Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Success.” Ning finally relaxed. The stars in the sky began to slowly move about. At first, they moved about in a very slow, sluggish manner. Soon, however, they began to move in a very natural, easy way, and they began to revolve around the two larger stellar bodies, the sun and the moon. The movement of the countless stars was natural and innate. These stars and the sun and the moon were naturally linked with the countless true stellar bodies in the outside world, and thus they began to move in this manner.

  Within the deep cave.

  Northson turned his head to look at Ning. Ning still sat there in the lotus position, but he had stopped absorbing liquefied elemental essence. “Senior apprentice-brother should have made his breakthrough.”

  Right at this moment, suddenly, a large amount of natural elemental ki from the surrounding area began to wildly surge towards Ning at an incomparably shocking speed. Moments later, this elemental ki ripple came to a halt. Ning opened his eyes. Laughing loudly, he rose to his feet.

  “Congratulations, senior apprentice-brother. You have stepped into the Wanxiang level,” Northson said in delight.

  “I made some tests just now. Indeed, it is as you said, junior apprentice-brother; upon breaking through to the Wanxiang level, the stars within the Zifu in my body truly do resonate with the countless real stars of the outside world. Once I begin to absorb the elemental ki of the outside world, the rate at which that happens has increased by many tens of times.” Ning laughed, but at the same time, he sighed in his heart.

  If one wanted to create liquefied elemental essence, it would be far more difficult. If one wanted to do that, then one would need to do what Immortal Firedragon had done; set down a grand formation, then spend a long period of time converting the elemental ki of the natural world and distill it into liquefied elemental essence!

  Thus, liquefied elemental essence was naturally, incomparably precious. Wanxiang Adepts and Primal Daoists would rather spend a bit of extra time in training than use it; extremely few were able to wantonly use vast amounts of liquefied elemental essence to rise in power quickly.

  “Senior apprentice-brother, you broke through to the Wanxiang level; you should be lacking in suitable Earth-ranked magic treasures.” Northson laughed. “Earlier, we acquired a set of flying swords from that Northriver Zhou. It should suit you very well. This set of flying swords shall be your junior apprentice-brother’s gift to you for making your breakthrough, senior apprentice-brother.”

  Ning was startled. “No, I can’t!”

  Northriver Zhou’s set of flying swords? Indeed, it really was a set of nine Earth-ranked flying swords, and they were quite good as well, most likely high-grade Earth-ranked swords. Although the current core of his [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation], the ‘Nine Yang Sword Formation’, was comprised of top-grade Mortal-ranked swords, for a Wanxiang Adept…they were still vastly inferior to a set of nine quality Earth-ranked flying swords. The comparative price of these items testified to this as well.

  Top-grade Mortal-ranked flyinig swords would generally go for a hundred taels of liquefied elemental essence, which was to say, around five kilograms. This set of Earth-ranked flying swords of Northriver Zhou, however, would probably see each sword going for nearly fifty kilograms. Since the nine came in a set, most likely if sold as a set, a price of five hundred kilograms or so could be fetched.

  “Senior apprentice-brother. These flying swords are useless to me.” Northson shook his head. “This is my congratulatory gift…can it be that you are going to refuse, senior apprentice-brother?”

  Ning looked at Northson, then smiled. “Fine, then. I’ll accept this set of flying swords.” The two were fellow disciples, and they were engaged in a life-and-death adventure together. Ning wasn’t going to be wishy-washy about it; only, he firmly engraved this moment into his heart.

  Time slowly passed. In the blink of an eye, it had been half a month.

  The clouds drifted forward in the sky. A dragon-headed warship was leisurely advancing. Up ahead, a spatial distortion could be seen, as well as cracks and tears in space. Beyond those cracks was a gray, blurry void. Although Ning and Northson had seen these things many times now, they still felt their hearts beat in fear.

  The dragon-headed warship naturally stayed far, far away from these things. If they were accidentally trapped within these spatial distortions…Ning understood that given their current level of power, they would definitely die.

  “This set of flying swords truly is sharp and dominating. It has an extremely strong murderous intent about it.” Ning stood at the helm of the ship. He stretched his right hand out, and around his right hand were nine finger-sized flying swords. These nine flying swords swirled around Ning’s right hand, constantly spinning…and occasionally spitting out sword-light. Ning was still familiarizing himself with this set of nine Earth-ranked flying swords.

  Because he didn’t know the name of these swords, Ning described them as the ‘Northriver Sword Formation’. Both because it had belonged to Northriver Zhou, and also to constantly remind himself to be warry of other Immortal cultivators.

  “Senior apprentice-brother, look.” Northson pointed towards the distance. Ning took a careful look. In the foggy distance, a warship was currently flying towards them. Upon seeing the shape of the warship, Ning immediately said, “This is one of the hundred who took part in the Raindragon Guard trial. This is the ship of the peak Wanxiang Adept named ‘Formless’.”

  “Formless?” Northson turned to look as well. “It’s not going to be like when we met Northriver Zhou and the others, is it? There aren’t other Wanxiang Adepts hiding on his ship, are there?”

  “Let me take a look.” Ning willed his divine sense to sweep forward, thoroughly surrounding the distant warship. Ning thoroughly investigate all the activities going on inside that ship. After doing so, Ning relaxed. “It’s not bad. Including Adept Formless, there are only two individuals…eh?” Ning’s face suddenly changed.

  In that distant warship. The white-robed ‘Daoist Eastdawn’ and the gray-robed ‘Daoist Formless’ were also staring towards Ning’s distant dragon-headed warship.

  “That dragon-headed warship should belong to that disciple of the Black-White College, Mu Northson,” the gray-robed Daoist Formless said.

  “Judging from how leisurely they are acting, and how slow they are flying…I imagine they must have acquired the corpse of a Wanxiang monster long ago,” Daoist Eastdawn said.

  “They are members of the Black-White College, after all.” Daoist Formless frowned, then shook his head. “It’s unfortunate. When we first entered the wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains, our luck wasn’t bad. We even killed a Wanxiang monster! But afterwards, ever since we acted against that Azure Skysnake, our luck has taken a turn for the worse. We failed numerous times. Three days ago, we were played for idiots by that Azure Skysnake, and the two of us nearly died there.”

  Adept Eastdawn gritted his teeth. “The first time, we let her escape. The second time, after she discovered us, she actually played us for fools and let us fall into a trap. If we run into her again, I’ll definitely kill her.”

  “Azure Skysnake?” Ning had a sudden thought. In the past, shortly after he had left the protection of his parents, he had gone adventuring in a region within ten thousand kilometers of West Prefecture City. He had battled numerous times with an Azure Skysnake.

  After Ning had killed Ironwood Zhan, he had been unable to discover the corpse of the Azure Skysnake. Back then, he had suspected that it must have suddenly comprehended the ‘Void Blink’ technique and fled.

  “Azure Skysnakes are still quite rare. In addition, due to their innate gifts, they generally grow quite quickly,” Ning mused to himself. “I wonder if the Azure Skysnake they met…is the same one I met in the Swallow Mountain region.”

  “Junior apprentice-brother, let’s move towards them,” Ning said.

  “Move towards them?” Northson looked towards Ning, who nodded. Northson no longer asked anyth
ing, instead moving the dragon-headed warship closer.

  Ning stared into the distance. He wanted to learn more information about this Azure Skysnake from these two men. Since he had nothing to do during the next two-plus months in the wild marshes, he might as well go investigate and see if this Azure Skysnake was the same one he knew.

  * * *

  Book 8, Chapter 21 - Meeting Again After Many Years

  “Fellow Daoist Mu Northson.” Adept Formless, on the other warship, clasped his hands, then said with a laugh, “Oh, fellow Daoist Ji Ning is here as well. For us to be able to meet here in the wild marshes is truly a karmic sign. After we return to the Raindragon Guard encampment, we must have a good reunion.”

  “Naturally! Fellow Daoist Formless, fellow Daoist Eastdawn,” Ning said, clasping his hands, “Judging from how relaxed you see, I imagine that you must have already acquired enough Wanxiang monster corpses.”

  “Relaxed?” The two Wanxiang Adepts on the warship opposite from them stared at each other. Daoist Eastdawn couldn’t help but laugh bitterly. “Fellow Daoist Ji Ning, what makes you feel we are relaxed? Just a short while ago, we nearly died. We are just taking a short rest, and then we’ll go hunting for Wanxiang monsters again. After all, the time limit is three months; we have a bit of time.”

  “Oh, you haven’t collected enough either?” Ning was ‘surprised’. “Either?” Daoist Eastdawn was truly surprised. “Can it be that the two you have yet to collect enough either?”

  Although Northson was puzzled by why Ning had said this, he nodded and said in support, “Right, not yet.” Ning sighed. “Actually, this time, we nearly killed an Azure Skysnake. Only, that Azure Skysnake was too slippery; she managed to escape.”

  “Azure Skysnake? You also encountered an Azure Skysnake?” Daoist Eastdawn was shocked. Ning instantly looked towards him, ‘puzzled’.

  Daoist Eastdawn said hurriedly, “We met her as well, a total of two times. This Azure Skysnake truly is sly and slippery; to kill her won’t be easy.”

  “Where did you meet her?” Ning asked. Daoist Eastdawn didn’t try to hide anything. “The first time was in the north, roughly two hundred thousand kilometers from here. Three days ago, we met her again, roughly a hundred thousand kilometers northeast of here, at the ‘Mount Demonlotus’ region.

  Ning shook his head and sighed. “We really are linked by karmic. We both encountered the Azure Skysnake. However, I don’t know if it was the same one. Well. We two brothers need to continue to search for Wanxiang monsters, so we won’t dally. Once we return to the encampment, we can meet again.”

  “Alright.” Daoist Formless and Daoist Eastdawn clasped their hands in salute. Soon, the two warships separated.

  …….

  Daoist Formless, aboard his ship, laughed. “That was such a coincidence. They encountered the Azure Skysnake as well.”

  “I was actually worried that there might be other Wanxiang Adepts hiding within that dragon-headed warship, preparing for an ambush,” Daoist Eastdawn said. “But now, it seems, disciples of the Black-White College really are different. They are quite proud, and they won’t stoop to doing such things.”

  “Right. It’s the Black-White College, after all,” Daoist Formless agreed, nodding. They actually had been vigilant this entire time. However, chatting about the Azure Skysnake didn’t impact them at all; naturally, they didn’t mind discussing it.

  …….

  Aboard the dragon-headed warship. “We’re going to the Mount Demonlotus region?” Northson looked towards Ning, puzzled. “Senior apprentice-brother, why are we going to Mount Demonlotus?”

  “In my homeland, I once battled numerous times against a Xiantian-level Azure Skysnake monster. After having fought so many times, we actually ended up with something of a friendship.” Ning sighed. “Only, afterwards, it most likely left the Swallow Mountain region, heading to unknown places. Now that I heard of an Azure Skysnake appearing here…I want to go and see if it’s the one I knew.”

  “Oh.” Northson now understood. “Azure Skysnakes are Godbeasts, and very rare Godbeasts at that. Given how rare they are, it just might be the same one you met in your homeland.”

  “It also might not be,” Ning said. “But since we have nothing to do, we might as well go there to take a look.” Northson nodded. “Alright.” He immediately controlled the dragon-headed warship to fly towards the north, then pursed his lips and said, “Come, senior apprentice-brother. Tell me the story about you and that Azure Skysnake.”

  “Very well, I’ll tell you about it.” Ning began to slowly narrate that tale from many years ago.

  …….

  Mount Demonlotus. This was a mountain that took up tens of kilometers of the surrounding region, and was shaped like a blooming lotus flower. Supposedly, this peak was a very mysterious one…no one who entered was able to leave. The monsters of this region, at least, did not dare to enter Mount Demonlotus at all.

  The Mount Demonlotus region took up an enormous amount of space. Because the natural elemental aura of this location was exceptionally dense and nourishing, it attracted quite a few monsters, who took up residence in the various mountain peaks of the region.

  This was a place of many monsters, much elemental energy, and many treasures! Naturally, the Azure Skysnake had prepared to make this place her home as well.

  In a desolate part of the Mount Demonlotus region, one enormous formation-flag after another began to appear in multiple places, covering a region of over a hundred kilometers.

  “Not good!” A small azure snake hung there in midair, staring about. Its tail flashed, and it transformed into a streak of light, wanting to flee.

  “Azure Skysnake! Even now, you want to try and flee?” This voice boomed like thunder. From far away, in front of one of the formation flags, a ten-meter tall, azure-skinned man had appeared. This muscular man’s eyes glowed with a dark green light, and he had a heaven-shaking aura around him.

  “Azure Skysnake, surrender and allow yourself to be captured.”

  “Stop struggling.”

  “If you resist, you will die an even more miserable death.”

  One voice after another rang out. In each of the formation flag locations, figures began to appear, all of them with monstrous auras that filled the heavens. There was an alluring, white-furred woman, a shockingly savage black monster, a tall, skinny, evil-looking man…more than ten Wanxiang monsters had appeared.

  The little azure snake swept the surrounding area with her gaze, and then her body blurred before transforming into a ruby-lipped, ivory-toothed, azure-robed maiden. Worry on her face, she hurriedly said, “You should be King Dragonwhale.”

  “I am indeed.” The ten-meter tall, azure-skinned man’s voice rumbled like thunder. This monster, Dragonwhale, was extremely famous in the Mount Demonlotus region. This was a monster who trained as a Fiendgod Body Refiner, and who even had a divine ability. There were dozens of Wanxiang monsters who served him. Not even human Immortal cultivators would be so foolish as to try and act against this Dragonwhale.

  “I don’t know how a humble monster like myself offended you, your Majesty, for you to come deal with me in such an awe-inspiring manner,” the azure-robed maiden said, panicked.

  “Just yesterday, you killed my lifelong friend.” The Dragonwhale monster’s eyes glowed with a shockingly powerful light. The azure-robed maiden was stunned.

  “Right. That Zifu-level panther-headed monster was my lifelong friend.” The Dragonwhale monster’s eyes were filled with a savage, killing intent. “The two of us knew each other back when we were both ordinary little monsters. It has been countless years…I didn’t expect he’d fall to your hands.”

  “I, I…” the azure-robed maiden said, panicked, “I didn’t…”

  “Stop dissembling,” the Dragonwhale said coldly. “You killed my lifelong friend. I will definitely let you know what it means to be in such agony that you would wish to die. Everyone…capture her alive. I will use ki-sealing chain
s to bind her, then viciously torture her for ten or a hundred years. Only in this way can I give vent to my hatred.”

  “Very well.”

  “Big Brother, don’t worry at all.”

  “Leave it to us.”

  The ten-plus Wanxiang monsters began to surround her.

  “You want to kill me? In your dreams!” That azure-robed maiden, a look of panic still on her face, suddenly roared in rage. With a swoosh, she transformed into a small azure snake once more, then immediately fled at high speed.

  “Fleeing?” The Dragonwhale watched emotionlessly. The ten-plus Wanxiang monsters surrounded her, moving towards her in an enveloping manner.

  “This Dragonwhale really is insidious. It actually set up a spacelock formation in this region, making me unable to Void Blink.” The little azure serpent cursed to itself. “It seems this time, I’m really in danger. The wild marshes of the Gaol Mountains truly are a dangerous place; my senior fellow disciples spoke the truth.”

  Although she had apprenticed herself to a monster Immortal, that monster Immortal accepted many monsters; virtually no monsters would be refused. Although she, an Azure Skysnake, was viewed with comparative importance, if she were to be attacked or killed in the outside world while adventuring, no one would help make an appearance on her behalf. Amongst monsters…life was far more savage and ruthless than life was amongst humans.

  “This Azure Skysnake really is slippery.”

  “Although she cannot Void Blink, her speed is still astonishingly fast.”

  “Dire-ice! She actually was nourishing dire-ice. Everyone, be careful.”

  The small azure snake, while fleeing, would immediately belch forth a blast of dire-ice when any Wanxiang monsters moved to gang up on her! Dire-ice, for Wanxiang Daoists, was not at all inferior to divine abilities; they were extremely powerful supportive techniques. Against weaker opponents, this dire-ice was capable of freezing them to death.