Desolate Era

by RWX

  “I wasn’t able to find Fuxi and the others…however, towards the east I can see some signs of a battle.”

  Swish. Ning immediately transformed into a black lightning serpent, instantly flying more than two hundred thousand kilometers east towards the region which had been scarred by battle.

  By ‘east’, Ning was referring to the direction from which the Solar Star would rise. Thus, in the Three Realms and in the Primordial Ruinworld, east meant a different direction for different worlds.

  “Here?” Ning stood there in midair, staring down at the vast basin below him. The basin was shaped like an enormous palm print that was more than a thousand kilometers wide, and the ground below it was completely scorched black. “A palm? Could it be that Tathagata launched a strike?”

  “Reverse.” Ning immediately willed a temporal inversion to begin.

  In places like the Primordial Ruinworld where the Heavenly Daos did not exist it was extremely difficult to use temporal inversion techniques. However, as Ning had slowly gained more insight into the Nine Chaos Seals, he was instantly able to see into the past history of most mortals. He had gained the ability to easily seeing into the past, which was really the fundamental essence of how the ‘temporal inversion’ technique worked.

  Thus, Ning was able to easily accomplish the temporal inversion.

  Whoosh. Whoosh.

  Many images of the past began to flash past Ning. Soon, time had ‘inverted’ back to a point where four major powers had appeared in this place.

  Those four major powers were led by the smiling yellow-robed Lord Buddha, Tathagata. By his side were three other Buddhas, each of which glowed with boundless holy light.

  “Darkstill, you think to stop us with small tricks such as these?” Tathagata flew forward atop an auspicious cloud, a smile on his face as he spoke. “Hurry up and show yourself. Otherwise…your Darkstill world won’t exist for much longer.” As he spoke, he stretched out his hand. Shining with golden light, his hand descended from the heavens and smashed downwards towards the land.

  The ground trembled violently as a massive palm-sized basin was imprinted deep into the earth.

  “Tathagata!” An ear-piercing screech rang out, but it was quickly silenced.

  “Thearch Darkstill is one of the most famous major powers of the Primordial Ruinworld. We’re destroying the various formation bases located throughout his world, but he still refuses to show himself? He must be scheming something big,” Tathagata said.

  “Lord Buddha, there’s no need to worry about his plots and schemes. Let us continue to destroy their worlds, one by one.”

  “Let’s go.” Tathagata nodded, then led his three mighty Buddhas to continue forward to their next destination, flying off on that auspicious cloud.

  A short while later.

  Swoosh. Swoosh. Swoosh. One gray-skinned, gray-cloaked alien Outsider after another descended from the heavens. They landed within the basin, then exchanged glances with each other, their eyes filled with cold rage. They then flew off as well, heading in the same direction which Tathagata and the others had just gone.

  ……

  After Ning finished viewing what had happened here roughly two hours ago, he nodded slightly. “The leader of the Buddhist Sangha and Human Sovereign Fuxi became overlord-level figures during the Primordial Era. Even though they haven’t broken through to become Elder Gods, their techniques have surely become much better. With them in command, and with their forces split up into four squads…no single world in the Primordial Ruinworld can possibly withstand all of them at once.”

  Swoosh. Ning also flew towards the direction where the others had gone.

  ……

  Although the Darkstill world was located in a region of relatively stable spacetime, there were still many regions in it where spacetime was distorted. The alien Outsiders who lived here were used to these regions and knew them well. There were some regions where only they dared traverse, and they were only able to do so because generations of predecessors had sacrificed their lives to help their race accumulate experience.

  “Someone’s coming.”

  “A white-robed youth.”

  “He’s hesitating a bit. Oh, he’s actually come inside.”

  Three alien Outsiders were gathered together within a region of distorted spacetime, staring past a restrictive formation at the white-robed youth who had just flown in from the outside world.

  “Captain, the Buddhist leader of the Three Realms, Tathagata, has led three of his Daofathers to attack this world. Why has this white-robed youth appeared?” These three alien Outsiders had pale white skin, handsome faces, and were dressed in gray cloaks. All of them were top-tier Empyrean Gods in power, and they were skilled in fleeing through space.

  “Judging from his appearance…it should be Sword Immortal Darknorth of the Three Realms, Ji Ning.” The alien captain frowned. “Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning…his sword-arts are extremely profound, said to be the best in the entire Three Realms. However, he himself is just a True Immortal, and his true body has already been destroyed by the Seamless Gate. The one who just appeared should be his Primaltwin. Judging from his aura, he should still be just a True Immortal. But I’m puzzled…why would a True Immotal dare to brave our Primordial Ruinworld by himself? Is he planning to just rely on his Rahu Formation? The Heavenly Daos do not exist in the Primordial Ruinworld; there’s not much natural energy for the Rahu Formation to make use of. It won’t be nearly as powerful as it was in the Three Realms.”

  “Captain, he’s advancing quite quickly. He’ll be past our observation range soon,” one of the alien Outsiders quickly reminded.

  It was extremely hard to set up an observation formation within a field of distorted spacetime. There was no way to make it have an extremely long detection range.

  “Let’s go test him out.” Beneath his gray cloak, the alien captain had a cold look on his face. “Let’s see how powerful this Pure Yang True Immortal is.”

  The three of them quickly flew out in pursuit.

  ……

  A few moments later, all three of them were dead.

  Ning stood quietly within the Void, giving each of their corpses a glance. “Chase me?” He was a half-step Elder God. How acute were his senses? As soon as those three alien Outsiders had gotten slightly closer to him, he had immediately discovered them. These three puny Empyrean God pawns…Ning had easily killed two of them, then heavily wounded the third one. He had planned to soulscour the third one, but alas the alien had voluntarily destroyed his own soul.

  ……

  Deep within the Primordial Ruinworld, within a round castle that glowed with dark golden light.

  An alien major power was seated atop a throne here. He had a long green tail, a bald head, and handsome features. He was resting his head on his one hand, contemplating as he tapped the armrest of the throne with his free hand. Six golden-armored figures stood solemnly at attention before him, each of which radiated auras that were far superior to the auras of ordinary Daofathers.

  “These aboriginals really are quite something.” The alien Outsider seated atop the throne let out a congratulatory chuckle. “They actually destroyed twelve of my worlds. The Seamless Gate really is useless. They created all those formations, but not a single one of the True Gods or Daofathers of the Three Realms have died to them. It seems we can’t simply rely on those fools after all. In the end, it’ll be up to us.”

  “Master, this chaosworld has given birth to a World God. We cannot be overconfident.” One of the golden-armored figures standing below him gave a respectful reminder.

  “The ‘Lord of All Things’…it’s all his fault for being an idiot!” The seated alien Outsider laughed coldly. “He spent quite a bit of time roving about the primordial chaos and has seen quite a few chaosworlds. Back then, when Nuwa had yet to become a World God, he should’ve immediately attacked. Instead, he set up a stupid scheme to have the two chaosworlds fight against each other? How bored was
he? Why didn’t he just destroy one chaosworld, then destroy the other? Instead, he started a war that caused these primitives to give birth to a World God. Before she left, she definitely left behind some techniques for her allies.”

  “A chaosworld that had given birth to a World God is not so easily conquered. That’s the reason why I’ve acted so carefully and waited for the perfect opportunity.”

  “Master…how about we just go back for now? Let’s build up our forces before we return. We know exactly where this place is now. When we are more powerful, we can return!” A skinny golden-armored figure suggested.

  Whap!

  The seated alien Outsider’s long green tail suddenly swept out and knocked the golden-armored figure flying.

  The seated alien Outsider pointed at the golden-armored figure and cursed, “You fool! We barely survived the trip here; you really want us to risk the trip back? Unless we make a major breakthrough in strength, if we go back the same way we came in, we are almost guaranteed to die. It’s better for us to join forces with the Seamless Gate and slowly grind down the Nuwa alliance.”

  “Master! Almighty Master!” A voice suddenly called out from outside.

  “Darkstill?” The alien Outsider chortled merrily. “Let him in.”

  Instantly, a gray-skinned, golden-robed man strode in, emanating an aura of great power. It was the master of the Darkstill world, ‘Thearch Darkstill’. He respectfully fell to his knees. “Almighty Master, my minions just discovered that yet another invader with the power of a Daofather has entered the Darkstill world.”

  “Another enemy Daofather has come?” The seated alien outsider frowned. “Who?”

  “He belongs to the Nuwa Alliance of the Three Realms,” Thearch Darkstill said respectfully. “Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning!”

  * * *

  Book 22, Chapter 8 - Godfiend Witherspike

  “Sword Immortal Darknorth, Ji Ning? Sounds familiar.” The alien Outsider leaned back against his throne, resting his head against his palm and muttering to himself. Moments later, his eyes lit up. “I remember now. I believe he’s one of the fastest-rising stars of the Three Realms, supposedly as talented as Houyi was. If memory serves, the Seamless Gate’s intelligence report stated that his true body was destroyed by them. Only his Primaltwin survives.”

  “Primaltwins…I can’t help but feel jealous just thinking about them. Those mortal creatures who slowly rise to power have the chance to form a Primaltwin. We Fiendgods who are born from the primordial chaos don’t even have the chance to do that.” The alien Outsider shook his head and sighed.

  “How can those mortal creatures be compared to you, Master?” One of the six golden-armored figures, a red-bearded elder, immediately spoke out in protest.

  “Ahaha…” The seated alien Outsider laughed loudly, his laughter echoing within the room.

  After he stopped laughing, he looked downwards at the still-kneeling Thearch Darkstill. “Darkstill, you said that he has the power of a True God and Daofather? Isn’t he just a third-tier True Immortal? Low-class True Immortals like him are numerous beyond count in the primordial chaos.”

  “Three of my minions were slain by this Ji Ning. One of them, prior to dying, sent the scenes of his death back to our race,” Thearch Darkstill said respectfully.

  “The scenes of his death?” The seated alien Outsider was intrigued. “Let me take a look.”

  “Yes!” Thearch Darkstill assented respectfully, then pointed towards an empty space nearby. Instantly, moving images began to appear there. The scene displayed the three gray-robed aliens moving forward. Suddenly, a black streak of lightning flashed past them, instantly piercing through their bodies. The black lightning serpent was simply far too fast; although the three of them could sense how dangerous it was and had wanted to flee, they simply weren’t able to escape.

  With a single flash, the black lightning serpent slew two of the three gray-robed figures and heavily injured the third. The scene then switched to that of a white-robed youth reaching his out with his hand, intending to soulscour the survivor. However, the gray-robed survivor instantly committed suicide.

  “Quite fast.” The seated alien Outsider’s eyes lit up. He laughed merrily, “Those fools of the Seamless Gate…they claimed that Ji Ning’s true body was killed. Just now, he used the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent] evasion technique, something which only a Fiendgod can use. Clearly, his true body isn’t dead after all. The exalted Seamless Gate…it couldn’t even handle something as simple as this.”

  “Right. He’s not dead.” One of the gold-armored figures who had just one arm frowned as he spoke. “And for him to be able to use it while slaying three Empyrean Gods in an instant…and he wasn’t even using a sword. Just now, he used his fingers to execute sword-arts. This set of sword-arts…incredible, simply incredible.”

  Thearch Darkstill agreed. “Venerable Saber speaks the truth. In the Three Realms, Ji Ning has been acknowledged as possessing the most profound sword-arts. It is said that he wields fourth-stage swordforce, with the speed of his sword exceeding the limits of the Heavenly Daos.”

  The seated alien Outsider had six retainers, but the only one which Thearch Darkstill truly admired was the single-armed man.

  “No.” The single-armed man shook his head. “He was able to display his sword-arts so easily while using the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]…this level of perfection in the sword isn’t something which someone merely at the fourth stage of swordforce can accomplish. If my guess is correct…he has quite possibly reached the fifth stage of swordforce.”

  “What?”

  “The fifth stage of swordforce?”

  “How is that possible?”

  The golden-armored figures next to him all called out in surprise. Even Thearch Darkstill was stunned.

  The seated alien Outsider frowned as he looked at the one-armed man. “Saber, are you sure?”

  “This is just my conjecture. His sword-arts were too fast, after all, and he used them while executing the [Ninehorn Lightning Serpent]. I wasn’t able to see it too clearly, so I’m just making an educated guess.” After speaking, the one-armed man no longer said a word.

  The seated alien Outsider pondered for a moment.

  He had collected these six retainers while roaming through the endless primordial chaos. Of the six, ‘Saber’ had voluntarily decided to join him in order to repay a debt of gratitude and voluntarily decided to call him ‘Master’. Saber was also the only retainer who this figure truly respected. As for the other five? He hit them and berated them as he pleased.

  Ever since he had arrived at the Primordial Ruinworld, he had easily subjugated and taken control over all of the alien Outsiders here, including the most powerful ones such as Thearch Darkstill.

  “Since Saber is willing to make the claim…it probably really is true,” he murmured to himself.

  There were some similarities between the usage of a sword and the usage of a saber. Both were weapons meant for attacking.

  “If he has fifth-stage swordforce…?” The seated alien Outsider stared into the looping scenes, peering at those three gray-robed figures as they died again and again. “He’s reached such a level despite having trained for less than a thousand years. He really is terrifying. But of course, it’s also possible that Saber’s conjecture is wrong. Still, no matter what, for him to be able to kill those three in such a short period of time means that he definitely has the power of a Daofather.”

  “Intriguing.” The seated alien Outsider chuckled.

  “Blackheaven.” He sent a mental call directly out to Blackheaven. “Come here.”

  Celestial Immortal Blackheaven was relaxing and drinking wine in another part of the castle. This time, he was the one responsible for delivering messages on behalf of the Seamless Gate! This was a golem-body he was using, and so even if it was destroyed he wouldn’t care in the slightest. He naturally was quite relaxed and content.

  “Coming.” Blackheaven picked up the jug of
wine and headed off. No one barred his path, and a short while later he arrived at the place where the alien Outsiders were located.

  “My respectful greetings to you, great Godfiend Witherspike.” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven chortled merrily as he bowed.

  “Each time I see you, I feel happy.” The seated alien Outsider smiled merrily back at him. “That idiot, ‘All Things’…whenever I saw him, he used to put on such stupid airs. I would’ve wiped that idiot out out long ago, if he didn’t have so many subordinates or that pack of utterly unbreakable Envoys. I didn’t have the chance to personally see him die, but whenever I see you, his former treasure-spirit, I feel happy all the same.”

  Celestial Immortal Blackheaven continued to chortle merrily, seemingly not bothered in the slightest.

  He had been enslaved by the Seamless Gate, becoming the personal retainer of the Lord of All Fiends. Why would he be bothered by a bit of jesting from the great Godfiend?

  “You used to be the treasure-spirit for the Blackheaven Cauldron. That idiot had to have used the Blackheaven Cauldron to create the cores of those golems, yes? And you ended up learning those techniques…but now, you’ve been enslaved by the Seamless Gate. What’s the point? I think it’d be better for you if you joined me instead,” the alien Outsider said with a laugh.

  “You?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said in a very uncaring manner, “It doesn’t really matter to me. If you can defeat my master, the Lord of All Fiends, I’d be more than willing to join you.”

  “The Lord of All Fiends?” The alien Outsider frowned.

  A monster.

  The Three Realms really was a place that could give birth to monsters. One of these primitives, Nuwa, had actually been able to force her way into becoming a World God. This was quite a monstrous accomplishment. And the Lord of All Fiends…he had actually been able to flee with a group of experts while being pursued and attacked by a World God. The World God, Nuwa, hadn’t even been able to catch up to him. This was an even more monstrous accomplishment!