Desolate Era

by RWX

  Whoosh.

  A distance of ten billion kilometers was fairly far. Ning had to fly for quite a few hours before arriving outside the lake. Ning’s skill gave him courage, and his godsense had revealed the Royal Dragon Palace below him.

  Swish! Ning put away his flying vessel, then charged straight into the lake and flew towards the palace. Soon, he reached the palace gates. He immediately saw the guards and maids within the palace.

  “You actually dared to come to our Royal Dragon Palace?”

  “So many paths lead to life, but you had to choose the one that leads to death.”

  Suddenly, streaks of light began to fly out from the Royal Dragon Palace. There were twenty-seven streaks of light in total, and they simultaneously released murderous auras as they joined together into a formation.

  Ning just watched calmly. He murmured to himself, “Royal Dragon Palace, eh?”

  * * *

  Book 26, Chapter 49 - The Twenty-Seven Waterfiend Lords

  The twenty-seven streaks of light came to a halt after surrounding Ji Ning.

  Ning glanced at them. The twenty-seven figures before him were all quite bizarre-looking. These were all creatures that were born as members of aquatic races. Although as World-level cultivators, they could now survive equally well on dry land or in the void of space, they still had an innate fondness for water. Ning similarly could live equally well in water or on land, but he still preferred to dwell on land.

  “Eh?” Ning’s gaze fell upon the azure-scaled creature’s form. He could sense that the painting was being carried by that creature.

  “Three paintings!” The azure-scaled creature felt a surge of excitement in his heart.

  “Everyone…” Ning spoke out.

  “Haha, are you afraid now? Too late!”

  “Kill him.”

  The twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords couldn’t be bothered to chat with Ning. They had dominated this region for quite some time and were figures of renown. They showed no mercy at all when attacking. They truly weren’t worried about this World-level cultivator at all; they had never encountered someone on their level who could withstand the twenty-seven of them.

  The weakest of the twenty-seven was a master-class World God, while the strongest was a transcendent World God!

  Boom! A black streak of lightning thundered down towards Ning.

  Whoosh! A current of freezing energy surged out to try and freeze Ning.

  Swish! An enormous web-shaped treasure swept out to capture Ning.

  Hiss! A serpentine rope-like treasure twirled out to bind Ning.

  The twenty-seven cultivators instantly launched simultaneously attacks in a very practiced manner. Generally speaking, most World-level cultivators were only able to control two powerful treasures at the same time. A situation like this was a testament to the old saying, strength in numbers. A dazzling array of spells and treasures instantly swept out towards Ning in a wave, seeking to drown him. As for the World Gods amongst the twenty-seven, they charged straight towards Ning.

  Whoooosh.

  Rings of sword-light began to spread outwards.

  Ning just stood there, surrounded by rings of sword-light. Although the freezing current of energy was able to freeze the waters of the lake as it reached out towards Ning, it instantly shattered whenever it touched the sword-light. As for the web treasures and the other treasures? They were completely stopped by Ning’s sword-light.

  “How average.” Ning couldn’t help but sigh to himself. When he had used his Unicorn’s Domain had been able to withstand Bertulu, he had been under tremendous pressure. But now that he was fighting these twenty-seven Waterfiend Lords… he felt things were far too easy. He didn’t even have to really focus on this fight; he instead simply activated his domain, allowing his sword-intent to automatically defend against the attacks.

  “Kill!”

  “Kill!”

  Nineteen of the twenty-seven were World Gods. This was quite a powerful force, after all. World God Azurekai had been able to leave the Astral Islands without anyone helping him, and he had the power of a transcendent World God, but he was merely the second most powerful figure in their group. Only sufficiently powerful individuals would be admitted into their ranks, and these nineteen World Gods were filled with tremendous power, especially after being reinforced by their formation.

  “Die.” A streak of silver light shot out at tremendous speed towards Ning.

  “Hm?” Ning held a single sword in his hands. He glanced sideways at the attack, then executed a simple sword-stance.

  Clang! Crack!

  Ning’s sword was even faster and his attack was even more profound!

  It must be understood that the Unicorn’s Domain was based off the perfect fusion of the ‘Astral’ stance and the sixth stance of the [Nameless] sword-art, the Unicorn’s Heart. The [Nameless] sword-art was a sword-art that had been left behind by an Eternal Emperor, while the Astral stance had been developed based on Violetjewel’s quintessence. Both were incredibly high-level sword-arts.

  “What?!” The silver-streak of light was shocked after this clash. Ning’s sword-light had actually brushed him across the chest!

  BOOM!

  The silver streak of light retreated at tremendous speeds. The power of Ning’s strike was simply too enormous, and he was simply too strong. With a boom, the streak of light slammed into the distant walls of the Royal Dragon Palace, causing the entire palace to tremble. The other twenty-six Waterfiend Lords were all horrified, to say nothing of the palace attendants and maids.

  The person Ning had just sent flying was the leader of the group… World God Dragonking.

  World God Dragonking was a transcendent World God who was supported by a formation with multiple other World Gods! How could he have been beaten in just a single clash!

  “Not good.”

  “We are in trouble.”

  “This opponent is too powerful.”

  The other Waterfiend Lords all felt their hearts clench.

  “Don’t fight him solo. Let’s all fight together.” Although World God Azurekai was rather shocked at how terrifyingly strong this opponent was, the allure of those three paintings was simply too great. He immediately roared mentally, “Big brother Dragonking, let’s join forces!”

  “Alright!” World God Dragonking had a decent protective divine ability. Although he had been knocked flying, he hadn’t suffered any significant injuries. “His sword-arts are quite profound. None of us are a match for him in solo combat. All of us need to fight together. There’s no way he can take us all on at once. Find a chance to tie him up and bind him!”

  “Right. Let’s all join together.”

  World God Dragonking quickly flew back to rejoin them. They were all much more somber now. They either attacked with magic treasures from afar or cautiously advanced en masse towards Ning. By now, even the most arrogant member of their group, World God Dragonking, no longer dared to act brashly.

  “The Brightshore Kingdom’s territory really is rather lawless. Is this what the almighty Hegemon desires?” Ning shook his head. He had been waylaid and accosted multiple times on his trip to this place from the Astral Islands. This time, these twenty-seven had attacked him without even bothering to talk to him. From this, one could see how unruly this kingdom was.

  By comparison… although there was also danger and combat within the territory of the Dao Alliance, it was a far more peaceful place! The Dao Alliance followed the principles of governance through inaction, but there was a reason for it. Ninety-nine percent of the territory of the Endless Territories was under the control of the Dao Alliance, and virtually all cultivators were a member of the alliance. There were simply too many cultivators! Even though they governed through inaction, they were still able to produce a few Daolords within each territory. How vast and powerful was the entire Dao Alliance?

  The main weakness of the Dao Alliance was that its cultivators were too scattered out.

  The Brightshore
Kingdom’s power was much more concentrated, even though it held much less territory. The almighty Hegemon was a Brightshore Imperial, which meant he really didn’t feel much pity or sympathy for ‘alien’ forms of life. He would use whatever means were effective in rearing a crop of powerful experts! The fatality rate in the Astral Islands was a testament to how cold and ruthless the almighty Hegemon could be.

  According to the Twelve Palaces, the reason they existed and the reason the Hegemon had created the Brightshore Kingdom was so that Imperials would be protected. Because the Twelve Palaces had become extremely powerful, the almighty Hegemon respected them and placed them on an equal level.

  Swish! Crack! Whoosh!

  Many weapons and spells flew towards Ning in a steady stream.

  Moments ago, Ning had been able to rely on his supreme sword-arts to easily defeat his opponent. However, simply relying on sword-arts was no longer enough. He would now have to actually fight.

  Boom!

  The nineteen World Gods were all sent flying backwards.

  “What?!”

  “He’s too strong.”

  “Quick, flee!”

  Slash! Sword-light flashed as the tip of Ning’s sword pierced into the body of World God Dragonking, the fastest of the twenty-seven. This time, Ning infused his strike with the power of his azureflower mist energy. Although the strike had to first pass through a layer of armor, and although World God Dragonking’s body was comparable to a Chaos treasure… his body began to tremble, then crack apart as blood began to flow from every single part of his body.

  “Die.” Ning showed no mercy at all as he delivered three consecutive furious strikes upon the body of World God Dragonking.

  “No!” World God Dragonking was utterly horrified. “How can he be this strong? He’s clearly just at the World level. How can he be this much stronger than me?!” The three consecutive blows smashed World God Dragonking’s body into dust, causing even his truesoul to dissipate.

  “How can a World-level cultivator be this strong?”

  “He’s too strong!”

  The Waterfiend Lords began to flee in utter terror. Even when they joined forces, they were still defeated in the very first clash? But of course, if they knew that Kilostar’s thousand clones weren’t able to do anything against Ji Ning, they would no longer be surprised by their defeat.

  “He’s a freak! He’s one of those horrifyingly, freakishly talented geniuses that were in the higher strata of the Astral Islands. He must’ve been admitted into the Twelve Palaces already!” The fleeing World God Azurekai was more frightened than anyone else. “And he must’ve been one of the top freaks!”

  Some of those ‘freaks’ were strong because of special treasures or secret arts, while others held enormous advantages in terms of speed and strength. Those freakishly strong cultivators who were as strong and fast as Daolords of the First Step were the most terrifying ones of all. Kilostar and Ning both belonged to this category. Even when Ning’s sword-arts had been weak, his powerful divine body had allowed him to stably reside within the fifth stratum. Once his sword-arts improved, he became strong enough that even Bertulu would have to reveal his true form in order to be certain of victory over Ning.

  “Fleeing?” After slaying World God Dragonking, Ning’s body flickered as he began to chase after World God Azurekai.

  World God Azurekai and World God Dragonking were both transcendent World Gods and the strongest members of the twenty-seven. As for the others? Ning really didn’t care about them.

  Boom! Sword-light descended.

  “No!” World God Azurekai struggled to defend, utterly terrified. But after a few strokes of sword-light, he was finished.

  World God Northrest had acquired something like the [Golden Idol] out of pure luck. In contrast, World God Azurekai had only been able to train his body to make it comparable to a top-grade Protocosmic spirit-treasure. He hadn’t even reached the Chaos treasure level. Protective divine abilities were very rare, after all, and they were extremely hard to train in. Elite protective divine abilities were even more rare!

  Soon, World God Azurekai disappeared into a cloud of dust.

  Ning glanced at the treasures he had left behind, then waved his hand and collected it all.

  As for the other Waterfiend Lords, they had all fled long ago. They didn’t even want their palace any longer. As for the attendants and maids inside the palace, they had hidden themselves in terror.

  “Time to go.” Ning soared into the skies, shooting out of the lake and into his flying vessel as he departed. Once he entered his vessel, Ning began to bind the treasures which World God Azurekai had left behind. Soon, he located the Mirrorsnow Painting he was looking for.

  * * *

  Book 26, Chapter 50 - Bloodfire Cloudfruit

  The flying shuttle flew through the clouds with Ji Ning seated on the deck, going through the treasures he had just acquired.

  “It is actually…” Ning stared at the Mirrorsnow Painting in his hands. This painting was a painting of a beautiful palace. This palace was slightly different from the painting of a palace which Ning had already acquired, but Ning immediately recognized it as being painted by Emperor Mirrorsnow… partially because of how ugly it was, but also because no one could imitate his distinct sword-intent.

  “A painting of a palace? Is this another copy of the first painting?” Ning nodded slowly. “It makes sense. I would have to have stupid good luck in order to find the fourth painting right away.”

  Ning wasn’t too surprised by the fact that this painting wasn’t the fourth painting.

  “Still… at least this painting can be sold for roughly a hundred or two hundred thousand cubes of chaos nectar. In fact, someone who desperately needs it would probably be willing to pay even more.” Ning was in quite a good mood. These paintings were popular, valuable items. Generally speaking, those who acquired the paintings wouldn’t divulge it to others! Given that there were only forty of them in all the Endless Territories, and given that some might have multiple copies of each…

  It certainly wasn’t going to be easy for him to just randomly encounter the exact piece he needed. For him to even find a copy of the first one here in the Brightshore Kingdom was already a stroke of great luck.

  “After I go to the Palace of the Sword, I’ll ask the Twelve Palaces to help me locate the fourth painting,” Ning mused to himself.

  The Twelve Palaces of the Brightshore Kingdom were on the same general level of power as the Dao Alliance.

  Last time, Ning had asked Daolord Badlands to help him buy Mirrorsnow Paintings, and Daolord Badlands had sought out the Dao Alliance to carry out this task. Because they were on a tight time schedule, the Dao Alliance didn’t really carry a large-scale search. The Twelve Palaces, however, was itself an incredibly powerful organization that held cultivators, Aeonians, and other Aberrants.

  In the future, Ji Ning would be one of their links to the Dao Alliance.

  In the future, Gorho would be one of their links to the Aeonians.

  As a result, the Twelve Palaces of Brightshore were on very good terms with many of the organizations of the Endless Territories. It might be hard for the Twelve Palaces to immediately procure a copy of the fourth Mirrorsnow Painting, but if they were given enough time they stood an extremely good chance of succeeding. But of course… that was only if you were willing to pay the price!

  Ning sent out a strand of his divine power into his new copy of the first painting, creating a divine clone within it.

  Within the palace inside the painting. A golden-robed emperor manifested atop the royal throne within the palace.

  Ning sighed upon seeing this. “Although there are slight differences, I can sense that he is similar to the golden-robed emperor within my original first painting.”

  “Oh. A while ago, it was World God Azurekai who met with me. Did you kill Azurekai?” The golden-robed emperor looked downwards at Ning.

  “Yes.” Ning nodded. “I already acquire
d other Mirrorsnow Paintings in the past. Do all ten copies of the first Mirrorsnow Painting created by Emperor Mirrorsnow hold the exact same ‘type’ of person?”

  “They do.” The golden-robed emperor smiled and nodded. He didn’t really care about Azurekai’s death. He existed for the sake of completing the Eternal Emperor’s mission, and for someone to be able to kill Azurekai meant that this person should be even stronger.

  “Let’s have a little competition,” Ning said.

  “Azurekai was never able to defeat me.” The golden-robed emperor produced a golden greatsword in his hands as he walked down the stairs towards Ning. “You said you already have other Mirrorsnow Paintings. You should know the rules.”

  “I know them.” Ning nodded.

  After a brief battle, Ning defeated the golden-robed emperor.

  Aboard the flying vessel, the true Ning revealed a look of resignation. “Although there are slight differences in the sword-arts they use, the two golden-robed emperors really do belong to the exact same ‘school’. This is of no use to my sword-arts whatsoever.”

  “What else is there?” Ning began to go through the rest of his spoils of war.

  World God Azurekai didn’t have any particularly good treasures aside from the painting. He did have an azure sword which was an Eternal weapon, but Ning was quickly able to judge that it was merely a low-grade Eternal weapon that was actually weaker than his Violetjewels! And there was only one Eternal weapon. As for the other treasures, they were negligible.

  “He did have two decent techniques.” Ning glanced through them. “Useless to me, but I can transmit them to the Three Realms.”

  “I wonder what World God Dragonking had?” Ning scanned through these treasures as well. World God Dragonking was a spear-wielder, but his spear was also merely a low-grade Eternal treasure.

  The Brightshore Kingdom was a place filled with many dangers but also many treasures and legacies. So long as you were willing to brave the dangers, you would have a good chance of acquiring powerful treasures and legacies. Some of the more powerful World-level cultivators were thus able to acquire Eternal weapons, but most of those weapons were merely low-grade.