Desolate Era

by RWX

  BOOM!

  The Sloppy Daoist suddenly struck out with all six arms. They all struck out as fists with a power that felt faintly similar to an enormous black tortoise slamming against the pillars of heaven. Boom….Adept Ninedeath blocked the blows, but was knocked flying backwards. Her body had split open at many places from the force of the collision, and blood was flowing from the wounds nonstop.

  Whoosh. The Sloppy Daoist took a single step, appearing before Adept Ninedeaths. His six fists once more moved to strike out.

  “I admit defeat.” Adept Ninedeaths discontented voice rang out. She was now using all her efforts to dodge. Only now did the Sloppy Daoist come to a halt. The turtle-shell runes covering his body disappeared as well as he returned to normal.

  The dirty face of Adept Ninedeaths was filled with resentment and an unwillingness to accept this. She looked towards the Sloppy Daoist: “Sloppy Daoist; your level of comprehension of the Dao is limited, and whether I am attacking or defending, I can handle you. So why is it that this last technique of yours became increasingly hard for me to withstand…until in the end, I had to admit defeat?”

  The Sloppy Daoist just laughed. This was a battle technique he had developed after gaining insight into the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability. When he had been transmitted this Grand Black Tortoise divine ability, he had sworn an oath to the Dao of the Heavens that without permission, he absolutely wouldn’t teach anyone any part of it at all. This technique involved some of the profound mysteries of the Grand Black Tortoise divine ability; naturally, he couldn’t teach it to anyone else.

  “What is the name of this sort of battle technique?” Adept Ninedeaths quickly asked.

  “Wavefolding!” The Sloppy Daoist responded to her.

  “Wavefolding…one wave after another, folding onto each other…I was trapped within the waves, and death was the only way out…I clearly wasn’t weaker than you, but I was still defeated…wavefolding…wavefolding…” Adept Ninedeaths walked away, murmuring the word ‘wavefolding’ to herself. She even had a sudden feeling…that if she could comprehend the mysteries of this ‘wavefolding’, then she would have a chance to overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become a Celestial Immortal!

  This was a stroke of luck for her! But if she was unable to comprehend it, then in this life, her ninth life, she would probably once more fail the tribulation!

  ……

  Within the Skylight Palace’s main hall. The nearly thousand-strong Celestial Immortal Patriarchs were all frowning. Although they were very experienced, even they couldn’t understand what had just happened. Clearly, these two were both on par with each other in terms of divine abilities, comprehension of the Dao, and Fiendgod Body Refining techniques. In fact, Adept Ninedeaths was even at a slight advantage. So why, in the end, had she been defeated like this?

  It had seemed as though Adept Ninedeaths had walked into an endless tide; no matter how much she struggled, it was useless. In the end, the tide had completely drowned her.

  “What was that?”

  “How could that have happened?”

  “I don’t understand.”

  The Celestial Immortals all felt that there were strange mysteries to what had just happened. It should have been some sort of battle art they just saw, but none of them could comprehend it.

  “He truly lives up to being the disciple of Grand Emperor Xuanwu.” This was the only thing they could come up with.

  ……

  “Wavefolding!” The Xia Emperor and the rest of the nine Pure Yang True Immortals all revealed a look of surprise and amazement.

  “I sigh in amazement. I sigh in amazement!” The Immortal Elder of the Northlands shook his head and sighed with emotion, “This Sloppy Daoist truly has astonishing comprehension abilities. He was even able to comprehend some of the true exquisiteness of this secret art of Grand Emperor Xuanwu’s…when I watched that battle just now, I was even reminded of that scene from back when I was listening to Grand Emperor Xuanwu expound on the Dao.”

  “Truly incredible!” Lu Dongbin sighed in disbelief as well.

  “Formidable.” The Xia Emperor seemed to show a hinit of envy.

  “Grand Emperor Xuanwu…he truly is a major power!” Truelord Chiji’s eyes were filled with admiration.

  At their level, they actually all understood the profound principles behind the Sloppy Daoist’s ‘wavefolding’ technique. This was a technique that constantly circulated and accumulated waves of power; the longer the power was stored up for, the more terrifying the final explosion of power would be! But even if one was taught this technique and completely understood its principles, that didn’t mean one would necessarily be able to use it. This was a matter of heart, a matter of comprehension.

  They all understood some of the profound underlying principles, but as the saying goes, some things are ‘easy to understand, but hard to do’! Understanding was one part; actually executing the technique was something else entirely.

  “We can comprehend the mysteries of this Sloppy Daoist’s ‘wavefolding’ technique, but when the Grand Emperor personally executes it, the profound mysteries are countless times more complicated,” Lu Dongbin sighed. “Grand Emperor Xuanwu’s ‘Grand Black Tortoise’ divine ability…its true exquisiteness lies in a single word; the so-called ‘folding’.”

  ……

  Ning was frowning as he watched. He could vaguely sense that the final battle technique the Sloppy Daoist had used had seemed to contain an utterly heaven-shaking profound mystery. He could even sense that the Grand Dao of Taiji was mixed into it. But Ning himself did not walk upon the Grand Dao of Taiji; he couldn’t understand what he had seen at all.

  “Yu Wei, what do you think?” Ning looked towards the nearby Yu Wei; she herself was walked upon the Grand Dao of Taiji.

  “I don’t understand it. It is very profound, unfathomably so. I can vaguely sense the exquisite essence of the Grand Dao of Taiji, but that’s just one part of this secret art. I imagine that eldest apprentice-brother has only mastered the tiniest portion of this secret art.” Yu Wei completely couldn’t understand the technique either; she couldn’t get the slightest bit of insight into it.

  ……

  The Celestial Immortals were puzzled, while Ning and the others were completely baffled. Just like that…this battle ended.

  One of the top six had been determined…the Sloppy Daoist!

  Rumble…

  Suddenly, a ripple of the Dao descended within the main hall of the Skylight Palace.

  “Eh?”

  Everyone’s gazes turned in unison to stare at the point where the Dao-ripple had descended. They saw Cangwu Jiu, seated in the lotus position behind a Celestial Immortal Patriarch of the Cangwu clan. In the area around him, a hint of a black wind could vaguely be seen.

  “He comprehended a Dao?”

  “He comprehended yet another complete Dao-Path?”

  “He actually comprehended a complete Dao-Path by watching that battle?”

  Everyone present was completely astonished. Generally speaking, it was fairly common for someone to suddenly make a breakthrough during the course of a battle, but Cangwu Jiu had just been watching the battle. In that tense atmosphere, he had actually gained sudden mastery over a complete Dao-Path?

  Ning, Xiamang Zishan, Youngflame Zhan, Adept Blackstone, Adept Woodpass, Adept Whitedragon, Adept Goldcrow, and the rest of the twelve Wanxiang Adepts all sensed a new threat.

  Cangwu Jiu had been very powerful to begin with. And now, he had mastered yet another complete Dao-Path….and in doing so had immediately become a truly formidable foe!

  ……

  “But, but…” The Grand Xia Emperor, seated atop his throne above the others, shook his head and laughed bitterly. He looked towards the other eight Pure Yang True Immortals. “Everyone, how do you think I should arrange these next battles? With this breakthrough, he has now mastered five complete Dao-Paths. In addition, this breakthrough was in one of the Daos of the Win
d, one of the Five Elements. He was already exceptionally fast; he now will be even more formidable.”

  He had already come up with a plan for matching up duelists. But Cangwu Jiu’s sudden mastery of a new Dao-Path, combined with the fact that he was already very formidable…this made him an even more shocking competitor.

  “I view Cangwu Jiu quite positively,” Lu Dongbin said with a laugh. “He was actually able to make a breakthrough just by watching a battle…I imagine that his level of luck must be quite high as well. He was already quite formidable, and had never exploded forth with his full power; now that he has made another breakthrough, I imagine that his power is most likely not inferior to even the likes of Adept Ninedeaths.”

  “This is going to be trouble.” The Grand Xia Emperor was pondering. He immediately made some slight mental adjustments to the pairings he had come up with earlier. He had originally ranked Cangwu Jiu as number eight or nine amongst the twelve, but now he ranked him somewhere around the third or fourth.

  ……

  A sudden breakthrough in the main hall of the Skylight Palace…this naturally attracted quite a bit of attention. The Celestial Immortal Patriarch of the Cangwu Clan had extremely long eyebrows, and he was currently extremely excited. He stared at Cangwu Jiu, this disciple of his clan. Upon seeing him open his eyes, the Celestial Immortal immediately said, “Good, good, good. Jiu, child, this is an excellent breakthrough. For you to make a sudden breakthrough here in the Skylight Palace must be the arrangement of the heavens; this time, you’ll definitely make the top three.”

  The Celestial Immortal Patriarch was almost able to visualize how glorious the Cangwu clan would be in the future.

  Why did the Cangwu clan necessarily have to submit to the Xiamang clan? With Daofather Crimsonbright supporting them, in the future the Cangwu clan would be able to grow and develop to the point where they would be able to sit down with the Xiamang clan as equals.

  “The second duel in the fourth round shall see Adept Whitedragon of the Divine Dragon Mountain against Cangwu Jiu of the Cangwu clan.” The Xia Emperor’s voice suddenly echoed in the main hall of the Skylight Palac as well as the vast imperial citadel plaza below.

  * * *

  Book 12, Chapter 26 - Ji Ning Battles Youngflame Zhan

  Cangwu Jiu against Adept Whitedragon!

  Every person who had battled through the Conclave of Immortal Destiny to this point was a peerless genius. As if by unspoken agreement, they had all but given up using divine will attacks or spell-based attacks against each other! This was because using magic treasures and elemental ki was not enough to threaten their foes; they all had to rely on divine abilities to battle. Ji Ning had given up the [Lesser Thousand Swords Formation] as well!

  BOOM! WHOOSH!

  Cangwu Jiu and Adept Whitedragon were battling savagely against each other. Both of them used [Heavenly Transformation] and [Three Heads, Six Arms], then each unleashed their respective divine abilities.

  Adept Whitedragon had completely transformed into a snowy white divine dragon, while Cangwu Jiu had exploded forth with a level of speed that was utterly amazing. The only thing that could be seen was a howling wind which flashed with streaks of lightning. Within the berserk lightning, the vague form of Cangwu Jiu could be barely made out. He flashed forward repeatedly at an utterly astonishing speed…it was as though a group of Cangwu Jius were fighting against this single snowy white divine dragon!

  “What terrifying speed.”

  “What shocking agility.”

  Everyone was secretly amazed.

  Ning, Xiamang Zishan, the Sloppy Daoist, and the others all felt their hearts sink. In terms of speed, Cangwu Jiu had always been ranked number one in this Conclave! Now, with this additional new breakthrough, his speed and agility had reached an unfathomable new level.

  In close combat, speed and agility were even more important than strength!

  “What a terrifying Cangwu Jiu.”

  “A single overwhelming advantage can be used to great effect everywhere. Just by relying on his absolute advantage in speed and agility, he is an extremely terrifying foe.”

  ……

  There was no question about it. In t his battle between two powerful Fiendgod Body Refiners, Cangwu Jiu could attack when he wished and could retreat when he wished; he completely controlled the tempo of battle! Although Adept Whitedragon was powerful, in the face of Cangwu Jiu’s agility and speed, he had no tactical options available at all. In the end…he was defeated.

  The second of the sixth finalists in this Conclave had been chosen…Cangwu Jiu!

  “Goodd, good, good!” The long-browed Celestial Immortal Patriarch of the Cangwu clan grew even more excited, and his eyes gleamed with light. He was a Celestial Immortal; naturally, he could tell that although by this point there shouldn’t be any tremendous differences in power amongst the finalists, Cangwu Jiu was able to make his enemies helpless against him, thanks to his tremendous advantage in speed. If this continued…he would definitely be in the top three as well.

  The Grand Xia Emperor spoke out once more. “The third duel in the fourth battle…Ji Ning of the Black-White College shall battle Youngflame Zhan of the Youngflame clan!”

  His voice echoed forth everywhere.

  Ning was seated by King Yan. His pupils contracted. Youngflame Zhan? The Youngflame clan? It was well-publicized that he had a major feud against the Youngflame clan…and his opponent would actually be Youngflame Zhan?

  “Ji Ning.” Yu Wei held Ning’s hand in her own as she looked at him. “Be careful.”

  “Right.” Ning nodded.

  By now, none of the remaining opponents could be underestimated.

  On the other side.

  Patriarch Arcanum’s face had changed slightly as well. Ji Ning? He had long ago desired to find a chance to get rid of Ji Ning, but compared to the chance of having a clansman becoming the disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright, getting rid of Ji Ning was much less important. He had put that in the back of his mind, and his entire focus was on Youngflame Zhan making the top three.

  “Zhan, child.” Patriarch Arcanum looked at Youngflame Zhan, who was by his side. He instructed mentally, “This Ji Ning is a Sword Immortal; he’s most skilled in attacking and battling. There is no need for you to fight him head on…and your talents don’t lie in fighting head on either. Use your strengths to strike as his weaknesses. You absolutely can win.”

  Youngflame Zhan nodded gently as well. This battle…it was more important than life or death!

  Whoosh. Youngflame Zhan immediately walked over towards the outside of the main hall.

  ……

  “Xiamang, when you instructed Ji Ning and Youngflame Zhan fight…why is it that I felt as though the atmosphere within the Skylight Palace became a bit strange? Those Celestial Immortals seem to be looking at Ji Ning and Youngflame Zhan in a rather queer manner,” Lu Dongbin said, puzzled.

  The other Pure Yang True Immortals had noticed this as well.

  The Xia Emperor laughed loudly, “Everyone, you don’t know this, but there is a feud between Ji Ning and the Youngflame clan. To be honest, it’s actually become a bit of a legend.”

  “Legend?” Lu Dongbin and the others all began to listen carefully.

  All of these True Immortals had arrived after this Conclave had already begun; they didn’t have much of an understanding regarding these Wanxiang-level geniuses of the Grand Xia Dynasty. Naturally, they didn’t know of the matters between Ning and the Youngflame clan. The only reason the Grand Xia Emperor himself knew about it was because he had collected intelligence reports on all of the geniuses, which was why he learned of it.

  “The Youngflame clan had a member known as Youngflame Nong, who was going to be their next clan leader…”

  “……”

  “…and in the end, that Deathsworn which the Youngflame clan sent out ended up being killed by this Ji Ning’s Primaltwin,” the Xia Emperor said with a loud laugh. “So…you now understand t
he feud between Ji Ning and the Youngflame clan, yes?”

  The other Pure Yang True Immortals now all understood.

  “Xiamang, that’s a nasty little trick. You know that there is a feud between them, and yet you intentionally set them up against each other. Still…given that such a feud exists, they are definitely going to fight even more insanely against each other.”

  “Mm. This battle is definitely going to be quite exciting.”

  ……

  Two of the six finalists had already been determined. Ji Ning and Youngflame Zhan; only one of them could enter the final six! So long as they could enter the final six…they would be very close to becoming the three victors. Just one step away!

  “The disciple of Daofather Crimsonbright should be me.” Youngflame Zhan’s gaze was cold. He was a very low-key person; in the younger generation of the Youngflame clan, the most famous person had been Youngflame Nong. He, Youngflame Zhan, had kept his head down and focused on quietly training; his goal had always been to overcome the Celestial Tribulation and become an immortal, free, unconstrained Celestial Immortal!

  He had never held that playboy, Youngflame Nong, in any regard at all. Youngflame Nong merely relied on the affection of the Patriarch; he would only be able to dominate for a period of time.

  “To become a disciple of a Daofather…this is indeed a chance that rarely comes even after a thousand reincarnations. I have to seize it.” Youngflame Zhan walked into the grand sealing formation, then stared at the distant Ji Ning.

  ……

  “The Three Realms are unfathomably mysterious. After I become Daofather Crimsonbright’s disciple and have the guidance of a Daofather, I shall be able to advance along my path in a faster, more stable manner!” Ji Ning knew very well that personal hard work and comprehension abilities were only part of it; luck and fate were another part. For example, if he hadn’t had the [Nuwa Painting] visualization technique as he had worked hard under the tutelage of his father, Ji Yichuan…although he still might have been able to surpass his father and become a major figure of Stillwater Commandery after a few centuries, it was thanks to the [Nuwa Painting] that his rise to prominence had become more than ten times faster!