Desolate Era

by RWX

  Adept Vastriver frowned. Of the five of them, himself, Ning, and Yu Wei were the most powerful. With Ning and Yu Wei disagreeing… while Vastriver was capable of defeating Xue Hongyi, he wasn’t certain of being able to kill him.

  “Hmph.” Adept Vastriver turned his head and left. Ning and the others exchanged a glance, then all left as well. The only one left in the room was Xue Hongyi, who finally let out a sigh of relief.

  “In the end, I was able to rely on Youngflame Nong to scare them off,” Xue Hongyi mused to himself. “After we leave the Witchriver Immortal Estate, I need to immediately stick very close to young master Youngflame, and then find a chance to use a Lesser Teleportation Dao-seal and flee.”

  He understood that successfully escaping might be difficult. But he had to take the risk; for the sake of this Immortal-ranked magic treasure, he had to!

  In fact, he didn’t even dare trust the three Primal Daoists of Snowdragon Mountain. In the Immortal path, it was not rare for disciples to kill their masters and ancestors, and it was even more common for masters to kill disciples. For the sake of acquiring an Immortal-ranked magic treasure… anything might happen.

  Ning and the others all spread out, once more continuing to search through the palace for treasures. After all, this was the Vault of Treasures of a Celestial Immortal; any random treasure would be worth more than the entire holdings of an ordinary Wanxiang Adept.

  They carefully searched for another hour. Each of them had completely searched the entire palace. They all believed that it might be possible that the others might have missed searching a spot.

  “I’m finished. Master, I don’t have anything, not even a single magic treasure.” The distant Little Qing was chatting mentally with Ning.

  “Not a single magic treasure? That’s so sad!” Ning teased.

  “Ask Uncle White and see if he found any treasures,” Little Qing sent back through their spirit-link.

  “Alright, I’ll ask.” Ning sent spiritually to the Whitewater Hound, “Uncle White, have you finished your search?”

  “I’m finished.” The Whitewater Hound’s mental voice seemed quite delighted. “My luck wasn’t bad. I discovered a corpse, which had a magic robe and some other treasures near it. I don’t know if it was left behind by a Loose Immortal or a Primal Diremonsters, but all the treasures are excellent. I’m not able to bind them; they should be Heaven-ranked magic treasures.”

  Ning was instantly delighted.

  This Vault of Treasures actually could be said to be the most important of the five palaces. It had the most treasures, and thus it was normally guarded by monstrous experts that were at least at the Primal or Loose Immortal levels.

  Even Loose Immortals generally wouldn’t have access to an Immortal-ranked magic treasure, and so it was quite hard to judge from magic treasures alone if they were left behind by a Loose Immortal or a Primal Diremonster. Only after binding the storage items and seeing how many treasures were inside it would one know.

  “Master, Master, how did Uncle White do? Did he also find nothing?” Little Qing sent spiritually.

  “Uncle White’s luck was better than yours; he acquired the treasures from a skeletal corpse.”

  “A corpse? His luck was actually better than mine? I’m an Azure Skyserpent; it’s as easy for me to encounter a stroke of luck as it is to eat rice. I’m surrounded by good fortune… but his luck was better than mine? Master, what about you? Did you find any treasures?”

  “I acquired… even more than Uncle White,” Ning replied.

  “Even more?! How can this be?!”

  ……

  Within the largest hall in the palace. Youngflame Nong remained seated in the lotus position on the jade bed, continuing to bind it, while Xiangliu Fang stood to one side. Ning and the others had all regrouped here together.

  “This is the Vault of Treasures. It should be the place within the Witchriver Immortal Estate which was meant for the storage of treasures, and the place with the most treasures. By the looks of it, you have all gained quite a bit.” Youngflame Nong sat above them, smiling. “And just now, I could sense some ripples; it should have been an Immortal-ranked magic treasure emerging. I wonder which of you was so lucky as to acquire the Immortal-ranked treasure.”

  Ji Ning and the others all turned their heads, looking towards Xue Hongyi in unison. Xue Hongyi was stunned.

  “Oh, so it was you, Xue Hongyi?” Youngflame Nong raised an eyebrow. Earlier, when trapped within the formation, Xue Hongyi had hid far away and abandoned Youngflame Nong. This caused Youngflame Nong to feel ill-will towards him.

  “Young master Youngflame, I am willing to offer this Immortal-ranked magic treasure to you,” Xue Hongyi said hurriedly. Against Ji Ning’s group, he was willing to threaten them and struggle against them, but young master Youngflame was simply too powerful. In terms of both background and political power, Youngflame Nong could completely crush him. In terms of personal power, that Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang, could probably annihilate him with one blow.

  Ning and the others all looked over with surprise. Offering it to young master Youngflame?

  “Treasures should go to the worthy!” Xue Hongyi said hurriedly. “I, Xue Hongyi, acknowledge that I am lacking in worthiness; a treasure like this, to me, is a disaster, not a blessing. It is better for me to offer it to you, young master Youngflame. It is only natural and reasonable that someone as exalted as you, young master Younglame, be the possessor of this treasure.”

  Youngflame Nong laughed.

  He liked those who knew how to flatter, especially when the flatterer was a fairly powerful genius. Ji Ning and the others were from the Black-White College; all of them were proud by nature, and there was no way they could debase themselves to flatter in this way. Xue Hongyi, however, had lowered his head and bent his waist, truly humbling himself.

  “I’ve already promised, in the name of my Youngflame clan, that the treasures you acquire will belong to you. I absolutely will not fight with you for them, or ask you to offer them,” Youngflame Nong said.

  “This isn’t fighting with me, nor is it asking me to offer it up… this is a normal trade,” Xue Hongyi said hurriedly. “This Immortal-ranked magic treasure, the Azuresilk Godfire Lamp, isn’t very useful to me. I’m willing to trade it to you, young master Youngflame, for some other treasures. You can just give me some random Heaven-ranked magic treasures and it would suffice.”

  “You are over-thinking things.” Youngflame Nong shook his head. “No matter what, I will not accept this Immortal-ranked magic treasure.”

  Only now did Xue Hongyi let out a mental sigh of relief. He had proactively offered the treasure, but young master Youngflame had declined. Now, he was calm.

  “Xue Hongyi is quite the clever fellow,” Youngflame Nong mused secretly to himself. “I can’t accept it now. If I did, the hearts of Ji Ning and his group would turn cold! They are still very useful to me. After I bind the immortal estate… at that point, I can have Xue Hongyi offer it to me again. If necessary, I can just bestow a few treasures upon him in exchange.”

  After two full hours later, Youngflame Nong finally completed binding the jade bed.

  “Haha, the binding is finally complete.” Youngflame Nong walked down from the jade bed, a smile on his face.

  “Young master,” the nearby Xiangliu Fang said with a frown, “Right now, the two most powerful monstrous forces in the entire Immortal estate world are waiting outside. As soon as we emerge, we will most likely suffer their immediate attack.

  “The two most powerful monstrous forces?” Ning and the others were all startled. The titanic wave formed from more than ten thousand Dao-soldiers, and the giant Yaksha Dao-soldier formation formed by the Witchriver clan? Those were capable of completely suppressing even the Fiendgod, Xiangliu Fang; he had been forced to rely on his astonishing recuperative abilities and evasive techniques in order to escape with his life. He hadn’t been able to fight back at all.

  “I can stay alive, bu
t I am not confident in being able to protect the young master.” This was Xiangliu Fang’s worry.

  “Oh?” Youngflame Nong frowned slightly. “You say they are waiting outside?”

  “Right. They’ve been waiting outside the entire time,” Xiangliu Fang growled. “They’ve been trapped for countless years within this Immortal estate world; every generation has always dreamed of leaving and going to the vast Grand Xia Empire. Thus, they will definitely stop at nothing and be willing to pay any price in order to seize the key to the Immortal estate you hold, young master.”

  Youngflame Nong nodded. He could understand the powerful desire and urge these two monstrous forces had to leave. It was a desire to see the greater world, a desire that would lead them to use all their might in acting against Youngflame Nong.

  “This will be trouble.” Youngflame Nong gritted his teeth. Ning and the others all stood there, racking their brains. What to do?

  * * *

  Book 10, Chapter 14 - The Immortal Grass Palace

  “How strong are the Dao-soldiers of the monsters in this Immortal estate world?” Youngflame Nong frowned.

  He understood that the biggest obstacles to him binding this Immortal estate were the local monster races present. They had all been trapped in this tiny world for far too long; every generation dreamed of leaving. This sort of powerful desire was something which would cause them to be willing to sacrifice anything. The worst thing was, these monstrous Dao-soldiers were all extremely powerful.

  “The two most powerful forces are the Titanwave Dao-soldier formation and the Yaksha Dao-soldier formation,” Xiangliu Fang said. “These two forces both have more than ten thousand Dao-soldiers, and the leaders of each are at the Earth Immortal or Loose Immortal level.”

  “Both are at the Loose Immortal or Earth Immortal level?” Youngflame Nong was surprised.

  “Right. They each should have one,” Xiangliu Fang said. “The Titanwave Dao-soldier formation’s leader should be a bit stronger. As for the Yaksha Dao-soldier formation’s leader, although their Immortal is a bit weaker, as a whole, they are stronger… against these two forces, even the most supreme of Loose Immortals would be beaten so badly they would have no choice but to flee!”

  Xiangliu Fang was a true, primordial Fiendgod, and one of the Hydraga race at that. Although he was at the peak Primal level, he was comparable to a supreme Loose Immortal in actual combat power.

  The slightly weaker Titanwave Dao-soldier formation was already powerful enough to force Xiangliu Fang into constant flight. The Yaksha Dao-soldier formation was also able to dominate Xiangliu Fang with ease.

  “It isn’t too likely that we would be able to defeat them.” Xiangliu Fang shook his head. “Even if a few extra Loose Immortals came, it would be far from being enough.”

  “The Immortal estate has five palaces in total,” Youngflame Nong said in a low voice. “Right now, I’ve bound one of them. I’m confident in being able to move to the other two palaces, but the final two will be troublesome.”

  “Young master Youngflame, you are confident in being able to go to two palaces?” Mu Northson said with surprise, “Since you can go to two, why can’t you go to all four?”

  Ning and the others all looked towards Youngflame Nong, confused. The two monstrous forces were waiting outside; how were they supposed to charge past them?

  “You don’t understand,” Youngflame Nong said with a laugh, “I’ve already bound this Vault of Treasures. This palace is extremely large, one of the five main pillars of the entire Immortal estate world, capable of affecting an area of ten thousand kilometers around it. By relying on the key to the Immortal estate, I can open a corridor, allowing us to exit this palace at any location within ten thousand kilometers of this palace.”

  “If these two monstrous forces choose to just wait close nearby, then I can move us to a location thousands of kilometers away from them. Afterwards, by relying on Uncle Fang’s evasive techniques, we can hurry towards the next palace.”

  Ning and the others now understood.

  “After I bind all five palaces, I can appear in any location within this Immortal estate world!” Youngflame Nong sighed, “But right now, I’ve only bound one.”

  “Young master Youngflame, by using this ability,” Xue Hongyi said with astonished delight, “Can’t you just go into all four of the palaces? There’s no way these monstrous forces can possibly prevent us from entering.”

  “You are wrong.” Youngflame Nong shook his head and sighed. “They have been sealed within this Immortal estate world for too long, and so they’ve forgotten about the power of the palaces. But once I use the palace to move us to a location thousands of kilometers away… as soon as I use this technique, they’ll know that it is possible for us to do this. By then, they will probably go and guard the palaces which I have yet to bind.”

  The looks on everyone’s faces grew solemn. Right! Five major palaces… there was no need for the monstrous forces to wait for them outside. They could just go and completely surround and guard the palaces that had yet to be bound! For the sake of binding the Immortal estate, Youngflame Nong would still have to charge towards them, even though he knew that the unbound palaces were now surrounded in rings of protection.

  “Lying in wait to catch the hare!” Ning murmured this saying to himself. “The unbound palaces… Youngflame Nong has to go there. As long as they surround the unbound palaces with layers of protection, then… there will be no way for us to avoid them.”

  Lying in wait to catch the hare was a seemingly clumsy technique. But this technique was aimed at their weak point; Ning’s group would have no other options other than to fall into the trap.

  “Well, there’s nothing we can do. Let’s first go bind two of the palaces,” Youngflame Nong said. “Let’s go!”

  ……

  In the area around the pillar of light which represented the Vault of Treasures. The two most powerful monstrous forces of this world were gathered here. The Titanwave Dao-soldier formation and the Yaksha Dao-soldier formation were both present.

  “Duohe, this time, the two of us should set aside our differences and work together to deal with the humans and seize the key to the Immortal estate.”

  “Witchsui, if your Witchriver clan is willing to join forces, I naturally will be delighted to comply.”

  These were the two most powerful figures of the entire Immortal estate world. One was an old Loose Immortal, Immortal Duohe, who had lived for more than a hundred thousand years. The other was Immortal Witchsui, who had only lived for ten thousand years. The two of them immediately swore an oath to the Dao of the Heavens to join forces on this day.

  For the sake of being able to leave, they would be willing to sacrifice anything.

  The two sides continued to wait quietly. A long time later…

  “Eh?” The two Loose Immortals, as well as some Primal Diremonsters, simultaneously turned their heads to stare thousands of kilometers away. There, a warship suddenly appeared out of nowhere. And then, aboard the warship, Xiangliu Fang’s body suddenly blurred, transforming into an enormous Fiendgod that was three thousand meters tall, with the lower body of a serpent and nine heads. The Fiendgod Hydraga clutched the warship in his claws, then used an evasive technique, fleeing at an utterly astonishing speed.

  Swoosh!

  He left behind only a streak of light in the air. This caused both Immortal Duohe and the Witchriver clan to be flabbergasted. They knew very well that in terms of speed, they couldn’t possibly catch up with that Fiendgod. Since they had already started at a distance of thousands of kilometers… there was no hope at all.

  “How could this be? How could they have suddenly appeared thousands of kilometers away?”

  “When they had entered the palace, they had all been very close to it.”

  “They had to be very close to enter… why were they able to leave at a distance of thousands of kilometers?”

  Even countless years ago, when Immortal Witchri
ver was still alive and the master of this place, his clansmen didn’t fully understand the special powers of these palaces. And now that countless years had passed? How could these monsters possibly understand them?

  “They must have bound the palace. The palace is under their control, which is why they were able to do something so unique,” Immortal Duohe said.

  “That has to be the case,” Immortal Witchsui agreed.

  “The Immortal estate has five palaces in total. They’ve only bound one. There are four which remain unbound. Let us each guard one of the unbound palaces; unless they give up their quest, they will have to fight us head on,” Immortal Duohe said.

  The two sides quickly agreed on a plan, and they howled through the air as they flew at high speed towards two of the distant golden Skypillars of light.

  ……

  “The worst case scenario has already come to pass.” The nine-headed, serpent-bodied Hydraga was still clutching the warship. Within the warship, Youngflame Nong, Ji Ning, and the others were watching those two distant monstrous powers begin to move. They hadn’t moved to pursue or attack; rather, they had flown off into two different directions, towards two of those golden Skypillars of light.

  “I have to bind this Immortal estate.” Youngflame Nong gritted his teeth. “These monsters… damn them. Damn them!”

  Soon, the enormous Hydraga Fiendgod, warship in one hand, had arrived at one of the other golden Skypillars of light.

  “Go in.” Youngflame Nong activated the key to the Immortal estate, opening up a corridor.

  Ji Ning and the others all felt a certain somberness. They were able to easily enter this time, but that was only because there were no monsters blocking them. Two of the five palaces, however, were now under heavy guard; how could those two palaces be so easily traversed?

  Whoosh.

  The Hydraga shrank himself, once more entering the warship, and the entire warship flew into the opened tunnel.

  ……