Desolate Era

by RWX

  ……

  “Palace Lord Dawnstar is the undisputed most powerful Daolord of the Twelve Palaces. Even if we factor in all the other organizations of the Endless Territories, he would be ranked the second most powerful Daolord. He personally tutored all of you for many years. If only one of you gains a slot, even I will feel ashamed on your behalf.” Daolord Yinwind’s voice was filled with icy arrogance. This was his natural, innate disposition.

  When he was a young mortal, he had been kidnapped and dragged into an incredibly powerful but evil sect, filled with all sorts of viledoers and evil men. But of course, this was something that happened long ago, and by now a simple breath from him would be enough to wipe out that evil sect. He was now a Deputy Palace Lord of the Saber Palace, and his name and reputation held tremendous influence within the Endless Territories.”

  “Don’t worry, Lord Yinwind.”

  “Forget two, let’s try for all four!”

  The Saberlords of the Saber Palace were brimming with confidence.

  ……

  The sixty-seven waiting World-level challengers all received word from their respective elders. Some headed for the Daolord Cloudworld immediately, while some calmed themselves and planned on making the challenge on the final day.

  The trials of the Daolord Cloudworld could actually be completed quite quickly. Generally speaking, half a day was enough.

  ……

  The Heartforce Palace.

  The Palace of the Heart was extremely quiet. There were pitifully few cultivators at either the World level or the Daolord level, and only one of them had been acknowledged by the Heart Pagodas: Heartlord Solewind.

  “I’m the only one taking part in the Heart Palace. How lonely.” A bald, red-vested youth whose face was covered with strange, crimson divine tattoos smiled as he murmured to himself, “Little sister, just watch and see how your big brother takes on the Daolord Cloudworld.”

  He strolled forward in a relaxed manner, and with each step he took a fiery divine crow would manifest beneath his feet. The line between reality and illusions was blurred around him. Clearly, he was training even when he was just walking. He was an incredibly famous figure in the Twelve Palaces, not because he had accomplished any special feats, simply because he was a member of the Palace of the Heart! Although the Heart Palace had pitifully few members, every single member was frighteningly strong.

  Bertulu focused on the Dao of Light, using heartforce as a support skill. Heartlord Solewind, however, had truly focused all of his efforts on his skills as a Heartforce Cultivator. His accomplishments in this area vastly outstripped Bertulu’s, who had only reached the utter apex of power at the World level in the Dao of Light.

  ……

  “The almighty Hegemon personally gave me pointers in the past. As for this opportunity he is offering… I, Greatjoy, shall definitely grasp it.” This was a youth who was dressed in strange black imperial robes and who wore a crown on his head. He was the most powerful World-level expert in the Palace of Spacetime, and he referred to himself as Prince Greatjoy. Although on the surface he was rather calm and stately when interacting with others, he was actually an extremely wild, berserk man.

  “The Daolord Cloudworld, eh? Hmph.” Prince Greatjoy flew out of the Spacetime Palace and headed straight towards the Daolord Cloudworld.

  ……

  More than half of the World-level experts immediately flew towards their Daolord Cloudworld as soon as they received the news. Every single one of the Twelve Palaces had their own Daolord Cloudworld, and the difficulty level in each was identical.

  Swoosh!

  Ning descended into the Armaments Gorge of the Sword Palace.

  “Darknorth.” The two guardians of the gorge, Swordfive and Swordsix, both looked at Ning.

  “Swordfive. Swordsix.” Ning said in a rather humble manner, “I’ve been acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas. I believe I now have the chance to choose a single treasure from the Armaments Gorge, so long as it doesn’t cost more than a million cubes of chaos nectar. Right?”

  “Right.” Swordfive nodded. “The Sword Palace has always been very generous towards World-level cultivators who are acknowledged by the Sword Pagodas.”

  “Swordfive, can you follow me inside?” Ning asked.

  “I can.” Swordfive nodded. He surmised that Ning probably wanted to carry out a major business transaction. There was no other reason for Ning to ask him to go in.

  The Armaments Gorge was filled with countless treasures, but Ning went straight towards one of the corners in the far back.

  There was a seemingly ordinary black bottle placed atop one of the tables in the back. This black bottle, however, was priced at 1.5 million cubes of chaos nectar! This bottle was a magic treasure known as the ‘Godwater Flagon of the Seven Flags’, and it contained seven different types of Dao water. These seven types of Dao water could be used to form an enormous formation known as the Seven Flags Formation which could easily annihilate almost any opponent.

  “Can I take this flagon?” Ning asked.

  Swordfive slowly shook his head. “You aren’t permitted to choose anything worth more than a million cubes. If you insist on choosing this item, you have to pay an extra five hundred thousand cubes.”

  “Done.” Ning nodded.

  There were quite a few treasures in the Armaments Gorge which involved Dao water, and most of them were treasures which were forged out of Dao water. The Godwater Flagon of the Seven Flags was the most suitable choice for Ning.

  “Need anything else?” Swordfive had heard that Ning had sold off a Bloodfire Cloudfruit for 1.8 million cubes.

  “I need some Dao lightning as well.” Ning grinned.

  ……

  Ning departed from the Armaments Gorge, then transformed into a streak of light that flew back towards his own Immortal estate.

  “Master.” Su Youji and World God Pillsaint both came out to greet him.

  “No one is allowed to disturb me. No matter who comes, they are not permitted to see me.” Ning gave them some instructions, then went into his private room.

  Ning sat down in the lotus position within this private room, then placed a black bottle, an azure cauldron, and a grey gourd next to him.

  This time, he had purchased seven types of Dao water and five types of Dao lightning. He had paid 2.1 million cubes of chaos nectar for them! Factoring in the million cubes of credit which the Sword Palace had bestowed upon him, he actually had used up more than three million cubes!

  “With these items, I should now be able to make myself much more powerful.” Ning was quite calm as he summoned the technique for creating the [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] into his mind.

  * * *

  Book 27, Chapter 18 - Training

  Ji Ning willed the ethereal lightning to fly out of the gray gourd. It seemed unremarkable, but in reality it was terrifyingly powerful. Under Ning’s control, it swirled around Ning’s body and then seeped into it. For someone with a weaker divine body, such an act was akin to suicide. It must be understood that this was Dao lightning! Someone with a weak body would have it instantly reduced to ashes.

  Long ago, when Ning was still an Empyrean God, his body was incapable of enduring the power of the Ninehorn Lightning Serpents. In order to tame and control one of them, Ning had to first use Elder-level lightning serpents to repeatedly enter his body and completely transform it into a lightning-attribute body. Ning died multiple times before being able to successfully complete the transformation process. Only then was he able to survive alongside the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent and draw it into his body, storing it in the divine rune of a lightning serpent egg.

  And now?

  Ning had completely mastered the [Golden Idol], making his divine body comparable to top-grade Dao treasures! This Dao lightning was completely incapable of harming Ning.

  Whoosh.

  After the ethereal lightning entered Ning’s body, it seemed to be affected by a powerful gravita
tional force. With a swoosh, it was drawn towards Ning’s Jindan chaosworld, towards the location where one of nine lightning essences was located. This lightning essence was similarly ethereal, and the two seemed to have come from the same source. The Dao lightning voluntarily merged into the lightning essence, rapidly surging into it and drawing upon the Chaos lightning energy which had previously been present.

  “I’ve finished absorbing the first Dao lightning.” Ning nodded slowly.

  The reason why Daolord Allgod had separated the [Novessence Thunder] into the upper part and the lower part, despite the fact that he created the technique as a Daolord who didn’t need Chaos lightning, was because he needed to establish the nine lightning essence foundations. The lightning foundations were similar to the ‘lightning serpent egg’ which Ning once used to store and transform the Ninehorn Lightning Serpent. The lightning foundations were the places where the lightning would stay and ‘live’. This was their home!

  The lightning foundations which Daolord Allgod had created were countless times more profound than the ‘lightning serpent egg’. They were tremendously attractive towards Dao lightning, and Dao lightning naturally ‘liked’ to live within them.

  “Next.” Ning willed the next one to enter.

  Four streams of Dao lightning instantly began to surge out from the four handles on the azure cauldron in front of Ning. Under Ning’s control, the four streams of lightning surged into his body. These four streams of Dao lightning were similarly drawn into four different lightning essence foundations and were quickly swallowed up. They now had their own foundations where they belonged.

  “And the Elementum Waterflame Gourd.” Finally, Ning produced the gourd which he had been using for quite some time. He used the exact same technique to draw those two streams of Dao lightning into the foundations inside his body.

  There were a total of nine lightning essence foundations! These nine foundations were meant to hold nine streaks of Dao lightning or nine streaks of Chaos lightning which belonged to the same ‘type’. Right now, Ning had seven of those streaks of Dao lightning! These seven Dao lightnings were the seven cheapest ones he could find, but they had still cost Ning a total of 2.1 million cubes of chaos nectar! As for the seven types of Dao water, they had cost Ning a total of 1.5 million cubes of chaos nectar.

  The Dao lightning was more powerful and thus preferred by cultivators, resulting in a slightly higher price than the Dao water.

  Ning had purchased nine types of Chaos water shortly after arriving at the Sword Palace. As a result, his body already had nine types of water essence foundations within it, and he used them to absorb those streams of Dao water, completely drawing them inside.

  “The transfer is complete.” Ning was a bit excited. “I wonder if I’ll be able to start training in the lower part now.”

  To actually absorb the Dao lightning didn’t really signify anything, as Ning could control them regardless of whether they were inside his body or inside a magic treasure! In this sense, the location didn’t matter.

  “According to the notes regarding the lower part of the [Novessence Thunder], only a Samsara Daolord can train in the technique because Dao lightning is thousands of times more explosive and unruly than Chaos lightning. The Immortal energy of World-level cultivators simply cannot cope with it, preventing them from training in this technique.” Ning’s eyes were shining. When he had first started on the [Novessence Thunder] using Chaos lightning, he had failed numerous types in his attempts to master it. In the end, he had to rely on his azureflower mist energy to succeed.

  Using the azureflower mist energy to control the Chaos lightning had been hundreds of times easier than using his own Immortal energy.

  “The reason why only Daolords can train in the lower part is because the Immortal energy of World-level cultivators is too weak. However, I can use the azureflower mist energy instead. That energy should be comparable to the energy of a Daolord of the First Step’s. According to the manual, a Daolord of the First Step has a chance to complete the second stage of the technique. In fact, he even has a shot at the third stage!” Ning felt quite eager.

  The second stage referred to the secret art needed to completely merge two of the streaks of Dao lightning together. This would instantly cause the power of the Dao lightning to skyrocket!

  Upon reaching the second stage, those two streaks of Dao lightning would probably be even more powerful than seven streaks of Dao lightning and seven streams of Dao water combined! Right now, Ning was relying on superior numbers in order to achieve victory. And yet, all his Dao lightning and Dao water combined was merely on par with the second stage.

  “If I can master at least the second stage for the Dao lightning, then do the same for the Dao water, then use them along with the rest of my lightning and water… the power should be quite extraordinary.” Ning was filled with eagerness.

  “Time to begin.” Using the azureflower mist energy to reinforce his physical strength in battle was the most basic way of using it. Using it to train in secret arts? That was far more impressive! This was a form of energy comparable to a Daolord’s energy, after all!

  Whoosh! Whoosh!

  The azureflower mist energy spread out in accordance with the [Novessence Thunder], streatching out like an invisible hand that quickly latched onto the Watersmoke Lightning and the Firecloud Lightning. These were the two types of Dao lightning that were the easiest to control.

  “Hahaha… I’m completely able to control them! My suspicions were correct! My azureflower mist energy can be used to control Dao lightning as if it was Daolord energy.” Ning began to grow excited. This meant that he would be able to realize his ambitions! The two streaks of Dao lightning were innately explosive, but the power of the azureflower mist energy was still able to control them.

  They followed Ning’s will and began to transform nonstop as the secret art began to take shape.

  However, the later parts of this process grew increasingly complicated. The [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] techniques were techniques that were akin to applying alchemy and pill-forging principles to lightning and water. The lightning would be constantly adjusted and harmonized, causing its power to eventually be completely transformed in nature! Pill-makers needed to have complete control over their pills, and Ning needed to have similarly exquisite control over his lightning.

  The process grew more and more difficult.

  BOOM!

  It had been just the slightest slip-up, but the entire secret art broke apart and the two streaks of Dao lightning instantly split apart, each returning to its own lightning essence foundation.

  “My azureflower mist energy is clearly far more powerful than the Immortal energy of a World-level cultivator. I trust that it is no weaker than a Daolord’s, and my soul is also comparable to a Daolord’s soul. I refuse to believe I can’t do this!” Ning tried again.

  Once.

  Twice.

  Thrice…

  Ning tried twenty times in a row, only to fail each time.

  Ning was stunned.

  “Let me try the Dao water. Maybe I’ll be able to succeed with the Dao water.” Ning once more gave it a try, this time using the Dao water. It was clearly much easier to control Dao water than Dao lightning, as water was less explosive and wild, but as the process went on it failed once more at the very end. Multiple, repeated failures resulted in Ning giving up.

  “Why do I keep failing?” Ning carefully went through his memories regarding these two techniques.

  These two techniques…

  The [Novessence Thunder] and the [Novessence Water] were created based on Daolord Allgod’s insights into the process of alchemy and artificing. The process allowed him to take exquisite control over lightning and water, using them to form tremendously powerful secret arts. After one became a Daolord of the Fourth Step, it would be possible for one to master the ninth stage and complete the process. Daolords of the First Step generally could master the second stage,
and they even had a chance at mastering the third stage.

  “Why can’t I even master the second stage? Controlling them feels incredibly taxing.”

  Ning suddenly stared blankly.

  “I understand! Daolord Allgod was a Verge-level Daolord when he mastered the ninth stage for the lightning and water… but who was he? He was a master of alchemy and artificing, a true grandmaster of countless Daos. He was incredibly skilled in this respect! I, however, know nothing about alchemy or artificing whatsoever. I’m completely relying on the strength of the azureflower mist energy to brute-force the lightning and water into cooperating. It only makes sense that this sort of brute-force method will result in repeated failures.” Ning finally understood.

  Alchemy and artificing were not simple tasks. They were arts that required tremendous levels of skill and expertise. World God Pillsaint was an incredibly skilled grandmaster in alchemy, but how many other World-level cultivators were similarly talented in this regard? Alchemy truly was an art filled with countless mysteries, but Ning knew nothing of it at all. All he could do was rely on his azureflower mist energy to brute-force things…

  “Ugh…” Ning shook his head.

  If he could master the second stage for the lightning and the water, then when he used them as well as his other types of Dao lightning and Dao water in a formation to attack an opponent, he would probably be able to slay an ordinary Daolord of the First Step in one blow! Even if that person didn’t die, he would be heavily injured. A few successive blows would ensure that the Daolord would definitely perish.

  This was why the azureflower mist energy was so incredible and special. It gave World-level cultivators a chance to master techniques they simply shouldn’t be able to… but alas, Ning didn’t understand enough about alchemy or artificing.

  “Too late to start training in these areas now. There’s no time. I have to try out the Daolord Cloudworld soon,” Ning mused. “But I just so happen to have an expert alchemist by my side. After the challenge is completed, I’ll ask Pillsaint for some advice! If I learn some basic alchemy skills, I’ll probably be able to rely on the experience I gained to make some progress in mastering the second stage of these two techniques.”