Desolate Era

by RWX

At first, Immortal Diancai, Uncle White, Mu Northson, and the others all waited hopefully for his return. However, as more and more time passed, they gradually understood that it truly was hard to say when he would return, or if he would return at all. All they could do…was quietly hope.

  Within the Nihilum Zone.

  Ning was continuing to drift about within the infinite, dark Void. He didn’t dare to allow himself to be swept towards the Primordial Ruinworld by the currents of voidwaves.

  His wandering days were filled with boredom.

  This was because he could not sense the Grand Dao of the Sword, the Grand Dao of the Waterdrop, or any other Daos. There was no way for him to cultivate in the Dao at all; all he could do was occasionally train in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens]. However, there was a limit to how much divine power he could absorb each day and a limit to how much time he could spend in training in it. He couldn’t perpetually train…and so for more than 90% of the time each day, Ning did just one thing:

  Train in archery!

  Swoosh!

  The Rahu Bow was pulled tight. Nint stared at the distant, impending voidwave, his heartforce completely merged into the bow and the arrow. Twang! The arrow shot out through the void.

  Whoosh!

  The arrow moved with lightning speed as it traversed more than a million kilometers, striking hard against the distant voidwave. In the face of the power of the voidwave, however, the arrow was sent flying straight backwards towards Ning’s direction. When shooting an arrow against the flow of the voidwaves, the arrows would return. But if he shot towards any other direction…

  Although these arrows were Immortal-ranked magic treasures which could be controlled through elemental ki, they flew too fast and too far; there was no way Ning would be able to recover them. And so, the only option for him was to shoot straight towards an impending voidwave.

  Day after day. Every single day, he trained in archery.

  Slowly, Ning began to get a better handle on the intricacies behind how [Houyi’s Archery] utilized divine power, especially now that he had all but reached the peak of the ‘iceheart’ level. With such powerful heartforce filling each arrow, the power of each arrow was now greater than his close combat abilities!

  Heartforce…

  It was indeed a type of extremely powerful force. It was the reason why the divine archers of the Three Realms were so terrifying.

  ……

  Ning had spent roughly half a year drifting about within the Nirvana Zone. He had no idea exactly how far he had flown.

  “Eh? What’s that?” Ning could vaguely make out something in the distance. Because the Nirvana Zone was filled with voidwaves and voidstorms, he normally couldn’t see anything else at all.

  “[Torch Dragon’s Eye].”

  Ning’s two eyes instantly began to blaze with torch-fire. He stared far into the distance. Instantly, his sight range began to increase rapidly, allowing him to see a few dim strands of light that had appeared far away within the darkness. Before using this divine ability, Ning was only able to see to a few thousand kilometers, but after using it…all the light of the surrounding area began to gather within his corneas.

  “That is…a continent!!!!” Ning’s face changed slightly.

  That continent was actually tens of millions of kilometers away from Ning. However, because of how utterly vast it was, Ning was still able to just barely make it out with eyes. For example, although the Moon was located very far away from Earth, ordinary mortals on Earth could still see it from afar. Similarly, due to how enormous that continent was, Ning was still able to make it out within the darkness of the void.

  * * *

  Book 16, Chapter 8 - First Contact

  “Can that be part of the Primordial Ruinworld?” Ji Ning instantly thought of this possibility. After all, the Primordial Ruinworld wasn’t a perfect sphere or cube; it had peaks and valleys. It would make sense if he was able to see part of it bulging out.

  “No matter what, I shouldn’t go near it.”

  “The Primordial Ruinworld is incomparably dangerous. Not even True Gods or Daofathers dare to rashly charge into it. It’s best if I stay far away.” Ning knew his own limits; although he had the [Eight-Nine Arcane Art] protecting him, he still didn’t dare to act rashly.

  Whoosh!

  Ning immediately began to move away from that land, pulling away from it.

  Although he was quite curious about the Primordial Ruinworld, Ning knew very well…that curiosity killed the cat!

  ……

  Millions of kilometers away from Ning, within the distant darkness of the Void. A mysterious base was located here, one which was completely invisible to the naked eye.

  Within the base.

  There were numerous tall, muscular, black-scaled warriors with curved, blood-red horns who were seated on thrones. A total of eighteen thrones were hovering in the air. They each sat there silently, their golden eyes focused upon an image within an enormous mirror that hung within the air. The image displayed within the mirror was of Ji Ning, who was flying forward on his own. Ning had just used the [Torch Dragon’s Eye] and had begun to fly farther away, seeking to pull away from the continent.

  “The alien has begun to flee.”

  “Can it be that the alien has discovered us investigating him?”

  “Shouldn’t have; we’ve never seen this alien before. He doesn’t come from our neighboring ‘Quchang’ world, nor does he come from the Heptagod world.” The eighteen mighty warriors chatted calmly with each other in the Fiendgod tongue as they sat there atop their thrones.

  “This part of the Void is the dominion of our world, the Snaphorn world. Even if our neighbors from the Quchang world or the Heptagod world were to send scouts over…they wouldn’t send them flying towards us in such an overt fashion. In addition…he looks very peculiar. His skin actually looks quite soft and tender, and his body is quite tiny.”

  “Can it be a scout that has been been sent from an unknown world?”

  They were all chatting amongst themselves.

  Suddenly, the voice of the highest ranked warrior, the black-caped warrior who was seated at the very end of the eighteen thrones, rang out. “Without question, this newly arrived invader is someone we have never encountered before. He doesn’t belong to any of the neighboring worlds. As to where he comes from…if we capture him, we will know.”

  “Lord Protector, I trust you yourself also saw that this alien is capable of surviving within the voidwinds. In addition, he is enduring the voidwinds through his own physical power, without relying on any outside support. Although his skin seems soft and although he is small…none of us have bodies that can compare to his,” a warrior said.

  “But we have our wisdom.” The highest ranked black-caped warrior said, “Balo, go and lead a pack of your children to test this alien’s abilities. If you can capture him alive, do so; if you cannot, get a full sense of his strengths and weaknesses. This alien is wandering within the part of the Void under our control; the other bases are undoubtedly watching us. Don’t let them laugh at us.”

  “Right.”

  The tall warrior named Balo rose to his feet, then immediately walked out of the palace.

  Every single one of the massive warriors were more than three thousand meters in size. They were like moving mountains, and in their eyes, Ning was like a tiny little dot. However…they knew quite well that their neighbors in the Quchang world and the Heptagod world were not easy to deal with, and that any alien capable of having traversing such a great distance through the Void was most likely not easy to deal with either.

  ……

  Within the silent, dark void. Ning was continuously flying forward, pulling farther and farther away from that land. He had already moved more than a million kilometers away from it, but he had no idea at all…that just six thousand kilometers away from him, an enormous, invisible spaceship was drawing close to him, a vessel that couldn’t even be seen with divine sense.r />
  This enormous ship was more than a hundred kilometers long. Within it, the blood-red horned, black-scaled warrior ‘Balo’ was seated atop his throne. Below him was a group of similar black-scaled warriors, some of which even had enormous scaly wings. However, these warriors all had blood-red eyes, not golden ones. They all just stood there silently.

  “My children,” Balo said.

  “Master.” The ten mighty warriors standing below him all acknowledged his call in unison. They looked very similar to Balo, but they had a pair of wings which he did not, while lacking his curved horn.

  “Go and capture this alien alive. If you cannot…then retreat and return. Remember…don’t kill him!” Balo rubbed his jaw. “He most likely carries many secrets with him. We have to take him alive. Only then can we discover his secrets.”

  “Yes.” The ten blood-eyed warriors all assented respectfully.

  “Also…the next voidstorm is still twelve sectors away from us. You have to return before the voidstorm arrives,” Balo instructed. These minions of his wouldn’t dare to try and withstand the voidstorms of this place; they were tens of millions of kilometers away from their land, and the voidstorms here were still quite powerful.

  The doors of the ship opened.

  The ten blood-eyed warriors immediately flew out from the cabin, almost all of them at least three thousand meters tall. Even the shortest was twenty-four hundred meters tall.

  ……

  “Eh?” Ning, who had been flying through the void, suddenly turned his head. The torch-light blazed within his eyes. When the door to the spaceship opened, it was revealed. One after the other, the tall, muscular, black-armored warriors with giant wings and blood-red eyes came flying out of the ship at an utterly astonishing speed.

  “There are living creatures here?” Ning was startled.

  In the past half year, he had never encountered any other living creatures within the Nihilum Zone. And now, a large ship had suddenly appeared, as well as ten seemingly mighty figures that looked like Fiendgods.

  “There shouldn’t be any living creatures within the Nihilum Zone. Then…” Ning’s heart clenched. “These living creatures must’ve entered the Void through the Primordial Ruinworld.”

  The Primordial Ruinworld was extremely large; it was possible that there were some creatures which lived close to its margins. Because they lived at the borders, they were able to enter the infinite Void…but the terrifying voidwaves were simply too powerful. Based on what the Rahu Bow and the giant yellow bear had deduced, most likely only True Gods or Daofathers would be able to fly about within the Nihilum Zone.

  “Alien!”

  The ten enormous figures flew out, and as they did they sent out their divine sense as well.

  “The Fiendgod tongue?” Ning immediately realized noticed this. Although the Fiendgod tongue was complex and hard to learn, Ning had mastered it long ago.

  “Can it be that you do not understand us?” The ten massive figures stared at Ning. The large ship was drawing closer as well; it was now only a thousand kilometers away from Ning.

  Ning didn’t respond. He just looked back at them.

  “Since he doesn’t understand…then let’s just go ahead and capture him first.” Instantly, one of the massive, blood-eyed warriors manifested a giant whip within his hands. He flew straight towards Ning.

  “Stay your hands!” Only now did Ning send out his own divine sense, speaking in the Fiendgod tongue.

  The massive, blood-eyed warrior instantly came to a halt, a hint of amusement in his blood-red eyes. “So you can understand after all, alien.”

  “I merely do not wish to fight you,” Ning said.

  “Then why have you trespassed into the space that belongs to our Snaphorn world?” The blood-eyed warrior instantly asked. The other nine blood-eyed warriors simply watched silently. Their assignment was to capture this alien…it was best to first test him and see what his strengths were, and so they were quite willing to spend some time chatting with this alien.

  The more they spoke, the more they would learn about him.

  “I trespassed by accident,” Ning said. “I do not wish to be enemies with you.”

  “Trespassed by accident? If that’s the case, come with us and go see our master,” the blood-eyed warrior said.

  “There’s no way I will leave with you.” Ning shook his head.

  Was this a joke? There was no way Ning would dare to casually barge into the Primordial Ruinworld. That was a place filled with dangers that could wipe out True Gods or Daofathers.

  “If that’s the case…we’ll have to take you back by force.” The ten blood-eyed warriors simultaneously made their move. Five of them were more than three thousand meters tall, while the other five were around twenty-four hundred meters tall. The shorter, weaker-looking warriors simultaneously opened their mouths, emitting a soundless roar.

  Rumble…

  An invisible ripple spread out, instantly washing over Ning’s entire body. Ning didn’t even have a clue as to how he was supposed to resist this sort of attack.

  “Is this some sort of hypnotic ability?” When the ripple reached him, Ning instantly understood. However, he was a Fiendgod as well; his divine soul and the flesh of his divine body had been completely fused together into an incomparably stable whole. In addition, Ning’s Dao-heart had withstood even the karmic sinflames; how could this sort of hypnotic ability possibly control him?

  “We’re unable to control him. His spirit is extremely powerful.”

  “Take him by force.”

  The five shorter warriors all sent out mental messages.

  “Fine.”

  The five taller warriors all produced long whips in their hands, each whip more than nine thousand meters long.

  Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

  Their whips cracked out, lashing through the void towards Ning.

  A Darknorth sword appeared in Ning’s hand. He didn’t even use the [Starseizing Hand] as he used the sword to block the attacking whips.

  Bang bang bang bang bang! A series of concussive sounds; Ning simultaneously blocked all five whips.

  “These warriors look like Fiendgods. In terms of strength…they are a bit weaker than me when I’m not using any divine abilities.” Ning nodded to himself. “They should be considered just barely equivalent to Void-level Fiendgods.”

  Swoosh!

  Ning made his move. The divine power within his body began to activate in accordance with the method contained within the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens]. Although he was unable to borrow any of the power of Heaven and Earth to aid him, his physical speed was already quite fast. In addition, the Darknorth sword in Ning’s hand instantly expanded to become more than nine hundred meters long. Given how large his foes were, if his sword wasn’t long enough, it would be quite hard for him to injure his foes.

  Ning instantly flashed past the bodies of the five warriors.

  Five streaks of sword-light flashed!

  The heads of all five of the three thousand meter tall warriors went flying.

  “What tough bodies. They seem to be even tougher than Void-level Fiendgods who haven’t trained in any divine abilities.” Ning could sense that his Darknorth swords met with quite a bit of resistance as it chopped through their heads. Although he didn’t have the power of the natural world to aid him, in terms of his sword techniques, he was at a vastly higher level than his foes. After all, the Dao of the Sword…was all about how to actually use and apply the sword.

  “Eh?”

  Ning realized, to his amazement, that green blood was pouring out from the necks of the five giant blood-eyed warriors. Their mouths were twitching…and then they simply floated away through the void, their bodies devoid of any auras.

  “Dead?” Ning was completely puzzled. “Seems like they aren’t Fiendgods.” Generally speaking, humans and monsters would die when their heads were severed, but killing Fiendgods required much more effort.

  …�
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  The horned warrior within the distant spaceship chuckled when he saw this. “Blaze, my children.”

  ……

  Instantly, the five shorter blood-eyed warriors in front of Ning all bellowed, “Damn you, alien!” Their bodies began to glow with blurry green light. Their auras began to explosively increase in power, and within their hands appeared slender silver chains. Twirling the chains, they moved to encircle Ning.

  “Their auras seem to have grown more powerful? Can it be that they are going all out?” Ning mused to himself.

  Clang!

  The chains collided with Ning’s sword.

  From this first collision…Ning was knocked flying backwards.

  “Without using any divine abilities…I’m actually physically weaker than them.” Ning immediately used the [Obscuring Wind of the Nine Heavens] to fly past the five blood-eyed warriors, moving away from them. At the same time, five enormous streaks of sword-light flashed past their necks. In terms of sword-arts…Ning was simply at too high a level. With his utterly astonishing speed, they truly were completely unable to stop him.

  These five blood-eyed warriors also collapsed, their bodies beginning to float about within the Void, devoid of all life.

  ……

  The horned warrior, Balo, nodded lightly to himself from his position within the spaceship. “His strength is Earth-level, but his speed is astonishing; it can be considered Heaven-level. He uses the sword, and his sword-arts are at an extremely high level; they, too, should be considered Heaven-level. Of course…I can’t exclude the possibility that he has some ability to increase his power dramatically. He’s no cannon fodder; he’s definitely an elite. I wonder which world actually sent him out to explore all by his lonesome? Still…fortunately, he’s not TOO powerful. If he was truly powerful, he would’ve been able to annihilate all ten of them in a single blow. Mmm…time to go back to the base. I lost ten of my minions this time; I need to raise a new crop!”

  Rumble…

  The spaceship immediately turned invisible, once more flying back to the base at high speed.