Desolate Era

by RWX

  The four windbeasts all looked upwards, a look of rage and dread in their dark yellow eyes. They didn’t dare fly out of their pit, as the Ruins were far too incredibly dangerous. Even they were only able to live peacefully in their local part of the Hundred Streams. There were many places which were death traps even for them.

  “Eh?” After flying out of the pit and away from the gray wind, Ning landed on the ground. He glanced towards the deep, enormous pit in surprise. “They didn’t come out?”

  “Whew. I finally escaped!”

  * * *

  Book 24, Chapter 25 - The House By the Lake

  Ji Ning kept a firm hold on the ground. Only when he saw that no windbeasts were emerging did he relax and glance at his surroundings.

  “Eh?” Ning slowly rose to his feet, looking around himself with surprise.

  The vast skies were filled with streams of gray energy that criss-crossed in the air. A stream of gray energy was flowing through the endless pit he had just crawled out of as well. Ning immediately understood that the gray energy was actually the gray ‘wind’ which had enveloped him and Hellsword earlier.

  “When Hellsword and I were fighting, we must’ve activated some restrictive spell by accident, resulting in us being swept into that tornado.” Ning carefully inspected the area. “If those windbeasts were too afraid to come out here, it has to mean that this place is dangerous.”

  He was in a vast new realm. Aside from some enormous pits, Ning could also see some enormous continents, mountains, valleys, and lakes.

  Everything looked so peaceful!

  However, Ning’s heartrate began to speed up. Ever since he had manifested the azureflower seal after merging the Nine Chaos Seals, Ning had become even more keenly attuned to the essence of destiny. He was able to easily see the future destinies of mortals at one glance, and he could now sense that destiny was warning him that this place was incredibly dangerous. It was as though those peaceful-looking continents, mountains, and lakes were all filled with danger.

  “What should I do?” Ning raised his head to stare towards the skies, then towards the area around him. “I can sense that every single direction is filled with grave danger.”

  “If every direction is filled with danger…and if the pits are filled with all those windbeasts…”

  “Forget it. I’ll just randomly choose a direction. It’ll be up to luck.”

  After pondering for a moment, Ning had no choice but to harden his heart. Warblade and flexible sword in hands, he began to carefully move forward. If every direction was filled with danger, then picking a particular direction didn’t matter.

  Ning walked out of the barren wastelands and into a grasslands. Although he sensed tremendous danger the entire time, he made his way forward safely.

  “Maybe I’ll be able to walk out of this place,” Ning consoled himself.

  “The lake is quite pretty.”

  He saw a lake within the grasslands, so beautiful that it looked like the tears of a lovely maiden.

  “I hope nothing dangerous suddenly pops out of the lake.” Ning continued to remain vigilant, and he even kept the Goldstar Beads of the Heavens around him, so as to help forewarn him of any incoming danger. Of course, if he wasn’t strong enough no amount of vigilance would matter.

  Whoosh!

  A ripple suddenly spread out and encompassed Ning, causing his surroundings to change and transform.

  “This is…?” Ning stared at his surroundings. He could still see the beautiful lake, but a quiet little residence had appeared by the side of the lake. The house was emanating ripples that were so powerful, they caused Ning to shiver.

  “What’s going on?”

  Ning could sense how terrifying and deadly that house was. He wanted to move away from it, but no matter how he walked he was unable to move farther than three kilometers away from the house. It was as though space itself was twisted here.

  “If I can’t leave, I suppose I’ll have to go over and take a look,” Ning mused to himself. “The person who built this house has to be far more powerful than me. If he wants me dead, I won’t be able to escape.”

  He had no other options. His only choice was to go forward, and he did so, gently pushing open the gates to the courtyard of the house.

  Inside the courtyard was a garden and a grassy lawn, as well as several seats that were scattered across it. In the center was a graceful, elegant house that emanated ripples of tremendous power. Ning walked over towards the house.

  Three of the four sides of the house had windows, while one side had a door. The windows were made from wood and could be easily seen through.

  “Eh?” Ning could vaguely make out a figure seated in the lotus position inside the house. This caused Ning to feel quite shocked. However, Ning still chose to walk forward to the doors of the house.

  Inside the house, there was an old man dressed in golden Daoist robes who was seated atop a prayer mat. The old man’s eyes were closed, and he was holding a horsetail whisk in his hands. Next to him lay a miniature nine-level pagoda.

  His Daoist robes, his whisk, the prayer mat, the nine-level pagoda…everything emanated ripples of absolutely shocking power.

  “That nine-level pagoda in particular radiates an aura that is a hundred times as powerful as the aura of the warblade. This was the aura which Violetjewel gave me before I bound it.” Ning was stunned. “Can it be that this nine-level pagoda is also a treasure that is on a higher level than that of Dao weapons?”

  Ji Ning was no longer the same person he was back in the Three Realms. He was now a vastly more experienced figures.

  Chaos treasures were generally wielded by Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals.

  Dao weapons were generally employed by World Gods and Chaos Immortals.

  As for weapons which surpassed Dao weapons like Violetjewel or this tower…they were items which would drive any World-level expert mad with desire!

  “His robes, the whisk, the prayer mat…those three are all Dao weapons, and they each have auras that are as strong as the aura of my warblade.” Ning’s own eyes were shining with desire as well. The treasures that he could see were already enough to drive any World-level expert mad with lust.

  “But…it seems as though this old man is already dead?”

  Ning sensed no life energy at all from the old man’s body, only an aura of ancient might.

  “I’ll give it a test.” Ning moved many steps backwards, then willed his Protocosmic spirit-rope to fly out. Ning didn’t dare to actually approach the old man and try to take the treasures himself, for fear of activating some sort of dangerous spell or formation. Thus, he instead willed his Protocosmic spirit-rope to loop around the nine-level pagoda, intending to tug it over. If he could acquire that pagoda, this entire trip would be more than worth it.

  The pagoda was something which even World-level experts would go crazy for. The only reason why World God Northrest was able to acquire Violetjewel was due to the assistance of Vastheaven Palace. For Ning to be able to so easily acquire another such treasure was simply a bit of staggeringly good luck.

  Rumble…

  As the Protocosmic rope moved within nine meters of the old man, a wind suddenly arose around him. As the wind blew past the Protocosmic spirit-rope, half of it was instantly disintegrated into dust.

  A series of words suddenly appeared in midair, every single character gleaming with golden light.

  The fellow Daoist who is capable of defeating the Windsource Formation shall acquire my treasures.

  Ning was filled with both shock and desire.

  Windsource Formation? What was the connection between it and the Hundred Streams of the Windsource? Could it be that this old man was the creator of these ancient ruins? If he really was, could this house be the house where he lived? Ning couldn’t quite believe it.

  “If you die, you die. Why did you have to put up these formations and spells?” Ning’s head hurt. He had grown dramatically more powerful, but he was st
ill just barely capable of damaging a Protocosmic spirit-treasure. To instantly disintegrate it into dust? He was far from capable of such a thing.

  “Let me try it again.”

  Ning willed a large battleaxe to appear. This battleaxe was covered with divine runes, and it was a top-grade Chaos treasure.

  “A top-grade Chaos treasure…I refuse to believe you can destroy it.” Ning immediately used his Immortal energy to send the battleaxe to fly towards the seated old man. Once more, when the axe reached nine meters of the old man, a wind arose. Hissssss! When the wind blew across the axe, it emitted an ear-piercing hiss.

  The axe remained undamaged…but it was unable to advance any further.

  “What’s going on?” Ning could sense incredibly powerful energy blocking his battleaxe’s path. No matter how hard he ‘pushed’, he was unable to make it advance at all.

  Swoosh.

  Suddenly, a stream of energy flew out from the nine-level pagoda next to the seated old man. The stream of energy transformed into the appearance of a black-robed child.

  “Stop trying. You aren’t even a World-level expert. Why are you wasting your time?” The black-robed child snapped rather irritably.

  “You…” Ning was startled.

  “I’m a treasure spirit. Haven’t you seen one before?” The black-robed child glanced sideways at the old man’s corpse, then said, “And you can stop lusting after the old man’s treasures. Even if you managed to break through the Windsource Formation, you’d have to swear a lifeblood oath first. Only after accomplishing it would you be allowed to acquire these treasures. As for breaking through the formation? Only peak World Gods would have a shot at it.”

  “Only peak World Gods would have a shot at it?” Ning was puzzled. “What level was this senior at?”

  “He was just a peak World God as well.” The black-robed child smirked. “However, he was one of the servants of Daolord Windsource, who gave him a few treasures like the Windsource Formation. Although no one is currently commanding it, it’ll still be very hard for anyone to break through it.”

  Ning nodded slowly.

  This all made sense. The deceased World God had used the phrase, ‘the fellow Daoist who is capable of defeating the Windsource Formation’; for him to use the words ‘fellow Daoist’ meant that the person capable of defeating the formation would probably on the same general level of power as he had been.

  “Ugh. When Daolord Windsource died, all of his servants accompanied him to the grave. If he died, he died, but why the hell did the old man have to keep me trapped here as well?” The black-robed child sighed, then shook his head. “I’m a venerable treasure that has a quintessence inside, but I’ve been trapped here for ages. What a waste!”

  * * *

  Book 24, Chapter 26 - Escaping Alive

  A magic treasure that had a quintessence core within it?

  Right. Violetjewel had a quintessence core within it as well. Its physical body had suffered incredible damage but the quintessence core inside of it was completely unharmed.

  “Don’t you want to leave?” Ji Ning asked.

  “Of course I do. I’m bored to death here.” The black-robed child glanced sideways at Ning.

  “Aside from breaking the Windforce Formation and swearing a lifeblood oath, is there truly no other way of taking you away?” Ning asked. “If you can tell me a way, I’ll definitely do my best to carry it out.”

  “Well, there is.” The black-robed child nodded.

  “There is? What?” Ning’s eyes lit up.

  “Become a Daolord first,” the black-robed child said.

  Ning instantly felt speechless. The only Daolord in the Badlands Territory which Ning was aware of was Daolord Badlands. There might be other Daolords who were in seclusion, but regardless of how many were present, their level of power was a level far beyond Ning’s. If Ning truly did become a Daolord in the future, it wouldn’t be hard for him to acquire treasures such as this. Didn’t Daolord Windsource himself parcel out such treasures to his World God servants?

  One could imagine how fabulously wealthy Daolords were!

  “How many servants did Daolord Windsource have exactly?” Ning asked curiously.

  “Kid, you aren’t even a World God yet.” The black-robed child shook his head, then said in a smug manner, “Let me broaden your horizons a bit, then.”

  “Right, right.” Ning’s eyes lit up.

  “Daolord Windsource had a rather weird disposition, but he truly was an incredible figure. He roved through the endless primordial chaos and journeyed through many of its territories. He directly enslaved over five hundred World-level experts, with more than a hundred others willingly joining him as retainers…” The black-robed child let out an amazed sigh. “In fact, he even had a Daolord as his retainer.”

  “What?!” Ning was shocked.

  “Incredible, right?” The black-robed child said smugly, “When Daolord Windsource descended upon this territory, the owner of this territory came out and welcomed him with great ceremony and courtesy.”

  “But alas…I heard that Daolord Windsource failed in his attempts to merge his Hundred Streams together down. Before dying, he exiled his eldest disciple, the one who had become a Daolord, as well as some other disciples and retainers. He then led all of his slaves and the rest of his World-level retainers to this place.”

  “According to what Daolord Windsource said, this was his ancient homeland. He left this place long, long ago and voyaged through the outside the world. If he was to die, he wished to die at home.”

  “However, his ancestral chaosworld had vanished long ago. Thus, Daolord Windsource established the Windsource Chaosworld in the same location where his ancient chaosworld had been. He then established the Windsource Ruins. Supposedly, he did all this to show off all the insights into the Dao he had gained during his life. After leaving his Dao behind…he died.” The black-robed child pointed towards the seated old man. “Look. That’s one of the poor bastards who served him and was forced to join him in death.”

  “More than five hundred World-level experts joined him in death?” Ning was speechless.

  “Right.” The black-robed child nodded. “Daolords, y’know? Daolord Windsource was actually pretty peaceful. Some of the crazier Daolords will go completely berserk. When they die, they will make their entire territory die along with them, going so far as to slaughter every living being they can find before dying in a sea of corpses.”

  Ning truly was unable to say anything.

  Make an entire territory die with them, then continuing to slaughter until they themselves perished?

  Madmen.

  The more powerful a person was, the more terrifying they would be when gripped by madness. It seemed as though Daolord Windsource really was fairly calm by comparison.

  “So you are saying that more than five hundred World-level experts died in these ruins?” Ning sighed in amazement.

  “A Samsara Daolord, more than five hundred World-level experts, and an enormous number of Elder Gods and Ancestral Immortals all died here,” the black-robed child said. “Over the course of countless years, quite a few treasure-seeking cultivators have died here as well, leaving behind many of their own treasures. Thus, this place really is like a giant treasure vault. The only question is…are you strong enough to loot it?”

  “You are actually pretty lucky.” The black-robed child let out a sigh. “You actually were able to find this place. The wind is formless and fickle, and thus the internal structure of Daolord Windsource’s estate is also ever-changing. Since you were able to find this place, you now have a chance of being able to escape.”

  “A chance of being able to escape?” Ning was surprised and delighted.

  “Right. There’s a pavilion over there. Once you go inside of it, it’ll teleport you to the outer regions. The outer regions are much safer than this place,” the black-robed child said. “Alright, that’s all. Hurry up and beat it. You were lucky enough to find this esta
te this time, but you probably won’t be so lucky next time.”

  After speaking, the black-robed youth flew back into the nine-level pagoda.

  Ning once more turned his gaze towards the golden-robed old man who was seated in the lotus position within the house. He couldn’t help but shake his head and sigh. This old man was a peak World God; most likely, he was on par with even the likes of World God Northrest or even stronger. And yet…his destiny had been to accompany his master unto death!

  Daolord Windsource had only driven away some of his disciples and retainers. The rest of his retainers, along with his slaves, had all died with him here. Apparently, the retainers who had died were the ones he didn’t like. The ones he did like, he had exiled along with those disciples, sparing them instead of having them die with him.

  “The treasures are right there in front of me, but I just can’t get at them.”

  “Forget it. Time to go.”

  Ning knew that luck and fortune couldn’t be forced. If he really was lucky, he’d be able to find a World God’s corpse that wasn’t protected by any formations or spells at all, allowing him to easily take away any treasures. That would really be a helluva stroke of luck!

  And yet, he was still fairly lucky. Although he hadn’t been able to acquire the treasures, he had learned of a safe route out of here.

  After leaving the house, he turned to glance one final time at the golden-robed elder’s corpse. Only then did Ning begin to make his way through the courtyard. There were a total of three pavilions within the courtyard, but Ning was in no rush to leave. Instead, he first inspected the other rooms.

  “There might be some other treasures left here,” Ning mused to himself.

  “Eh?”

  Ning really did find something inside one of the rooms.

  This was a room with a study. There was a table here, a quill pen having been tossed atop of it. The table was covered with golden paper, but there was plenty of paper scattered on the ground as well.