Desolate Era

by RWX

  “How could I be? Our Nuwa Alliance has gained yet another powerful general. I couldn’t be happier!” Thundergod replied honestly.

  Subhuti nodded.

  Although Thundergod was a stubborn, solitary, and arrogant figure, his loyalty to the Nuwa Alliance was absolutely beyond reproach. In the end…it had been Subhuti’s dear old friend, Old Man Yuan, a figure far more powerful than Thundergod, who had ended up vacillating between the two sides. To this very day, he still had yet to join the Nuwa Alliance.

  “My old friend…I truly don’t wish to end up in a fight to the death against you,” Subhuti murmured to himself.

  ……

  This was a damaged, badly ravaged planet, but there were two major powers present here.

  An old man with a red nose was seated in the lotus position in front of a thatched cottage. Before him was a small table, and across from him sat the white-bearded Subhuti. This was one of Subhuti’s incarnations.

  “Congratulations. Your disciple actually reached the fifth stage of swordforce.” The red-nosed elder sighed with emotion. “A pity, such a pity. I knew all along that Ji Ning’s potential was extraordinarily. I really wanted to take him on as my disciple, but you refused to accept.”

  “I didn’t actually refuse you,” Subhuti said. “I told you; so long as you joined our side, you could immediately take on Ji Ning as your disciple. But you refused to accept.”

  “I still cannot accept.” Old Man Yuan shook his head.

  “Hmph.”

  Subhuti let out a cold laugh. “We’ve been fighting against the Seamless Gate for so long now. You should be able to tell that our differences are completely irreconcilable. At a time like this…you continue to waver! You said all those pompous things about ‘not wanting to see all your old friends die, one by one’…but your actions now are causing even more of our old friends to die! Your words are complete bullshit!”

  “Yes.” Old Man Yuan nodded, a distant look in his eyes. “I admit that I said those things for the sake of saving face. All of those things I said were lies.”

  Subhuti just looked at him.

  He felt pain in his heart.

  They had all emerged together from the primordial chaos as ignorant, wide-eyed newborns. They had all supported each other, discussed the Dao together, advanced together on the path of cultivation. They were so close to each other that they were like actual brothers. Some of them had ended up dying in the chaotic wars of the Primordial Era, while others had died in the war that had ended that era. Daoist Threelives, for example, had already perished.

  Not many were still alive…but this old friend of his, ‘Old Man Yuan’, had actually refused to stand alongside them at such a critical hour.

  “You finally admit to it,” Subhuti said icily.

  “Yes.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “Ever since the Primordial Era, we have suffered incursions from alien Outsiders. When we killed them, we gained some of their techniques and some of their records regarding the infinite primordial chaos. I came to understand that this place of ours is nothing more than a single chaosworld. The primordial chaos is a far vaster universe. When I learned this, I became filled with the desire to travel far away, to see more things.”

  “We ‘True Gods’ who were born from the primordial chaos were nothing more than local bumpkins who were born to this region. How can we be considered ‘major powers’? We simply relied on the power we gained at birth.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “In the endless primordial chaos, the true ‘major powers’ are the World Gods and Chaos Immortals. They are capable of easily wiping out our entire world.”

  “Nuwa saw the truth long ago. The Three Realms was too small a place to contain her, and so she left to enter the vaster world outside of it.”

  “I want to journey through that vast world as well.” Old Man Yuan’s eyes were filled with desire. “But I’m not strong enough yet. Those alien Outsiders, the Lord of All Things…I learned that even someone as formidable as the Lord of All Things was nothing more than a minor figure in the primordial chaos. There are many who are far more powerful than him. As for Rahu, he was an even more irrelevant figure.”

  “I have to become more powerful.”

  “A war for the Three Realms? A struggle between the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate? I’ve never cared about such things. Your visions are far too narrow…your gazes are focused on the Three Realms, but my gaze is focused on the endless primordial chaos.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “I’ve never even considered risking my life in some squabble here in the Three Realms.”

  “I want to leave this place. I want to become even more powerful.”

  “Because I was born into the Three Realms, I wasn’t able to acquire any good techniques. I had no opportunities. Once I leave, I might be able to become a World God or a Chaos Immortal,” Old Man Yuan said eagerly. “That’s what I truly want. That’s what I truly desire!”

  Subhuti continued to stare at him coldly. “Selfish! True, compared to the vast primordial chaos, the Three Realms is a very small place, and we are indeed nothing more than local bumpkins…but this is our home! The Three Realms is our home. All of us were born here, and we were all like brothers. They are now in mortal danger, but you are just going to stand by and watch? For the sake of becoming a so-called World God or Chaos Immortal, you are just going to watch as your old friends go off to fight? Go off to die?”

  “I never thought that my old friend Yuan would end up like this.” Subhuti shook his head.

  “Ahahaha…” Old Man Yuan actually began to laugh, laugh so hard that his beard shook. He then looked towards Subhuti with a dagger-sharp gaze. “Yes, I am selfish. The path of cultivation is a selfish path to begin with. If I’m going to walk this path, of course I need to treasure my own life. Of course I have to seize every opportunity I can find to become more powerful. Am I supposed to foolishly stand alongside the rest of you and risk everything?”

  “You don’t possess any transcendental qualities. Neither we nor the Seamless Gate will permit you to remain unaligned.” Although Subhuti felt sorrow in his heart, he still tried to dissuade Old Man Yuan.

  “I’ll do everything I can to get as much as I can from the Seamless Gate,” Old Man Yuan said calmly. “Don’t worry. Before the Endwar begins, I’ll leave the Three Realms and enter the endless primordial chaos. I’ll take my old friends with me, and together we shall adventure through it. As for what happens to you and the Seamless Gate? I won’t get involved.”

  “Leave?” Subhuti was surprised.

  “Right.” Old Man Yuan laughed coldly. “What, did you actually think that I would really fight on behalf of the Seamless Gate? No; neither your side nor the Seamless Gate is worth me risking my life for.”

  “Good. Very good indeed.” Subhuti laughed hard, as though he had heard an incredibly funny joke. “During my [Dream of the Three Realms], I can see countless mortals change…but now, I see that the hearts of Fiendgods can change as well. You’ve changed. You’ve changed far, far too much compared to the Yuan who was born alongside me from within the primordial chaos.”

  “Back then, I was just a newborn. I was born with mastery over a Grand Dao, but aside from that I knew nothing at all. Back then, we were too simple and naïve.” Old Man Yuan shook his head. “As far as I’m concerned, my brothers and friends are of secondary importance. My path of cultivation is of paramount importance.”

  Subhuti gave Old Man Yuan a long, deep look, then disappeared into thin air.

  As for Old Man Yuan, he just continued to sit there quietly. He lifted up one of the wine cups and took a small sip from it. “Once I become a World God and look back, all of this will be nothing more than a memory.”

  * * *

  Book 22, Chapter 18 - Nineteen Years

  Within that castle located deep inside the Primordial Ruinworld.

  Godfiend Witherspike’s eyes were flashing with dangerous light. The entire hall was completely silent, and none of his six subordinates
dared to make a sound. Not even the powerful one-armed man dared to say a thing. Although Godfiend Witherspike rather respected him because they were on the same general level of power, the one-armed man knew just how what a terrifyingly demonic figure the Godfiend actually was.

  “I was overconfident!” Godfiend Witherspike growled gutterally to himself. “I didn’t expect this Ji Ning would actually be able to solve the riddle of Earthmoan Mountain. That place is a Wokejade Realm! Not even Ancestral Immortals or Elder Gods should be able to escape it so quickly. How did a bumpkin like him solve it? He’s trained for less than a thousand years!”

  “If I knew this would happen, I would’ve gone to Earthmoan Mountain in person and waited for them there.”

  Godfiend Witherspike was feeling rather frustrated right now. He had very nearly wiped out the entire squad of Fiendgods! If he had personally gone to Earthmoan Mountain and set up an ambush there, he probably would’ve been able to wipe out Kuafu’s entire squad. However, his arrogance and pride was bred deep. Those figures were mere True Gods and third-tier Ancestral Immortals, while he was an exalted Elder God! He had also roamed the primordial chaos for many years and experienced many things. He held no respect for these locals whatsoever. Personally set up an ambush for them? He felt it was beneath him!

  In all the Three Realms, there were only two things he was leery of. The first was whatever Mother Nuwa left behind to her successors before departing. The second was the Lord of All Fiends.

  Mother Nuwa was a World God, after all. The ancestral homeland of a World God was never an easy place to invade, even if that World God had departed.

  As for the Lord of All Fiends, he was an even more freakish figure who had actually been able to escape from a World God!

  Aside from these two concerns, Godfiend Witherspike really wasn’t worried about anything or anyone else. He had felt that Kuafu’s squad would definitely die. He had not imagined that Ji Ning was this formidable.

  Still, he couldn’t be blamed for this oversight. Logically speaking, there was no way someone like Ji Ning should’ve been able to escape Earthmoan Mountain in such a short period of time. Alas, Ji Ning had the legacy of World God Northrest. The techniques he had were all far superior to the ones which Godfiend Witherspike knew!

  “Very well, then. Your squads wish to ruin my territory, but it won’t be that easy…”

  “This was just the first trap. You were lucky enough to escape…but next time, I won’t be so careless.”

  Godfiend Witherspike gently tightened the grip of his slender fingers around his right armrest. Crack! The armrest instantly disintegrated, but moments later its fragments automatically reformed.

  Everyone was completely silent. Not even Celestial Immortal Blackheaven dared to say a thing. When Blackheaven had served the Lord of All Things, he had met Godfiend Witherspike quite a few times. Witherspike was definitely a figure who was just as terrifying as the Lord of All Things had been.

  ……

  The Thousand Mountains world.

  Ji Ning’s group was travelling alongside Lord Tathagata’s group.

  “Darknorth.” Lord Tathagata the Buddha smiled as he looked at Ning. “Which of the four squads do you plan to accompany? You are a human. Technically, you should follow the squad which the human race sent.”

  “But he joined us a long time ago!” Kuafu immediately protested.

  “We’ve been working together for quite some time now. We’re used to each other,” Xingtian rebutted as well.

  Empress Xi, Luwu, and the others all immediately voiced their opposition as well.

  Was this a joke? Given how powerful Ji Ning was, how could they possibly be willing to let him be taken away by another squad?

  “I’ve always been on good terms with Kuafu, Xingtian, and the others. There’s no need to go to the trouble of switching,” Ning laughed.

  “Exactly so!” Kuafu reached out with his big hand, loping it around Ning’s shoulders.

  “Fine.” Lord Buddha nodded. “You might as well. Still, don’t get overconfident. The trap you fell into was just one of many dangers we will encounter in our campaign against the Primordial Ruinworld. Even more and even greater dangers await us. You have to be careful. I can dimly sense that things in the Primordial Ruinworld aren’t as simple as we thought them to be.”

  “We understand,” Kuafu said hurriedly.

  Lord Buddha glanced carefully at their surroundings, then said, “I imagine that Fuxi and Jade Cauldron will arrive here soon as well. This really was a close call. If it wasn’t for Ji Ning, your entire squad probably would’ve been wiped out.”

  A short time later, all four squads had gathered together.

  This close call had woken them all up to the reality of the situation. During their previous efforts, they had encountered some dangerous situations as well, but none of them were truly deadly! This situation, however, had descended out of nowhere and had been absolutely terrifying.

  After gathering together, the four squads started to travel in closer proximity to each other. They advanced more slowly and more cautiously.

  Time continued to flow on. In the blink of an eye, nineteen years went by.

  Ning and the others had already covered nearly 90% of the territory of the Primordial Ruinworld, and they had caused utter devastation to it.

  During the past nineteen years, Tathagata, Fuxi, Jade Cauldron, Ning, and the others had all been extremely cautious. Ning’s display of his sword-arts had thoroughly convinced Kuafu’s squad of his prowess. He had faster evasion techniques! More powerful group attacks! More powerful close combat techniques! A better sense for danger than Daofather Windfate!

  They had encountered numerous dangerous situations during the past nineteen years, and Ning’s dazzling displays of power had firmly cemented his status.

  Because they were incredibly cautious, not a single member of the four squads had died during the past nineteen years.

  “Darknorth, catch.” Kuafu flung a wine gourd over.

  Ning was seated atop a distant boulder. He reached out to catch the gourd, then raised his head and took a gulp.

  “We’ve been advancing fairly quickly. Jade Cauldron and the others have been a bit slower than us. Let’s take a rest and wait a while,” Graceful Peacock said.

  “Haha, we’ve already wrecked more than ninety percent of the Primordial Ruinworld.” Luwu couldn’t help but laugh. “Although the final places are rather dangerous, as long as we are careful we should be able to finish this campaign in another ten or so years.”

  The golden-robed Empress Xi stood with regal dignity. She said solemnly, “Both Fuxi and Tathagata have discussed this matter. On the way over, we’ve encountered multiple dangers. Although none of them were as terrifying as Earthmoan Mountain, they were still able to see a few hints of the truth. The Primordial Ruinworld’s true power is nothing like that we expected.”

  “Darknorth, what do you think?” Xingtian looked towards Ning.

  Seated on the boulder, Ning just smiled. “No matter what, we have to keep attacking and advancing. Let’s just be more careful.”

  Ninteen years…

  During these nineteen years, his Primaltwin had remained within the Crescent world, training inside the Heavengazer Tower of Radiance. The Heavengazer Tower had been set to internally advance time at a hundred times normal speed, which meant that he had actually been training for the equivalent of two thousand years. His sword-arts had become even more marvelous, and he was slowly becoming even more powerful.

  ……

  Within the castle deep inside the Primordial Ruinworld.

  “They’ve had it too easy the past few years. None of the bumpkins ended up dying.” Godfiend Witherspike sat atop his throne, staring down coldly. “Very well, then. They’ve already entered the Goldriver world. This time, I shall slay Fuxi and Tathagata in that world!”

  The six golden-armored figures beneath him were all startled.

  Celestial Immortal Bl
ackheaven said hurriedly, “Mighty Godfiend Witherspike, although the Goldriver world is a world which we spent tremendous amounts of effort over, the Human Emperor and the Lord Buddha are extraordinarily powerful figures. To slay even one of them will be very hard. To kill two? I think it might be better to focus on them one at a time.”

  “I let Kuafu’s squad escape last time.” Godfiend Witherspike swept his cold gaze towards Celestial Immortal Blackheaven, causing Blackheaven’s heart to shudder. “I no longer have much faith in your so-called ‘formations’.”

  “It will indeed be necessary to use them to kill Fuxi and Tathagata, but in the end…it will be up to me to personally deal with them.” A bloody light flickered deep within Godfiend Witherspike’s eyes.

  “Personally?” Blackheaven was startled.

  He had thought that the Godfiend would wait until the Endwar before fighting.

  “Right. Personally.” Godfiend Witherspike swept his subordinates with his gaze. “Saber, when the time comes, I might need you to get involved as well.”

  “Yes, Master.” The single-armed man bowed with respect.

  Blackheaven felt his heart shudder. Good heavens. Both Godfiend Witherspike and Saber were going to strike? Given the formations they had set up around the Goldriver world…it really was possible that they might be able to slay Fuxi and Tathagata, a pair of overlord-class figures.

  “You can inform the Seamless Gate.” Godfiend Witherspike glanced at Blackheaven. “However…ideally, the less they know the better. Don’t give the Nuwa Alliance any chance of finding out about this. This attack of mine should be able to catch them completely offguard, because they don’t even know that I exist. But if this attack ends in failure, it’ll be quite difficult to find another such chance.”

  “How could you possibly fail, mighty Godfiend?” Celestial Immortal Blackheaven said hurriedly.

  “They will be caught completely offguard, and they are also weaker than us. We’ve also made meticulate preparations around the Goldriver world.” The red-bearded elder hurriedly agreed. “We will definitely win.”