Desolate Era

by RWX

  Swish.

  Swish.

  Swish.

  Three dazzling streaks of light shot through the air towards Old Man Yuan.

  These streaks of light were Ji Ning’s Triult Swords, Daoist Three Purities’ Immortal Slaying Swords, and the Lord of All Fiend’s shuttle. These were the three fastest attackers. Because Old Man Yuan was somewhat closer to the Seamless Gate, the Lord of All Fiend’s attack was actually the first to arrive.

  “You backwater locals.” Old Man Yuan calmly willed the lotus petals to swivel slightly.

  Boom! The sharp shuttle stabbed directly against the slowly swiveling black lotus petals but was completely blocked.

  Boom! Boom! The attacks from the Triult Swords and the Immortal Slaying Swords arrived as well. The black lotus simply slowly swiveled to block the two attacks. Although it trembled, it was still able to endure the strikes.

  One of the enormous lotus petals gently brushed against the body of the Lord of All Fiends, who had moved into close combat range. He was knocked flying backwards and he vomited up a mouthful of blood.

  “You can’t take those attacks head-on. Those lotus petals are as powerful as Demonheart was.” The Lord of All Fiends sent a hurried mental message to the others. He was more than fast enough to have dodged the attack, but he wanted to test those black lotus petals and see how powerful they were.

  This caused the major powers in both alliances to feel their hearts grow cold.

  Ji Ning, Three Purities, the Lord of All Fiends…the three of them striking out essentially represented the three most powerful attackers in both alliances striking out. Although they had caused the black lotus petals to tremble, it was still clearly quite stable and far from the point of breaking down.

  And a single, simple strike from a petal was comparable to a blow from Lord Demonheart?

  T-this…

  Boom! The enormous black lotus came smashing straight towards the Seamless Gate.

  “What should we do?”

  “How should we stop him?”

  The major powers of the Seamless Gate and the Nuwa Alliance were both panicking. After suffering such heavy losses a few moments ago, both sides were now much weaker than before. Even the attacks of Ji Ning, Three Purities, and the Lord of All Fiends had been useless against the black lotus. Most likely, even if everyone in both alliances attacked together they still wouldn’t be able to breach its defenses.

  “I have a solution. It might be able to kill Old Man Yuan.” A voice suddenly rang out in the minds of the overlords of both the Nuwa Alliance and the Seamless Gate.

  “Subhuti.” Three Purities, Tathagata, and the others were intrigued.

  “Master?” Ji Ning was stunned.

  ……

  The Crescent world.

  Subhuti was standing atop the clouds, staring at past the skies towards the war in the Three Realms. He was able to see everything very clearly.

  “Shennong…given what has come to pass, it is time to use that flower.” A hint of grief could be seen in Subhuti’s eyes as a fiery red flower appeared in his hands. “A pity that you won’t be able to see it.”

  ……

  Six years ago.

  The two of them were standing together at a farm deep within the primordial chaos. There was a thatched cottage by the side of the farm, and Shennong, dressed as an old farmer, was smiling as he pointed towards a certain plot. “See that, Subhuti?”

  The restrictive formations covering the field had already been withdrawn, revealing its true appearances. There were small creeks and many different plots, with a fiery red flower having appeared in the very center of the field.

  “What’s that?” Subhuti paused for a moment, then his face changed slightly. “I-I…why do I sense your aura in it?”

  “Yes.”

  Shennong said softly, “That’s because I used my own blood and soul to nourish it. Finally, just before the Endwar, it has come to maturity. This is the most terrifying plant that I have ever created in all my life. Normally, I delight in creating medicinal plants that can save lives. But this time…I have a bad feeling about this Endwar. I feel as though there has to be someone causing it, someone scheming behind our backs.”

  “Yes. Who is causing this great calamity?” Subhuti frowned as well. “The Seamless Gate has coexisted peacefully with us for countless ages now. Why, then, am I now subconsciously sensing that destiny is telling us that either we survive or they survive? What is happening?”

  “I’ve poured my heart and soul into the art of plants and flowers.” Shennong smiled. “I’m afraid that I won’t be of that much use when the war begins. I suppose this flower is the only real contribution I can make.”

  “This flower is for you to use.” Shennong looked at Subhuti.

  “Me?” Subhuti was stunned.

  “Nuwa trusted you. I trust you as well.” Shennong nodded. “This flower has a very simple name. It is the ‘Lifeseizer Flower’. When the flower blooms, it shall seize away life! Right now, it has yet to bloom. Once you fill it with your divine power, you’ll be able to make it bloom…and once it does, everything within thirty meters shall be attacked by it. Even Elder Gods will see their souls shattered and even their truesouls annihilated.”

  Subhuti was shocked by what he heard.

  “However, you need to get within thirty meters of your target,” Subhuti said. “My concern is that the instigator of the Endwar will appear and be too powerful for me to handle. If I’m too weak, I won’t even be able to draw near him. But you, Subhuti, have incredible mastery over the Dao of Spacetime. You can silently draw near our opponent…although you’ll probably have to sacrifice a bit of divine power once you lose that clone.”

  “Alright.” Subhuti nodded. This definitely was a killer weapon for them to keep hidden.

  “Subhuti…remember, you can’t use this weapon casually. It can only be used once, after all,” Shennong said.

  “I understand.” Subhuti nodded.

  Shennong nodded slowly as well. “I hope to one day see the beauty of the flower blooming…and yet, I also hope that day will never come.”

  For the flower to bloom meant that they were in truly desperate straits.

  “You might be worrying just a bit too much.” Subhuti smiled. “You know how powerful our side is, and we also have the three guardian formations. On the whole, we should be overwhelmingly more powerful than the Seamless Gate.”

  “No one can predict the future. It is best to be cautious.” Shennong turned to stare at the creeks flowing through his fields and the tiny little eddies within them. “You and I are different. Suiren and I both watched as our fragile little human race slowly rose to prominence. Many of our comrades died during that process. That’s why I know that life and death are both unpredictable things. There will always be unexpected events in every war.”

  “Look at those little eddies in the creeks. They can represent all the deceased heroes of the human race. Their risked their lives for the sake of giving their descendants a brighter, safer future. This tribulation is a great tribulation for all the Three Realms. I hope that the Three Realms will be able to safely endure it and once more return to peace.”

  “Right.” Subhuti sighed as well. He, too, was concerned.

  The war of the Primordial Era had resulted in both chaosworlds being shattered.

  What would happen this time?

  “Let us fight. If someone wishes to take over our home or destroy it, we shall fight them to the bitter end.” Shennong waved his hand, causing the flower to fly over and land within it. He lowered his head to look at it, then handed it to Subhuti. “I entrust it to you.”

  “Alright.” Subhuti nodded.

  ……

  The present day.

  “I have a solution that might allow us to kill Old Man Yuan.” Subhuti’s voice rang out within the minds of Ji Ning, Jueming, Three Purities, Houyi, Everwood, and Allfiend.

  “So long as I can get within thirty meters of him, I’ll
have a very good chance of killing him! Even if he doesn’t die, he will still be heavily wounded,” Subhuti said. “However, the issue is that this black lotus formation has completely locked down spacetime around him. There’s no way for me to draw near him. I need all of you to help me breach that black lotus formation. Without it locking down spacetime, I’ll be able to instantly appear next to him and launch my attack.”

  * * *

  Book 23, Chapter 29 - All To Let the Flower Bloom

  “Subhuti, are you really sure about this?”

  “Even if we can temporarily breach the formation, Old Man Yuan has a host of servants guarding him. He himself is also unfathomably powerful.” Everyone began to question him.

  Subhuti continued to stand there atop the clouds of the Crescent world. His divine body suddenly split in half, resulting in a second Subhuti appearing next to him. “I’m sure.”

  It wasn’t that he had faith in himself.

  It was that he had faith in Shennong! Shennong had said that even Elder Gods would see their souls shattered and their truesouls destroyed by this flower.

  “Good.” Keeper Everwood sent mentally, “Subhuti, my old friend, I believe in you. I never would’ve thought that we would have the chance to fight alongside each other.”

  “I believe in you.”

  “We have no other options.”

  “Everyone, how should we break that black lotus formation?”

  The overlords were all speaking mentally to each other.

  Houyi had been silent this entire time. Suddenly, he sent mentally, “I need your help. All of you, attack the black lotus formation! Put it under some pressure, and then I’ll use my archery to break through it with one strike.”

  Ji Ning and the others were all stunned upon hearing Houyi say this.

  They had great confidence in Houyi, because Houyi was the one who had slain Lord Demonheart! However, Houyi clearly was heavily injured right now.

  “This arrow will be my most powerful arrow, an arrow that will be far stronger than the ones I used to kill Lord Demonheart,” Houyi said.

  “Fine. We’ll do as you say.”

  “Alright.”

  The various major powers quickly came to a decision.

  “Everyone, we no longer have any other way out of this.” Lord Tathagata let out a growl as he and the Empyrean Gods around him all stared at the black lotus formation as it assaulted the distant army of the Seamless Gate. Everyone’s eyes were filled with hatred…and then they summoned the natural energy of Heaven and Earth, quickly forming a Pangu Genesis Formation around Lord Tathagata.

  “Hahaha…we’ve been forced to the brink. My fellow Daoists, come fight by my side!” Daoist Three Purities let out a laugh as the Pure Yang True Immortals around him quickly joined together into the Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation.

  “My fellow Diremonster brethren, let us kill this Old Man Yuan! After we kill him, we’ll drink and feast together!” Sun Wukong let out a loud roar which was immediately followed by the cries and cheers of the many Diremonster Gods around him as they formed into a Pangu Genesis Formation around him. The massive Pangu-Wukong charged forward through the Void towards their enemies.

  “Daoist Yuan…today is the day you shall die.” Buddha Amitabha took control of a Nuwa Heaven Repairing Formation as well.

  Kuafu…

  Daoist Jade Cauldron…

  Buddha Maitreya…

  All of these powerful figures who were close to the overlord level took control of a grand formation. None of the Empyrean Gods or True Immortals within the formations shirked back from their duty. They all fearlessly followed their major power leaders into war.

  “Amitabaha…to be able to join so many friends in battle is truly a blessing,” Buddha Jueming said with a smile as he sped through the Void towards the black lotus formation.

  “Brightmoon.” In this moment…Ning’s mind was filled with images of his daughter, Brightmoon.

  “No one will be able to harm you.”

  “No one.”

  A black lightning serpent streaked across the Void, charging towards the black lotus formation.

  Godfiend Witherspike’s incarnation had been watching this battle from afar. Upon seeing all the experts of the Three Realms charge straight towards the black lotus formation, Witherspike felt astonishment. He couldn’t help but reminisce to himself as he murmured softly, “By all rights, the Mindlord isn’t someone that these locals can defeat. They are fools to true! And yet…when I see this, I can’t help but hope for their victory, much like how I hoped that my own homeland would win that great war. Alas…in the end, this world is a world where the strong reign supreme.”

  “Kill! Kill! Kill!”

  Old Man Yuan showed no mercy at all. The black lotus petals ground away at the attackers like a meat grinder, quickly causing the deaths of many major powers and the destruction of multiple formations.

  Ji Ning, Buddha Jueming, Keeper Everwood, and the Lord of All Fiends had charged to the very front, seeking to aid the other major powers as much as they could. They relied on the power of their divine bodies or the strength of their defensive techniques to charge into the most dangerous situations, ensuring that their allies would suffer fewer losses as they furiously attacked the black lotus formation.

  The Triult Swords, the Immortal Slaying Swords, and other streaks of jade light, bloody light, sword-light, and various Chaos weapons all struck out towards the grand formation.

  Both alliances were attacking with full strength, holding nothing back whatsoever.

  Far off in the distance, Houyi calmly watched this all happen. “Everyone…I promise that I will not let you down.” He drew his bow.

  Old Man Yuan had been calmly watching everything happen from within his black lotus formation. Upon seeing Houyi draw his bow, Old Man Yuan’s face changed slightly as he stared at Houyi. He knew exactly how formidable every single Heartforce Cultivator could be. Although Houyi only knew some techniques he had devised on his own, he had been able to use those techniques to kill the Lord of the Demonheart! Old Man Yuan didn’t dare to underestimate Houyi’s attacks. This was one of the reasons why he had taken control over Chang’e all those years ago; he wanted to be able to influence and perhaps restrict Houyi’s actions.

  “Houyi.” Old Man Yuan issued a silent order, causing Chang’e to immediately fly in front of him.

  “If you wish to act against me, you’ll have to kill Chang’e first.” Although Old Man Yuan felt confident that he could handle this next arrow, he still acted with caution.

  “Houyi.” As Houyi drew his bow, he felt as though he had returned to those bygone days, the most beautiful days in his life.

  “Houyi, have a taste. Does it taste good?”

  “Everything you make is wonderful, Chang’e.”

  Although certain things happened afterwards that broke his heart, the beauty of those oldest memories had never faded.

  Houyi smiled as he pulled the bow to a full draw.

  Rumble…the Void shook as a flood of chaos energy began to fill Houyi’s divine bow.

  Rumble…the bowstring also began to tremble.

  Houyi’s divine body transformed into a breathtakingly brilliant beacon of light…and then all the light was also poured into that arrow.

  Chaos energy was his bow. Heartforce was his bowstring. His own body, his very life itself, was his arrow.

  This was an arrow which Houyi had developed over the course of countless years of melancholy and spiritual sorrow. An arrow which required the life of the archer…

  Twang.

  The bowstring sang.

  The arrow flew.

  The only thing left in the Void was Houyi’s divine bow, which seemed to be sobbing in pain.

  The arrow pierced through the skies, gathering and swallowing all of the chaos energy and natural energy nearby. This arrow streaked through the Void like a meteor, becoming increasingly brilliant as it flew forward. The entire Void seemed to have turne
d silent. All the major powers, Empyrean Gods, and True Immortals were staring at this arrow. They were frantically assaulting the black lotus formation, precisely so that they could give this arrow a chance.

  They understood that Houyi had sacrificed his very life for this arrow.

  Although they felt sorrow, they also felt hope. Hope that this arrow would succeed. If necessary, they would be willing to make the exact same sacrifice.

  “A suicide arrow.” Protected by his black lotus formation, Old Man Yuan frowned. “This Houyi truly is a madman. He is tremendously talented in heartforce, but why is it that every single technique he came up with is borderline suicidal? He used what could be described as a desperation attack in order to kill Lord Demonheart, but this arrow? It’s completely a suicide attack.”

  The arrow was too fast. There was no way to dodge it at all.

  “These madmen.” Old Man Yuan frowned. The grand formation was being battered by everyone in both alliances. Although the individual cultivators were quite weak, when they joined forces they were so powerful that even Lord Demonheart would find it hard to withstand them. The black lotus formation truly was under a significant amount of pressure.

  Boom!

  The arrow had expanded to become an utterly enormous comet, and it slammed directly against the black lotus formation, causing a tremendous boom. The formation had already taken a tremendous amount of punishment…and now, it could take no more. With a bang, it blew apart and dissipated, but as the lotus petals broke apart the giant comet became much dimmer as well. The arrow within it could now be seen as well as it continued to shoot straight towards Old Man Yuan.

  Old Man Yuan stood there, horsetail whisk in hand. The strands of his whisk coiled around him, forming multiple layers of protection. He also ordered Chang’e to stand in front of him as well.

  Boom!

  The arrow streaked forward without changing course.

  It pierced both through the body of Chang’e and the whisk-barriers. As it appeared before Old Man Yuan, Old Man Yuan struck out with his palm against the tip of the arrow.