Desolate Era

by RWX

  Encountering a relic site was a matter of luck, but it also represented an enormous risk! Ning hadn’t left for over a month, and so the two of them had been growing increasingly concerned and increasingly panicked.

  Yuchi Snow closed her eyes. Two flows of tears came out, and she murmured to herself, “Thank the heavens and thank the earth. Thank the heavens and thank the earth.”

  “He is currently in the center of Serpentwing Lake, most likely on that island.” Yichuan said hurriedly.

  “Let’s go see him.” Snow stood up.

  “Right.” It had been a long time since Yichuan had lost his composure like this. Even when he had learned that his son had broken through to the Xiantian level, he hadn’t been this excited. Immediately, he took his wife by the hand and began running across the surface of the lake as though it were solid land, transforming into a streak of blue mist as he hurried afar.

  The Azure Firebird couldn’t always be here waiting. After all, that was the spirit-beast of Ji Redflower! In recent days, Yichuan and Snow had been living here, while the Azure Firebird had gone home.

  Suddenly…

  “Diremonster Serpentwing, I, Ji Ning, have come again! You still won’t come out?!” A loud roar spread in every direction, including into the ears of Yichuan and his wife, still walking across the surface of the lake.

  “Ning, he…” Yuchi Snow couldn’t help but reveal a hint of a laugh on her face. “As soon as he leaves that hidden relic site, he immediately once again challenges that Serpentwing.”

  Yichuan nodded. “Ji Ning relied on the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] to become a Xiantian, and so he wasn’t that far off from Serpentwing to begin with in power. This time, within that hidden relic site, perhaps he had some certain gains…and now that I can sense his location, there’s no need for any concern.”

  “Right.” Snow nodded as well.

  The two continued to move forward.

  Soon…

  “Look!” Yichuan saw from afar, in the distance, the waves of the lake were parted as a youngster was walking directly towards the bottom of the lake. “That kid has actually parted the waters and is heading directly towards the bottom of the lake.”

  “He’s going to the bottom of the lake?” Snow was shocked.

  Yichuan shook his head. “Don’t be worried. You watched Ning as he grew up. Can it be that you don’t know his temperament? If he wasn’t confident, would he go down?”

  “Right.” Snow nodded.

  “Let’s go over, but we’ll stay on the surface of the lake.” Yichuan said. “We’ll monitor the situation down below at all times. As soon as anything goes wrong, I will immediately go down.”

  –––––––—

  “Diremonster Serpentwing, I, Ji Ning, have come again! You still won’t come out?!” After calling out while at the surface of the lake, Ning waited for a long time but Serpentwing still did not come out. Ning immediately made the decision to use his power to control fire and water to take command over the water around him in Serpentwing Lake.

  Huahuahua….

  The waters of the lake were parted by an invisible hand, and were parted, revealing a corridor into the water.

  Ning walked directly towards the bottom of the lake. The deeper he went, the more powerful the water pressure became. Ning directly controlled a cylindrical underwater ‘corridor’ roughly ten meters across as he walked down through the corridor.

  “That’s the one named Ji Ning.”

  “It’s him.”

  The aquatic lesser monsters within the lake stared from afar as a human walked down through a corridor. All of them once more went to make the report.

  Serpentwing’s nest.

  The Diremonster, Serpentwing, had already transformed into human form, and was seated on a chair. He was forcibly suppressing his rage. “This Ji Ning came over a month ago to challenge me, and now he is challenging me again! The lake is so enormous. If some Xiantian lifeforms are hidden nearby, who would know? I know you have a trap. How could I let myself fall for it?”

  “Great king, great king.”

  “Great king.”

  Three lesser aquatic monsters came charging over.

  “What is it?” Serpentwing growled.

  Of the three lesser aquatic monsters, the leader, a prawn monster, hurriedly reported, “Great king, that Ji Ning suddenly parted the waters and has begun entering the depths of the lake.”

  “Entering the lake?” Serpentwing suddenly stood up, then immediately said, “When he parted the waters, what method did he use?”

  “We didn’t see him use any Xiantian Ki, nor did we see anything special. The waters simply naturally parted.” That prawn monster said hurriedly.

  Serpentwing said in astonishment, “No wonder this Ji Ning dared to challenge me in such a way. So he was capable of controlling water as soon as his Fiendgod Body Refining technique reached the Xiantian level. I wonder which type of technique he trains it. Who cares. When I went to the Western Prefecture City, he was only at Houtian level. Now that he has reached the Xiantian level, he is still only at most an early Xiantian!”

  “He actually dares to enter the lake!” The long, narrow eyes of Serpentwing were flashing with a ferocious light. “Hell has no doors, but you insist on barging in. I, Serpentwing, will naturally grant you your wish and send you to the depths of the eighteenth level of Hell.”

  Serpentwing immediately charged out of his nest.

  If they were on the surface of the lake, Serpentwing would be afraid of an ambush. But the bottom of the lake was his territory. Humans who entered it wouldn’t be able to use a tenth of their power; even if Yichuan had entered, he would only at most be able to wound Serpentwing.

  “Ji Ning is actually as stupid as this? It makes sense. He’s just an eleven year old child. His power is great, and so he thinks he is a peerless talent, and he has no regard for anyone. You killed my boy Redtip. I will definitely kill you.” Serpentwing, upon leaving his nest, immediately transformed into his enormous winged serpent form, swimming at high speed.

  “So it really is him!”

  Serpentwing suddenly came to a halt. Staring into the distance, he saw that from afar, Ning was already very close to the bottom of the lake, and a cylindrical downwards corridor was constantly being created, with a human youth slowly walking downwards.

  “He really did come to the bottom of the lake.” Serpentwing’s red eyes were filled with a murderous light. “He really is asking for death.”

  Hua…

  He quickly swam over.

  ––––––––––-

  Ning was wielding the Darknorth sword in his hand, striding on the water as he walked towards the bottom of Serpentwing Lake. Wherever he walked past, the waters of the lake naturally parted to form a corridor.

  “Hrm?” Ning immediately saw that enormous black shadow draw close to him.

  “Serpentwing!” Ning immediately recognized him. As the enormous black shadow drew near, that ferocious head of Serpentwing’s grew clearer as well. Those scarlet red eyes were staring angrily at Ning.

  “Ji Ning!” Serpentwing let out a furious howl, his voice ringing out. “You killed my son. Today, I will make you pay for it with your life!”

  Ji Ning roared back, “Old monster, you have slaughtered humans in the thousands. You caused the death of Spring Grass, and today, I will personally execute you!”

  The original cause of so many things!

  So many people had died. Spring Grass had died. All of this came from the enmity between himself and Serpentwing.

  “Hahaha, you will execute me? Little child, you truly don’t know your own limits. You actually dare to come into the depths of the water…once you are within the water, you won’t be able to return to the surface of the lake until your next life!” Serpentwing was supremely confident. “Your father wounded me multiple times, but I will let him share the pain of losing a child with me!”

  As soon as his words came to
an end, Serpentwing suddenly scurried forward, charging straight towards the corridor which Ning had created.

  “Hua…” First, a serpentine tail pierced into the watery corridor, smashing straight towards Ning. Serpentwing’s current speed and power…was immeasurably greater than the Azure Skysnake’s.

  “He lives up to being a peak Xiantian-level Diremonster.” Ning was startled. In terms of speed alone, the late Xiantian-level Serpentwing was actually somewhat weaker than the Azure Skysnake, but in strength he was definitely above the Azure Skysnake. But now, even in terms of his weakness, speed, Serpentwing was superior to the Azure Skysnake.

  As for his strong point, power, Serpentwing had reached an awe-inducing level.

  “Old monster, prepare for death!” Ning immediately utilized his Windwing Evasion, transforming into blurred smoke that was even faster than the whipping attack of the serpentine tail of Serpentwing, immediately leaping onto the body of the snake.

  “Roaaaaaaaaaaar.” Serpentwing turned his head, opening his foul maw and biting down towards Ning.

  Ning, wielding his Darknorth swords in his hands, leapt up and directly stabbed towards Serpentwing’s serpentine head.

  * * *

  Book 4, Chapter 7 - Painting Serpentwing Lake with Blood

  Serpentwing’s giant bloody maw spat out a watery arrow of liquid. Swish! Swish! Swish! Gleaming with black light, the venomous liquid spread out towards Ji Ning, who didn’t dodge at all. The Darknorth sword in his left hand immediately executed the ‘Watertight’ technique, deflecting the venomous liquid to one side, and it landed on Serpentwing’s own body.

  “Crackle…” Serpentwing’s scales were immediately set alight, but then afterwards the venomous liquid sank into Serpentwing’s body, absorbed by him.

  Ning’s left hand had pushed aside the venomous liquid. His right hand was stabbing straight for Serpentwing’s head!

  His sword flashed like a ray of light!

  Hua!

  This sword contained the power of the True Meaning of the Waterdrop, and was so fast that it caused even Serpentwing to be shocked. He hurriedly tried to twist his head away.

  “Raindrop!” Ning’s eyes were filled with a cold, flashing light. “PIERCES ROCKS!!!”

  The sword light flashed straight through the side of Serpentwing’s head, piercing straight through those scales and then burrowing straight through the side of his head. Beneath the injury, one could faintly even see the white skull bone, and an enormous amount of green blood sprayed out from the wound.

  “He actually injured me?” The old monster, Serpentwing, went completely berserk. He wildly swung his head, his enormous scaled wings quickly sweeping towards Ning as well, and even his serpentine tail struck out, seeking to constrict Ning. For a moment it seemed as though he had been possessed, and the waters of the lake around them began to bubble and froth.

  Ning, wielding his two swords, moved like a shadow. “Not only will I injure you, I will kill you!”

  Although Serpentwing was stunned at the power of the swordplay Ning had displayed, he refused to believe that he, an old monster who had been training for a thousand years, would be defeated by this little human child. What’s more, Ning was the one who killed his most beloved child, Redtip…in this moment, Serpentwing had only one thought – kill Ji Ning!

  Huahuahua…

  The waters of the lake swirled about, and the enormous scaled wings as well as that unpredictable serpentine tail attacked wildly. The waters of the lake was the domain of the aquatic monsters, and here, Serpentwing was like a tiger who had been given wings.

  Using the principles of ‘using generals against soldiers, using earth to block floods’, Ning continued to use appropriate, matching techniques to deal with the attacks. His sword techniques flashed out, leaving behind one wound after another on the serpentine tail and scaled wings of Serpentwing.

  “How is this possible!”

  “How can he possibly defeat me!”

  “Die! Die! Die! I will make you die!” The old monster Serpentwing was now completely berserk.

  Ning continued to battle against him, and occasionally, with but a glance, he would create a fire lotus petal or a water lotus petal. The fire lotus petal and water lotus petal would appear directly above and below Serpentwing, boxing him within. As the fire lotus petal and water lotus petal slowly swiveled in opposite directions, Serpentwing began to howl as his scales began to crack. “FORM!”

  Above his head, a layer of frost rapidly appeared, while at the same time, his serpentine head shook violently, dispersing the Waterflame Lotus.

  ––––––-

  They battled wildly within the lake, causing utter chaos. None of the lesser aquatic monsters dared to draw near.

  Serpentwing’s body was covered with multiple gaping wounds, and green blood oozed everywhere, staining the surrounding lake water green.

  Above the lake.

  Ji Yichuan, dressed in white fur, stood there with Yuchi Snow. The entire surface of the lake was shaking wildly, as though deep within the lake, an enormous aquatic monster was shaking.

  “Such a large commotion.” Yichuan’s eyes lit up.

  Snow nodded as well. “It seems Ning is giving that old monster Serpentwing a great deal of pressure. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be such a large commotion. Look, the water of the lake is turning green, and there are corpses of fishes and prawns.” The nearby undulating waters of the lake were beginning to have corpses of fish and prawns float on the surface. Clearly, they had been poisoned.

  Yichuan took a sniff with his nose. “This is the blood of Serpentwing. His blood is highly venomous. Even after having been diluted by the lake water, most fish and prawns will be poisoned to death by it.”

  “He has lost so much blood.” Snow’s amusement became even more pronounced. “Ning’s power has improved greatly.”

  “Right. To let a peak Xiantian-level old monster like Serpentwing lose so much blood is indeed very impressive.” Yichuan was very eager as well.

  –––––––––

  Serpentwing had already used all the power available to him, but he still had yet to even injure Ning. Instead, his body was now covered with wounds, all inflicted by the sharp Darknorth swords in Ning’s hands.

  “After I reached the peak Xiantian stage, in this area controlled by the Ji clan, there’s only a few people more powerful than me! All of them are extremely famous…how could this punk Ji Ning be so powerful? Most likely, not even that Ji Lee is a match for him.” Serpentwing, after going berserk for a time, had calmed down, and had begun to plan for a retreat.

  The power Ning had displayed truly was astonishing.

  As an old monster, Serpentwing’s body was naturally powerful…the sword attacks of most Xiantian-level Ki Refiners probably wouldn’t even break through his scales. But Ning’s swords were incomparably sharp! They sliced right through, leaving massive wounds, or pierced right through, gouging great holes.

  “In a few more years, won’t this Ji Ning be even more powerful than his father?” The rage in Serpentwing’s heart was quickly dissipating, leaving behind only terror and alarm. “There’s no way I’ll be able to outfight a freak like him. I’d best flee!”

  Swoosh!

  With a shake of his serpentine tail and a turn of his serpentine head, the two scaled wings began to tremble…and Serpentwing began to attempt to flee at high speed.

  “Old monster Serpentwing, don’t even think about fleeing!” Ning, currently standing on Serpentwing’s body, simultaneously controlled the corridor of water while utilizing the Windwing Evasion technique rapidly.

  “If I want to leave, I’ll leave.” Serpentwing bellowed. With a shake of his tail, the waters of the lake immediately grew turbulent, and a surge of water immediately drenched Ning.

  Immediately afterwards, Serpentwing felt extremely delighted.

  A corridor formed by controlling water? Serpentwing was an aquatic monster who could also control water. To destr
oy it would naturally be extremely easy. If he wasn’t able to beat Ning, could it be that he also wouldn’t be able to flee?

  “Huh?” Serpentwing suddenly, vaguely felt a terrifying threat appear. He couldn’t help but to turn his head and look.

  In the lake waters behind him, Ning was currently standing upright and floating, surrounded by countless sword-type magic treasures. Every single one of them was covered with a faintly glowing light. A glowing sword of light formed from Xiantian ki that had been passed through and transformed by over three hundred flying sword magic treasures was currently hovering next to Ning, flickering.

  “Magic treasures? So many magic treasures?” Serpentwing was stunned.

  Swish!

  The glowing sword of light flashed, instantly traversing hundreds of meters. Serpentwing could sense that this glowing sword of light contained boundless power. He wanted to turn his head to dodge it, but the glowing sword of light only curved slightly when arcing, and thus still pierced with great precision straight through the center of Serpentwing’s serpentine head.

  Bang!

  The sword of light pierced straight through Serpentwing’s skull, carrying with it green blood as well as some brain tissue.

  “Aaaaah!” Serpentwing stared at Ning in astonishment. “This formation, formation…”

  “You should feel honored that you died beneath this sword formation.” Ning slowly walked over, and the waters of the lake parted before him. Serpentwing’s eyes grew dim, and then his enormous body began to slowly drift downwards…

  This old monster of Serpentwing Lake, who had been treated as a local tyrant for thousands of years, had died!

  Watching the corpse of Serpentwing slowly drift down, Ning had very complicated feelings in his heart. It was this old monster who had gone to Western Prefecture City to attack him…resulting in this chain of events. When he had gone out adventuring and exploring, he had treated Serpentwing as his ultimate goal. Although Serpentwing had broken through to the peak Xiantian level in power, Ning had still executed him!