Desolate Era

by RWX

  He had bound this astral island long ago and thus was easily able to sense the presence of an outsider.

  “Even I am restricted from leaving my astral island. For someone to come to my island means that this is probably a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom.” Ning placed his brush on the brush stand, then immediately left the Luminous Room.

  After putting his treasure away, Ning emerged from his private room and then walked into his courtyard where he saw a figure standing outside.

  It was an old man dressed in azure armor who had his hands clasped behind his back. As Ning pushed open the doors to his courtyard, the old man turned around and smiled at Ning. “I am Flameflow. I am from the Thunder Palace of the Twelve Palaces.”

  Ning was startled. This old man was a Samsara Daolord? He immediately said, “Darknorth greets you, senior Flameflow.”

  “Darknorth?” The azure-armored man nodded slightly, then let out a praising sigh. “My dear Darknorth, you are an impressive figure. Just three months after coming to the Astral Islands, you have already ascended to the fourth stratum, then won six consecutive battles here.”

  “I’m not quite where I need to be yet. I need ten consecutive victories before I can make it to the fifth stratum,” Ning said.

  “Generally speaking, the newcomers to the Astral Islands will have to undergo many battles and acquire a few legacies, allowing them to improve and grow before they are able to ascend to the fifth stratum.” The azure-armored old man said, “As soon as you came here, you won six battles in a row here on the fourth stratum. I trust that it won’t be too hard for you to ascend to the fifth stratum.”

  Ning understood this as well. There was one particularly valuable part of being here on the Astral Islands: there were many dazzlingly talented cultivators here. In the rest of the Endless Territories, it would be quite hard for Ning to encounter suitable foes. For a transcendent World God to encounter another transcendent World God was an incredibly rare experience.

  But here on the Astral Islands, a large number of formidable World-level cultivators had been brought together. It was entirely possible and quite easy for a person to seek out opponents who were roughly on par with him in strength, or perhaps someone slightly stronger or weaker. Since losing a duel might very well result in death, everyone was motivated to fight to their fullest potential. As a result, all the surviving cultivators were generally able to grow stronger and stronger.

  Only by making it to the fifth stratum would you receive protection… but how many would ever be able to ascend to that stratum?

  “Please sit, senior.” Ning gestured towards the wooden table and seats nearby. Ning had placed them here, as he often enjoyed sitting down and enjoying some wine as he stared at the many astral islands hovering outside.

  Daolord Flameflow sat down.

  “Please.” Ning sat down on the other side and helped pour some wine.

  “I know you are skilled in lightning,” Daolord Flameflow said.

  “You know, senior?” Ning was surprised. Although he had fought quite a few times in the Astral Islands, it was only during his two most recent battles that he had used thunder and lightning. His previous opponents had been so weak that he hadn’t felt the need.

  “I have full records of all the battles you engaged in here in the Astral Islands.” Daolord Flameflow chuckled. “Only by watching your battles and learning where your specialties lie shall the Twelve Palaces be in a good position to judge and choose from amongst you.”

  “The Twelve Palaces?” Ning was puzzled.

  Daolord Flameflow smiled. “You were abducted to this place by the almighty Hegemon, but you probably don’t know much right now. For weaker cultivators, being brought here was a calamity, but for someone like you it is a blessing. The almighty Hegemon… he is an incomparably powerful figure that is one of the few that truly stands at the very apex of the Endless Territories. He has been alive for an extremely long period of time and was the founder of our Brightshore Kingdom.”

  Daolord Flameflow asked, “Have you heard of the Dao Alliance?”

  “I have.” Ning nodded.

  “The Dao Alliance spans an incredibly vast area and virtually all cultivators belong to the Dao Alliance. Compared to the Dao Alliance, our Brightshore Kingdom is more aloof and more secretive.” Daolord Flameflow said, “The Brightshore Kingdom almost never gets involved in any wars, and so we are on fairly good terms with the Dao Alliance.”

  On good terms with the Dao Alliance? Ning let out a sigh of relief. Vastheaven Palace was part of the Dao Alliance; if the Brightshore Kingdom was on bad terms with the Dao Alliance, Ning would’ve been in trouble. But if they were on good terms… why would this almighty Hegemon abduct so many of the World-level cultivators belonging to the Dao Alliance?

  “The Brightshore Kingdom is primarily divided up into twelve palaces,” Daolord Flameflow said. “There is also an imperial clan of individuals who are of the same race as the almighty Hegemon. Although they are few in number, they are extremely powerful.”

  “They are of the same race as the almighty Hegemon?” Ning suddenly thought back to that enormous, terrifying behemoth that had abducted him to this place.

  Of the same race as that behemoth?

  “Yes. The members of the imperial clan are extremely few in number, but every single one of them possesses incredible strength and power. But of course, the almighty Hegemon is the mightiest of them all,” Daolord Flameflow said. “The imperial clan rarely shows itself, while the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore comprises virtually all of the cultivators, Aeonians, Aberrants, and other powerful experts of the Brightshore Kingdom.”

  Daolord Flameflow continued, “The Twelve Palaces are very powerful. They are divided into the Palace of the Saber, the Palace of the Sword, the Palace of Radiance, the Palace of Mortality, the Palace of Thunder, the Palace of Flames, the Palace of the Heart, the Palace of Kindwater, the Palace of Woodform, the Palace of Skymetal, the Palace of Deepearth, and the Palace of Spacetime. My palace, the Thunder Palace, holds almost all of the Brightshore Kingdom’s experts in the Dao of Lightning. We have the accumulated legacies of countless generations of lightning-attribute experts and many Daolords! If you were to join us, you will definitely be able to make great strides on this path.”

  Only now did Ning truly understand. At the top of the Brightshore Kingdom stood the Twelve Palaces. As for the almighty Hegemon and the imperial clan… the almighty Hegemon was of course quite powerful, but his imperial clansmen were simply too few in number.

  As for the Twelve Palaces, a steady flow of new people would constantly join them. Just look at the cultivators and Aberrants currently within the Astral Islands. The most skillful members would all be brought into the Twelve Palaces in the future.

  “Once you acquire a full legacy, you’ll be qualified to leave this place. If you wish to join the Thunder Palace, you can just shatter this message-talisman of mine.” As Daolord Flameflow spoke, he produced a deep azure talisman that was brimming with flickers of electricity. He handed the talisman straight to Ning. “Once you shatter this, I’ll sense it and immediately come receive you.”

  Ning blinked. The Thunder Palace? It was destined that he would walk the path of the Dao of the Sword! His mastery over lightning was far weaker than his mastery of the sword. The entire reason why he had some skill in this area was all thanks to one of the nine secret-arts of Daolord Allgod, the [Novessence Thunder].

  Daolord Flameflow continued, “I know that you are also skilled in sword-arts, and I imagine that in the future you shall have to choose between the Sword Palace and the Thunder Palace. None of the Twelve Palaces will give you any pressure; you can choose whichever palace you so desire.”

  “Oh, right.” Ning’s eyes suddenly lit up. “Senior, you said just now that you know the results of every battle?”

  “Yes. That way, the Twelve Palaces can more easily choose our new members,” Daolord Flameflow said.

  “Then have you receive
d word of a female Chaos Immortal who is skilled in the element of fire? She has fifty-one bugbeasts that are comparable to master-class World Gods as well as a full set of eighteen powerful golems that are also comparable to master-class World Gods.” Ning continued hurriedly, “This is what she looks like. She came here by my side.” As Ning spoke, he waved his finger in the air and caused an image of Su Youji to appear out of nowhere.

  “I don’t know what she looks like, but as for a female Chaos Immortal skilled in fire who has bugbeasts and eighteen golems…” Daolord Flameflow laughed. “There is indeed someone amongst the new arrivals who fits these criteria.”

  Ning let out a sigh of relief. He found her. Finally, he had found Su Youji!

  * * *

  Book 26, Chapter 33 - The Tenth Battle

  “Female Chaos Immortals are rare to begin with, and ones who specialize in using golems and bugbeasts are even rarer. When you factor in her being skilled the Dao of Fire… yes, there’s only one who fits it all.” Daolord Flameflow looked at Ji Ning. “Is she your Dao-companion?”

  “She is my friend,” Ji Ning replied.

  “It seems that being your friend is a good thing.” Daolord Flameflow said, “Are you planning to acquire a full legacy, then lose it to her on purpose?”

  “Yes.” Ning nodded. Once she acquired a full legacy, she would be able to leave this place.

  Daolord Flameflow said, “Then there is something I must tell you in advance.”

  “Yes?” Ning looked at the Daolord. Something he needed to know in advance? Was there something wrong with this plan of his? But based on what he had seen thus far, losing on purpose was entirely permitted.

  “Being in the Astral Islands is both a curse and a blessing. If your friend is extraordinarily talented, it might be a better idea for you to let her stay here for a while longer. But of course, if she’s weak it would be best for her to leave early on,” Daolord Flameflow said. “My reminder to you is this… even if she manages to survive the Astral Islands, it’ll still be quite hard for her to join the Twelve Palaces.”

  “Very hard?” Ning was intrigued.

  “Yes.” Daolord Flameflow nodded. “The Twelve Palaces represent the twelve most powerful organizations in the entire Brightshore Kingdom. They recruit Daolords as well as truly talented World-level cultivators who are worthy of further training. It is quite difficult for the many denizens of the Brightshore Kingdom to actually join the Twelve Palaces.”

  Daolord Flameflow continued, “There are some, for example, who willingly became slaves of the kingdom. Although they are still considered our citizens, they stand at the lowest rungs of society. As for those who went to mine for a thousand chaos cycles, they will become citizens upon their return, yes, but do you really think they are qualified to join the Twelve Palaces?” Daolord Flameflow laughed. “Becoming a citizen of the Brightshore Kingdom and joining the Twelve Palaces are two separate matters.”

  Ning now understood.

  “Take yourself, for example. You have the power to make it into the fifth stratum, which is why I came to give you an invitation.” Daolord Flameflow continued, “Some weaker World-level cultivators might never receive an invitation, even if they do manage to put together a complete legacy. There is a high barrier to entry for the Twelve Palaces, and even the citizens of the Brightshore Kingdom have to undergo many different trials before they are granted entry. But of course, people like you who have received invitations don’t need to go through any further trials.”

  Ning nodded.

  He understood. However, he still wanted to help Su Youji as quickly as possible. Ning knew exactly what her strengths and limitations were. She had just reached the World level a short while ago, and her insights into the Dao weren’t even as profound as Ning’s, nor was she a battle-hardy World God. She would be able to buy herself some time with her bugbeasts and golems, but as time passed… eventually, she would encounter a truly talented expert and might well lose her life.

  “I’d like to ask you, senior, to tell me which astral island she is on,” Ning said.

  The golden book included detailed records of every astral island, including basic information about each cultivator and the treasures they held. There was naturally a notation of each location as well.

  Generally speaking, the cultivators in the Astral Islands would only learn of each other’s locations through actual combat. But it was only natural for a Samsara Daolord of the Thunder Palace of the Twelve Palaces to know much more.

  “The astral island she is on has the address of 399-236,” Daolord Flameflow said.

  “So this one over there.” Ning immediately was able to locate the island in question. This astral island was still on the first stratum.

  “My young friend Darknorth, I won’t disturb you any further. If you wish to join the Palace of Thunder, simply shatter the talisman and I’ll come welcome you.” Daolord Flameflow rose to his feet.

  “Thank you for everything, senior.” Ning felt quite grateful towards the man. If it wasn’t for his help, even he didn’t know how long it would be before he found Su Youji’s astral island.

  “A minor matter,” Daolord Flameflow said with a laugh. He then turned and left, disappearing into the skies.

  Ning watched silently and pensively as the Daolord left.

  “I need to make it to the fifth stratum as soon as possible. I’ll then acquire one of the simpler sword-arts legacies and lose it to Youji right away,” Ning mused to himself. Two sword-arts legacies and one footwork legacy. Ning wanted the footwork legacy the most. Alas, it was highly ranked and hard to acquire. In fact, most of the legacy treasures were with the cultivators on the fifth stratum.

  In the coming days, Ning began to issue challenges anew to the other cultivators on his stratum.

  The fourth stratum. The seventh battle.

  Ning encountered an expert who was skilled in the Dao of Spacetime. This was Ning’s toughest, most grueling battle, because his opponent’s fleeing skills were simply incredible, allowing him to retreat and advance as he pleased.

  Ning knew that he had an advantage in actual power, but he was still unable to do anything to his opponent. Even when he used the [Novessence Thunder] to restrain his foe’s movements, his foe’s movements remained unpredictably fast and fluid. In the end, Ning was forced to split his body into two, using two bodies to battle at the same time. Although each body was weaker than his true body, they were still individually superior than his opponent in strength. Ning wasn’t exactly slow. With two bodies surrounding and attacking at the same time, as well as the assistance of the [Novessence Thunder], Ning was able to force his opponent into admitting defeat.

  The fourth stratum. The eighth battle.

  This battle was against an Aberrant. Special lifeforms were different from ordinary cultivators. Ordinary cultivators were all born from the Worldheart of their chaosworld. Natural-born Elder Gods like Nuwa were said to be born from the primordial chaos, but in reality it was the chaosworld generated by the Worldheart which gave birth to them. They were born with mastery over one of the Heavenly Daos of their chaosworld, but they still emerged from the mysterious, marvelous powers of their Worldheart.

  True Gods, Empyrean Gods, mortals… all of them were produced from the Worldheart.

  Special lifeforms, however, were truly born within unique situations within the endless primordial chaos. There was a qualitative difference between them and cultivators, and although some of them were weak, others of them were inconceivably strong.

  This opponent fighting Ning was an ape-like creature. Just prior to the battle, the creature was crunching his way through a tasty meal of strange, metallic objects. It had a body as tough as a Dao weapon and incredible strength, but it was also extremely intelligent. It had even deeper insights into the Dao than Ning did!

  However, in the end it still lost.

  This was because Ning was just as strong as it was, but was also much faster! Most importantly of all, Ning w
as wielding six Eternal weapons while the ape had to rely on its two arms… but to actually kill the ape would be incredibly difficult, because Ning was unable to damage its body. Binding it would also be quite difficult. The only thing Ning could do was force it to admit defeat.

  The fourth stratum. The ninth battle.

  This was an simple, direct battle. Ning easily gained victory.

  “I’ve already won nine battles in a row. One more battle. Just one more win and I’ll have made it into the fifth stratum. Things will be much simpler then.” Ning was feeling rather confident. Thus far, he hadn’t encountered any foes that required him to use his Elementum Waterflame Gourd. That was his final trump card which he would only use when absolutely necessary.

  “Next challenge.” Ning sent out yet another challenge to a cultivator on the fourth stratum.

  ……

  “He’s won a total of nine victories in a row now.”

  One of the twelve astral islands within the fifth stratum.

  A skinny, swarthy-skinned child with three eyes dressed with strange silver cape was staring intently at the golden book in his hands. “I hear that the almighty Hegemon personally selected this latest crop of newcomers. It really does seem as though some of them possess tremendous potential. This fellow who won nine battles in a row might not necessarily be powerful, but he definitely has been the fastest mover.”

  The golden book only included some basic information regarding the World-level cultivator on each astral island. It didn’t include information such as win-loss totals. Still, it wasn’t too hard to divine such information.

  Ji Ning, for example. Ever since he had reached the fourth stratum, he had won every battle he was in. He had gained a number of legacy treasures, while the ones he had defeated had been completely drained of their own legacy treasures! Just by watching the movements of the various legacy treasures, one would easily be able to divine who had won which battles. It was obvious that Ning’s total legacy treasures had increased nine separate times after arriving on the fourth stratum, while there were nine fourth-stratum cultivators who had lost those exact same treasures. Clearly, he had won nine battles in a row.