Desolate Era

by RWX

  “Eh?” Princess Xiyue was startled.

  “This Ji Ning…” A hint of anger instantly flashed past young master Yunpeng’s eyes. He had been wooing Princess Xiyue this entire time, and had been relying on his wealth to do so! For Ning to suddenly plan to give her gifts as well…if his gifts were more valuable, then that would be the same as crushing him underfoot.

  The nearby Feng Yungu raised his head to give Ning a glance as well.

  Fairy Azurewillow said, “Young master Ji Ning, Xiyue has been hoping for a mobile Immortal estate that she could carry on her person, but even the cheapest of such estates would cost at least five hundred thousand kilograms of liquefied elemental essence. Alas, young master Yunpeng wasn’t quite willing to part with such a sum.”

  Young master Yunpeng’s face instantly turned white.

  Five hundred thousand kilograms wasn’t a small figure; it was enough to purchase an ordinary low-grade Immortal-ranked magic treasure! If he were to casually toss out half a million kilograms just to chase after a girl…if this sort of gift-giving became habitual and he ended up failing, he would probably be out five million kilograms or more! Succeeding was one thing, but failure meant it would have all been for nothing! Although young master Yunpeng was the son of the master of the Windlocked Isles, he still had to calculate his expenditures. The most valuable gift he had given Princess Xiyue was worth merely a hundred or two hundred thousand kilograms or so; over the course of the past half year, all of his gifts combined were worth just barely half a million kilograms.

  “Azurewillow.” Princess Xiyue was rather unhappy.

  “A mobile Immortal estate?” Ning suddenly laughed. “I was once lucky enough to acquire such an estate, but since I already had one, I’ve never used the second one. It’s the perfect present for you, Princess.”

  Ning waved his hand, and a small, exquisitely designed Immortal estate appeared within his palm, glowing with golden light.

  Everyone present turned to look at it.

  “This Immortal estate…?” Everyone was curious. Even young master Yunpeng frowned as he looked at it; none of them could quite tell how valuable it was.

  Ning laughed.

  After he had successfully overcome the fifth level of the Wargod Hall, he had acquired a set of Heaven-ranked magic treasure, the Waterbreaker Godshark Swords. After becoming champion of the Conclave, he had arrived at Mount Innerheart, and during his thirty-plus years there Ning’s [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens] had broken through to the thirteenth stage. Since that represented an advance to the Primal Daoist level, he had been permitted to choose another Heaven-ranked magic treasure from the Treasure Hall.

  By then, Ning already knew that Heaven-ranked magic treasures weren’t going to be of much use to him in the future; what he needed was Immortal-ranked treasures.

  However…Ning couldn’t let this opportunity of choosing a treasure from the Treasure Hall to go to waste. Thus, Ning had chosen an item that was of fairly high value; simply put, he had chosen an item that he could use to sell for a great deal of liquefied elemental essence. Thus, he had chosen a mobile Immortal estate, a ‘Goldlight Immortal Estate’. Ning had been planning to sell it here to trade for Immortal-ranked magic treasures, but he had risen in power more quickly than even he had expected, and had acquired the treasures left behind by that ancient Fiendgod ccorpse. By now, this Goldlight Immortal Estate was nothing to him.

  Ning’s set of Waterbreaker Godshark Swords were worth roughly one million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence! This Goldlight Immortal Estate, however, was on an even higher level of value!

  “What generosity and magnanimity, young friend Ji Ning! Your gift to a beauty is actually an Immortal estate such as this.” The silver-haired man laughed. “This Immortal estate is worth at least four million kilograms of liquefied elemental essence!”

  “Four million kilograms!?” Fairy Azurewillow, who had intentionally been causing some trouble, was shocked as well.

  “That much?” Princess Xiyue felt that this was far too much.

  Young master Yunpeng’s face became even more unsightly. “Four million kilograms…how can this Ji Ning be willing to give up an estate like this? How can he?!”

  He hadn’t even been willing to buy an Immortal estate that was worth half a million kilograms, but now Ning’s very first gift was worth four million kilograms. How could the ‘wealthy’ young master Yunpeng not feel choked?

  “It’s too much. Too much.” Princess Xiyue shook her head hurriedly.

  “This is nothing to me,” Ning laughed. “And I’m preparing to stay at King Yan’s Estate for quite some time; how can I stay for so long without bringing a little gift?”

  “Quite some time?”

  Young master Yunpeng felt even more miserable now.

  He was staying at King Yan’s Estate. If Ning stayed here as well, they would repeatedly run into each other. In terms of reputation…Ning surpassed him, as he had become champion of the Conclave. In terms of background…Ning’s backer was probably more formidable. In terms of personal strength…given that Ning’s Primaltwin had been able to kill Loose Immortals when it had been merely at the Primal Daoist level, there was no need to even compare the two of them. And now in terms of wealth…young master Yunpeng’s wealth had been his greatest source of confidence, but even in this regard, he had been crushed in an utterly dominating manner!

  More importantly of all…

  The princess didn’t like him!

  She would rather marry Feng Yungu than marry him. Previously, young master Yunpeng had felt that he was superior to Feng Yungu in every way, which was why he had felt so confident when staying at King Yan’s Estate. But now…Ji Ning had appeared! Ji Ning crushed in him every aspect, and he appeared to be so close to the princess!

  “Xiyue,” Young master Yunpeng suddenly said.

  “Hm?” Princess Xiyue looked towards him.

  Young master Yunpeng smiled. “I’ve spent quite a bit of time here at the Grand Xia Dynasty. It’s time to go back to the Heaven Realm. Help me convey my thanks to King Yan; I won’t be going back to King Yan’s Estate.”

  “Let’s go!” Young master Yunpeng immediately led his two servants away.

  Just like that…

  Young master Yunpeng departed!

  Princess Xiyue was startled for a moment, and then she looked towards Ning. She sent mentally, “Little brother, this was your plan all along, right? You wanted to force him to leave?”

  “He’s the son of the master of the Windlocked Isles; someone like him is naturally the proud sort. The reason why he was at King Yan’s Estate was because he felt he was superior to Feng Yungu in every way,” Ning sent back. “All I had to do was to make him feel as though he was inferior to me in every single way, as though he would feel miserable every time he saw me. Given that you don’t like him, cousin…of course he would choose to leave on his own, rather than feel angry all the time here!”

  “You…” Princess Xiyue sent resignedly, “Fine. Since you’ve chased off that little rich boy, you can put away your mobile Immortal estate. This is a critical point in time for you; you’ll need many treasures for the upcoming storm.”

  “Cousin, I gave you this Immortal estate, which means it is yours! A few million kilograms is a minor sum to me now; compared to this arrow of mine, it is worth far, far less. In addition, I’ve received an extra fifteen million kilograms today; there’s no need for you to refuse, cousin,” Ning sent back.

  Princess Xiyue looked towards Ning.

  “And…I really don’t want you to force yourself to suffer. Even if you are to choose a Dao-companion, you should choose someone you like. Don’t casually choose someone like this Feng Yungu,” Ning sent mentally. “Don’t let yourself suffer any further.”

  Princess Xiyue suddenly felt an ache in her heart. She couldn’t prevent the tears from coming to her eyes.

  “Treasures, liquefied elemental essence…your little brother has them!” />
  “If enemies come…your little brother will help you kill them!”

  “Take this Immortal estate, elder sister. In the future, when your little brother grows even stronger…forget about Immortal-ranked magic treasures, I’ll even be able to casually gift you with a set of ten Pure Yang treasures,” Ning sent solemnly.

  Princess Xiyue looked at Ning. “Alright.”

  Ning smiled.

  The resurrection of the Yuchi clan!

  This wasn’t just his cousin’s wish; this was Ning’s wish as well. Although his mother had never spoken to him of it, Ning could sense that his mother had always been thinking of her Yuchi clan. His mother’s heart was not with the Ji clan; it had always been with her Yuchi clan.

  For the sake of his mother…Ning, too, wished to resurrect the Yuchi clan!

  Thus, this was a task for not just his cousin, but also himself!

  “Xiyue, look at how excited you are. You are so excited that you are crying!” Fairy Azurewillow laughed, “But if someone were to give me a mobile Immortal estate, I’d be extremely excited as well. Young master Ji Ning…” As she spoke, she looked towards Ning.

  “I found a Dao-companion long ago,” Ning said hurriedly.

  “Oh. I heard about this; the Rainbowflame Fairy, Yu Wei. She’s Patriarch Lu’s disciple.” Fairy Azurewillow suddenly turned her head as a black-robed elder walked over, respectfully handing over a storage-type bracelet to the silver-haired man.

  The silver-haired man handed it straight to Ning. “Young friend Ji Ning, take a look; are these the items from the list that you needed?”

  “Uncle White, take a look,” Ning said.

  Uncle White nodded. He immediately bound the storage bracelet, then quickly began to scan through the many precious materials within it.

  Someone without sufficient skill wouldn’t be able to set up such peerlessly ferocious formations, even if they had all the necessary materials. Even Uncle White merely understood how to set up these three supreme formations; he didn’t truly understand the mysteries within them. This was because they were simply far too complicated; that was why even True Immortals or Empyrean Gods would find it hard to break through them.

  “Everything’s correct.” Uncle White nodded.

  The nearby silver-haired man instantly smiled, then handed Ning a jade bottle. “There are fifteen million kilograms within.”

  “Then let this arrow go to the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.” Ning handed it over to him.

  “Precisely speaking…it goes to the Xia Emperor,” the silver-haired man said with a laugh.

  Ning was startled for a moment, but then he nodded.

  Behind the Heavenly Treasures Mountain stood the Grand Xia Emperor.

  “Now that this deal is concluded…young friend Ji Ning, if you acquire any other treasures, our Heavenly Treasures Mountain will always welcome you here to sell them. I, Skyfox, will personally come welcome you.” Only now did the silver-haired man tell them his name.

  “Skyfox?” Ning was secretly startled. “So it’s him?”

  The Grand Xia Emperor had two spirit-beasts who had become Celestial Immortals. One was a skyfox, and it was this skyfox who had established the Heavenly Treasures Mountain for the Grand Xia Emperor. He was in complete control of the Heavenly Treasures Mountain.

  ……

  Within the darkness of space.

  A blurred figured was seated in the lotus position. Suddenly, a silver-haired man appeared out of nowhere within the void.

  “Master, here is the arrow which Ji Ning just traded to our Heavenly Treasures Mountain.” The silver-haired man respectfully offered the arrow. The flaming arrow hovered there in space, emanating ripples of power.

  “This arrow…this is a Firetruth Arrow. It is the most famous type of arrow which was created by Divine Archer ‘Qi’ [1. Qi was the son of Yu the Great, founding emperor of the the historical Xia Dynasty.] of the Primordial Era. Even I would perish under the power of a single one of these arrows,” the black-robed Xia Emperor said in a low voice.

  He was of the lineage of the Primordial Imperial Clan, and had lived through that period of time. Even in the Primordial World of Pangu, there were only a few extremely famous divine archers. All of them had their own specialties, and anyone could recognize their arrows at a single glance.

  “When Pangu’s World was shattered, the most powerful treasures were quickly seized away by the various major powers. Since Ji Ning has acquired one of these arrows…then he most likely has a connection to one of those major powers; otherwise, how could he have acquired a treasure like this?! In addition, Ji Ning didn’t apprentice himself to anyone in Daofather Crimsonbright’s league…but Master actually ordered me not to investigate this matter. Ji Ning must have a Daofather behind him.”

  “Keep a close eye on Ji Ning. The Three Realms are currently in a state of chaos; Ji Ning can become our friend, but he absolutely must not become our enemy.” The black-robed Xia Emperor’s voice echoed forth within the darkness of the void.

  * * *

  Book 14, Chapter 9 - Laying Down the Formations

  “Cousin, no need to send me off.”

  Ji Ning was bidding Princess Xiyue farewell in midair.

  “Didn’t you say earlier that you were going to stay at King Yan’s Estate for an extended period of time? Why are you leaving after shopping at the Heavenly Treasures Mountain?” Princess Xiyue truly didn’t wish to part with him. Her grandfather, King Yan, had just recently become a Celestial Immortal; thus, he spent much of his time in secluded meditation, and rarely had time to accompany her. In addition, Ji Ning was of a similar age to her; there were many topics she could discuss with him but not her grandfather. Naturally, she wanted him to stay longer by her side.

  “Given that the Grand Xia world is now filled with dangerous undercurrents, I need to go back as soon as possible and set up layers of formations around the Ji clan’s Swallow Mountain region,” Ning said. “I will permanently stay in the Swallow Mountain region. If you are free, you can come visit me there.”

  “Permanently?” Princess Xiyue was surprised.

  “Right.” Ning nodded.

  He had acquired many techniques at Mount Innerheart, be it Ki Refining, Fiendgod Body Refining, or sword-arts manuals. All of them provided guidance towards the level of Daofather of the Great Firmament. He also had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art], the [Starseizing Hand], [Houyi’s Archery], and the [Torch Dragon’s Eye], some of the most supreme divine abilities of the Three Realms. He needed to spend time on training these techniques.

  Given that the Three Realms were about to be engulfed by a storm…Ning did indeed plan to permanently live at Serpentwing Lake as he awaited Yu Wei’s return.

  “That’s good. I’ll be able to find you there whenever I want. You need to be careful; my grandfather also told me that the world has been quite chaotic lately. Even multiple Celestial Immortals have perished,” Princess Xiyue said.

  “I know. Don’t worry. Others might be able to kill Celestial Immortals, but killing me will be very difficult,” Ning said.

  “Oh?” Princess Xiyue revealed a look of surprise.

  Ning laughed. “Don’t forget that I just returned after studying with my master. Alright, enough talk; I need to go now.”

  And then, Ning led Little Qing and Uncle White in using a spatial teleportation to vanish from the air above the imperial capital of the Grand Xia.

  “This little brother of mine…it seems as though these thirty-plus years have been extraordinary for him.” Princess Xiyue let out a relieved sigh. The more powerful Ning became, the more relaxed she would be. “However…his words were a bit too much. ‘Others might be able to kill Celestial Immortals, but killing him will be very difficult’? It’s like he’s implying he’s more powerful than Celestial Immortals. I imagine that his master probably bestowed some sort of protective item upon him.”

  Swoosh.

  Princess Xiyue charged downwards towards her residence, flyi
ng back into King Yan’s Estate.

  This time, Princess Xiyue’s guess was wrong. In terms of power, Ning truly was on the level of a Celestial Immortal Patriarch by now. Most importantly of all, Ning had trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art]; it would be extremely difficult for others to injure him. And through the ‘Seventy-Two Transformations’ the arcane art permitted…if he transformed into the Grand Xia Emperor, even King Yan probably wouldn’t be able to tell any difference at all.

  This was why, generally speaking, those who trained in the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] were incredibly talented in staying alive. Ning’s training in the arcane art was the reason why Patriarch Subhuti had permitted Ning to depart from his tutelage.

  ……

  “Master, Ji Ning suddenly left Stillwater City and headed towards the imperial capital.”

  “The imperial capital remains the most dangerous place in the Grand Xia world for us. That’s not the place for the assassination. Continue to watch over him.”

  “Yes.”

  ……

  Swallow Mountain.

  After using a spatial teleport to return here from the imperial capital of the Grand Xia, Ning immediately summoned the high-level Ji clansmen. The latest generation of Wanxiang Adepts and Zifu Disciples were all clustered together in one hall, including the likes of Ji Mo and the others who had been provided guidance by Ning. Now that the clan had a stable footing, all of their talents received good resources for cultivation; their situation was far better than the situation had been in the past for Ji Ninefire, Ji Truekeep, and the others. Thus Ji Mo, for example, had already become a Wanxiang Adept.

  Only upon being summoned here did they learn that Ji Ning had returned! All of them were utterly overcome with joy. The younger generation of Ji clansmen had long ago begun to idolize Ning; after all, becoming the champion of the Conclave was something out of legends! That was an event where the geniuses of the entire world came together in a competition!