus petals.

  The first layer was of watery lotus petals. The second was of fiery lotus petals. Each layer had exactly three petals.

  “Hu!” Fire and water intersected. A wind arose out of nowhere.

  Huahuahua….

  Between the two layers of lotus petals, a wind arose out of nowhere. The two layers of lotus petals began to swivel. The lower layer of watery lotus petals swiveled to the left, while the upper layer of fiery lotus petals were turning to the right! The two layers of lotus petals were completely turning in opposite directions…slowly, sluggishly, they rotated, but Ning himself didn’t utilize any of his own strength at all.

  Everything happened by nature.

  “Swoosh!” A gray-furred wolf loped out from within the forests, its jade eyes focused on that distant, fur-clad youth. Only, those enormous lotus petals, multiple meters in size, which were surrounding that fur-clad youth made the wolf slightly confused. As a beast with low intelligence, however, its innate sense was telling it that those rotating petals of fire and water were nothing more than part of the world, just like the clouds…there was no need to pay attention to them.

  The gray wolf bared its fangs, staring at the fur-clad youth.

  It was very hungry!

  The fur-clad youth was just sitting there without moving, as though he was asleep. He definitely wouldn’t have the ability to fight back. In addition, the flesh of this youth seemed so tender and delectable. The gray wolf could already feel its saliva coming into its mouth.

  It hesitated no more!

  “Swoosh!” The gray wolf charged forward rapidly, pouncing forward with fangs bared, preparing to bite down on that fur-clad youth.

  But as soon as it leapt within two meters of those layers of lotus petals…

  “Boom!”

  The wind created by those two layers of lotus petals contained within them a hint of the destructive force of the world. In an instant, it chopped that wolf into tiny pieces, with blood splattering everywhere, some seeping deep into the earth, while the rest flowed into the pool.

  ––––––––––—

  Nightfall.

  Ironwood Zhan and the Bi’an Tiger he commanded, in the former of a black-clothed man, were currently following behind that Ice Wasp as they traversed the mountain forests.

  The Ice Wasp was just a wasp, after all. It wasn’t an enormous flying beast, nor was it a Diremonster. One could imagine how much slower it was! It was far from being even a tenth as fast as Ning

  “This child of the Ji clan really can run.” Ironwood Zhan’s face was gloomy and sinister. “After leaving Eastmount Marsh, he kept on fleeing…”

  The black-clothed man said hurriedly, “Master, the Ice Hornet’s flying speed is much slower. If this child of the Ji clan keeps running without stopping, all the way to one of the Prefectures of the Five Prefectures of the Ji clan, we probably won’t have any way to catch him.”

  “Run all the way to one of the Five Prefectures?” Ironwood Zhan shook his head. “Too far. Eastmount Marsh is already at the borders of the Ji clan’s territory. To run from the border to one of the Five Prefectures at once? That child of the Ji clan shouldn’t run that far.” Although he said this, in his heart, Zhan was worried as well. If Ning truly had run to any one of the Five Prefectures, no matter how confident Zhan was in his abilities, he wouldn’t dare to charge into the lair of his enemies.

  “We’ll slowly pursue him.”

  Ironwood Zhan said. “Wherever the Iceflower Liquid passes by, it will leave that unique aroma. It won’t dissipate for at least three days. We can’t smell it, but the Ice Wasp can. As long as that child of the Ji clan doesn’t flee to the Five Prefecture, he will die!”

  “Right, he will die.” The black-clothed man said hurriedly.

  “He ruined everything for me, and caused me to have a powerful future foe.” Ironwood Zhan could visualize that Azure Skysnake adventuring in the outside world through the usage of its Void Blink, becoming more powerful, reaching the Zifu level, then coming back to kill him…he couldn’t help but feel fear, while at the same time, he hated Ji Ning even more. “I definitely have to personally tear his skin off and rend his tendons!”

  “Right! Tear his skin, rip his tendons!” The black-clothed man ground his teeth as well.

  –––––––—

  The Golden Crow [Sun] was beginning to raise its head over the eastern skies. It was daybreak. Ironwood Zhan and the Bi’an Tiger under his command were still slowly pursuing. They had pursued for so long, both of them had bellies full of anger. This child of the Ji clan really was too cautious. After leaving Eastmount Marsh, he had actually fled for at least another thousand kilometers.

  A Ice Wasp that flew for a thousand kilometers would be very tired as well. Fortunately, this Ice Wasp was a mutant.

  “Master.” The black-clothed man’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly pointed to the distant.

  “Huh?” The also-tired Zhan turned to look in that direction. Instantly, he could make out an indistinct human figure at the distant side of a pool. This caused his mind to instantly wake up.

  Ironwood Zhan’s eyes lit up. He licked the corner of his lips, then said mentally, “Let’s go take a look.”

  Between master and spirit beast, at a close distance, there was the ability to maintain psychic communications. As for the exact distance…it depended on how powerful their souls were. Generally speaking, a Xiantian lifeform and his spirit beast had to maintain a distance of ten meters if they wanted to be able to converse mentally.

  The two carefully crept forward, trying not to make any noise.

  But in truth, even if they made some noise, Zhan wasn’t afraid. He was, after all, a late stage Xiantian expert. When running at full speed, he was a bit faster than even Ji Ning, and in addition, he carried on him a ‘Divine Movement Seal’ as well as a number of other ordinary Dao seals. How could he possibly allow Ning to escape?

  “What an idiot. No matter how careful I am, I still am making some noise, but he didn’t notice at all. He should be a Fiendgod Body Refiner. Logically speaking, he should have excellent senses. Hmph, hmph, he really has no experience at all. He’s probably fallen asleep.” Zhan laughed coldly. “All the better. It will make my life easier. Otherwise, I’d have to waste a Divine Movement Seal.

  Ironwood Zhan and the black-clothed man continued moving forward.

  Slowly…

  They could make the person out clearly.

  “What?” They were both stunned.

  This was because the Sun had already risen by now. Under the light of the Sun, those enormous fiery lotus petals and the watery lotus petals appeared semi-translucent. After all, these lotus petals were not real lotus petals. They were formed by the energy of the world. Under the light of the sun, they instantly appeared semi-translucent.

  The two layers of enormous lotus petals were still slowly swiveling in opposite directions, but contained within them a very strange rhythm. In the center of these two enormous layers of rotating lotus petals, Ning was seated there in the lotus position.

  “What…what is this?” Zhan, although highly experienced, had never seen a sight like this. “Can it be that this is created from internal ki?”

  “Still, even if he has broken through
to the Xiantian lifeform stage, he is still only an early stage Xiantian. I imagine he doesn’t have any magic treasures on him.” A fierce look appeared on Zhan’s face.

  * * *

  Book 3, Chapter 3 - Fire And Water Descend, Giving Birth to Xiantian

  Ironwood Zhan and his Bi’an Tiger drew near at high speed, quickly arriving by the side of the pool.

  “It really is beautiful.” Ironwood Zhan couldn’t help but sigh in amazement as he stared at the reflecting light of the setting sun, which shone down upon those two blooming, enormous lotus petals. But the more he looked at them, the more nervous he became. He was, after all, a late stage Xiantian expert. Although he hadn’t reached the ‘one with the world’ level, he could already dimly sense how extraordinary those two layers of petals were.

  “Master.” The Bi’an Tiger looked at Zhan as well. “What should we do now?”

  “Don’t be impatient. He is in front of us and won’t be able to escape. Let’s give him a test, first!” Zhan instructed mentally. With a wave of his hand, he released his Xiantian force, which directly dragged a rock into his hand. And then, with a powerful throw, he infused this rock with his Xiantian energy, transforming it into a ray of light which shot straight towards Ji Ning, still seated in the lotus-position.

  Although he just threw a rock, a Ninefang Warrior would definitely be killed.

  “Hua!”

  When the stone reached the area of ten meters of Ning and intersected with those two layers of lotus petals, it instantly became frozen! That invisible killing energy, with a hiss, transformed the rock into dust.

  The Bi’An Tiger and Ironwood Zhan both felt their hearts tighten. They exchanged glances. Clearly, they were somewhat puzzled by those two mysterious lotus layers.

  “I refuse to believe it.” Zhan sneered coldly, and the Blackwood Vinewhip appeared in his hands out of nowhere.

  “Hu!”

  Ironwood Zhan lashed out with his long whip. The Blackwood Vinewhip elongated, coiling around a thick nearby tree. With a massive pull! Honglong…the entire tree was ripped out by the roots, carrying with it a large amount of dirt, swinging about along with Zhan’s whip.

  Boom…this tens of thousands of pounds heavy tree smashed directly towards Ning, seated in the lotus position. When the massive tree trunk slammed against those two layers of translucent, enormous lotus leaves, it instantly shattered apart. However, the terrifying power of the collision contained within the massive tree caused the two layers of lotus leaves to tremble.

  Ning, who had been meditating in the lotus position, shook slightly. His eyes opened up.

  As his eyes opened, he saw that the two enormous lotus leaves surrounding his body were dissipating as an enormous tree trunk smashed down upon him. In the distance, Ironwood Zhan and that black-clothed man were sneering coldly at him.

  “You ruined my good fortune!” Watching the two layers of enormous lotus petals dissipate, Ning instantly realized what he had gained this night, and also realized how priceless these insights had been. If nobody had disturbed him, he probably would have been able to gain insights for even longer. But unexpectedly, Zhan had ruined it for him. It must be understood that these moments of enlightenment were something which could only be hoped for and not asked for. It might be decades, if not centuries, until the next time something like this would occur.

  “Damn you!”

  Ning swept out with a palm, and with a booming sound, smashed that massive tree trunk into two halves. One half landed into the middle of the pond, crushing many of the lotus flowers. The other half fell down against several other nearby trees, sending dust everywhere.

  “Little child of the Ji clan!” Ironwood Zhan laughed ferociously. “You fled a thousand kilometers into the forest, but I still caught you in the end! Today is the day you die!”

  Ning glanced at him coldly, and then immediately summoned forth the Lunar energy and the Solar energy in his body. Over the course of the previous night’s meditation, he had gained just a hint of insight into the true nature of the Dao, but that hint of insight was enough to allow him to understand, without question, what the method was for breaking through to the next level of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. Nothing in the world was truly opposite of anything else! It was much like how night and day were seemingly opposites, but in reality, were just two different aspects of the sky.

  It was much like the two layers of fire and water lotus petals that had surrounded him. Not only did they not cancel each other out, they had even increased each other’s power. Why?

  A lotus flower had a stalk, which was what allowed the lotus petals to swivel!

  The ‘stalk’ of the two layers of fire and water lotus petals was Ning himself!

  Solar energy, Lunar energy…how to fuse them?

  By finding that ‘stalk’ which connected the Solar energy and the Lunar energy!

  “Come!”

  Ning’s eyes were filled with absolutely certainty.

  His body had already completely brought forth all of his Solar and Lunar energy, which instantly filled every part of his body. Be it his hair or his skin or his organs or his very cells…it filled every part of him! Every single thread of Lunar energy and Solar energy began to swirl around each other, but their natures caused them to be unwilling to fuse.

  “Huahuahua…” All of the Lunar energy and Solar energy were swiveling, like the lotus flowers that had been blown upon by the wind.

  They were also like the two ‘fish’ of the yin-yang Taiji diagram, forever chasing each other.

  The Sun. The Moon.

  They constantly chased after each other…and as they did, they contained that hint of the Dao which Ning had understood.

  Slowly, in the center of the circling Solar energy and Lunar energy, a new force arose!

  Instantly…

  In that deep, boundless void, separated from this place by incomprehensibly many worlds, there lay the two Supreme Stars; the Solar Star [Sun] and the Lunar Star [Moon]. Each of them emitted a hint of their power; the Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater appeared on each side around Ning, and also activated the power of fire and water of the surrounding world.

  “Bang!” “Bang!”

  The surrounding world instantly became filled with a sea of flame as well as an abyss of water.

  Though this took time to describe, in truth, as soon as Ning had shattered that tree, he had immediately activated the energy in his body and began to break through. Ironwood Zhan and his Bi’an Tiger saw with their own eyes the boundless flames and water appear out of nowhere, causing even them to feel fear. Wherever the water passed through, everything was frozen into ice sculptures, while wherever the fire passed through, everything was consumed by the flames.

  At the same time, within the surging water, the faint outline of the Jade Rabbit could be seen.

  Deep within the boundless flames, there was also the shadow of a three-legged Golden Crow.

  Between the Jade Rabbit and the Golden Crow, there was Ning!

  “This…this…” Zhan was so shocked, his face changed dramatically. “Can this be the legendary…the legendary [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]?”

  The Golden Crow and the Jade Rabbit had both appeared!

  Without question, this was the legendary [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], the number one Fiendgod Body Refining technique. In the entire Swallow Mountain area, in at least the past thousand years, there hadn’t been a single person who was known to have relied on this technique to become a Xiantian lifeform. Although Zhan had read this technique and knew what the breakthrough looked like, this was his first time personally witnessing the amazing spectacle of a breakthrough.

  “Hrmph.” Ironwood Zhan’s hands summoned a formation flag out of nowhere. He immediately flew backwards, then began running around Ning, surrounded by boundless water and fire, in a circular pattern, while constantly throwing out one flag after another, all of which stabbed deep into the mud.<
br />
  In but a few seconds, eight formation flags had all been planted, covering an area of a square kilometer.

  Ironwood Zhan now simply stood from afar and watched.

  “Master, kill him.” The Bi’an Tiger said hurriedly. “Right now, he is breaking through. This is his weakest moment.”

  “No!” Zhan hurriedly shouted. “He trains in the number one Fiendgod Body Refining, and is currently surrounded by the power of the Supreme Stars, the Solar Star and the Lunar Star! When breaking through to the Xiantian lifeform level, these two Supreme Stars will send down a hint of their Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater, breaking through countless barriers to allow him to evolve and be reborn into the body of a true Xiantian-level Fiendgod.”

  “Then it becomes all the more important for us to stop him.” The Bi’an Tiger said frantically.

  “Don’t you understand?” Ironwood Zhan’s face was ashen as he stared at the distant Ning, wrapped by the endless flames and water. “Right now, he is surrounded by boundless icy water and cocooned in flames. At the heart of the boundless icy water is a hint of the Lunar Truewater! At the heart of the endless flames is a hint of the Solar Truefire! Even if a Zifu Disciple were to touch it, he would instantly be frozen and shatter or be burnt to ashes, much less you and me! Not even his soul would be left. He wouldn’t even have the chance to go to the Netherworld Kingdom to be reborn!”

  “As fearsome as that?” The Bi’an Tiger was shocked.

  “Of course it is!” Ironwood Zhan’s face was solemn. “This is power which comes from the two Supreme Stars! Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater. Who dares to touch them?”

  “Then, then are we just going to watch?” The Bi’an Tiger said frantically. “Just watch as this child of the Ji clan becomes even more powerful?”

  “Don’t worry!” Zhan growled. “Right now, the two Supreme Stars have bequeathed their power to him, and he is beginning to transcend his mortal coil and be reborn into a true Xiantian Fiendgod. After he breaks through, that hint of Solar Truefire and Lunar Truewater will disappear. After all, the power of the Solar Truefire and the Lunar Truewater doesn’t belong to this little child of the Ji clan himself.