Desolate Era

by RWX

  It was only natural that more and more cultivators would be drawn to enter it.

  “It was all a plot. In truth, in the Mortal Realm it is still possible for outstandingly talented geniuses to reach the late-stage Apotheosis level, then successfully overcome their tribulations and ascend.” The skinny elder continued, “But it truly is very, very difficult. The Mortal Realm is unfathomably vast, but only a handful of people each century can achieve their goals and ascend. That is why we all entered this Sacred Immortal Realm.”

  The skinny elder shook his hea.d “Although we are imprisoned here, it is still true that elemental energy in this world is far denser than it was in ours. It isn’t too hard to reach the late-stage of the Apotheosis level. However, once those devils notice us reaching that stage, they’ll immediately strike and kill us! Thus, we have to accumulate as much power as possible. We need to build up so much power that as soon as we reach the late-stage of the Apotheosis level, the Celestial Tribulation will immediately descend. By then, those devils won’t be able to do anything to us.”

  Ning and the others were quite curious.

  “So as long as you cause a Celestial Tribulation, you’ll be out of danger?”

  “Once the Celestial Tribulation comes, they would never dare to interfere! All they would do is stand off to one side and watch. Even if that devil lord came himself, he would just watch from afar. Anyone who succeeds in the tribulation would immediately ascend to the legendary Immortal Lands,” the skinny elder said.

  ……

  As Ning and the others questioned him, they continued to discuss this matter amongst themselves.

  Generally speaking, in places like the Three Realms the so-called ‘Celestial Tribulation’ might pose a threat to ordinary cultivators, but it definitely wouldn’t be able threaten a World-level cultivator! A World-level cultivator would be capable of annihilating the entire Three Realms; how could a mere tribulation be able to do anything to him? By the same principle, it was impossible for a Celestial Tribulation to threaten a Daolord! Even if a Celestial Tribulation did descend, a Daolord could forcibly intervene and completely destroy the tribulation.

  “I have a possible answer,” Firesurge whispered. “Ever since we entered the Archaeus region, we’ve been hearing stories of ‘ascension’ from the continents that we visit. Do you think it’s possible that there’s a Daolord in every single continent? That they will all go so far as to spend time and effort setting up an estate-world to protect them?”

  “What are you saying?” Solewind looked at him.

  “I imagine you’ve all noticed this by now as well. After we entered the Archaeus region, we’ve been able to sense that its power permeates every inch of this region,” Firesurge said. “The only reason we aren’t crushed by it is because we bear Archaeus medallions.”

  Ning and the others nodded. It was true that the power of the Archaeus region was omnipresent here.

  “Then… it is entirely possible that the ‘Celestial Tribulation’ sent down upon the countless living creatures of the many continents here were all sent down by the Archaeus region itself,” Firesurge said.

  “Right.”

  “Right, that has to be it.”

  Their eyes all instantly lit up as they came to understand this matter.

  The Celestial Tribulation… it only came about as a result of the natural laws of Heaven and Earth.

  In a chaosworld such as the Three Realms, the ‘laws’ in question were the laws of the chaoworld itself, and thus it was the chaosworld itself which sent down the Celestial Tribulations.

  But here in the Archaeus region, those vast continents did not have any natural laws that belonged to the continents themselves. Logically speaking, there was no way for the continents themselves to send down Celestial Tribulations. Which meant… it had to be the entire Archaeus region which sent down the tribulations!

  “Because the tribulations are sent by the Archaeus region itself, not even Daolords would dare to interfere. If they did, they would be punished by the power of the entire Archaeus region,” Firesurge said. The reason why someone like Ning would be able to destroy the Celestial Tribulation of the Three Realms was because he wasn’t afraid of any reprisal from the Three Realms. But a reprisal from the Archaeus region… even Eternal Emperors would fear such a thing.

  The Archaeus region was the very core of this entire alternate universe! A strike from it would essentially represent a strike from the entire universe itself! Who would dare to withstand such a blow?

  “It makes perfect sense.” Skyfire Brightshore nodded.

  “There is a high probability that you are correct. I’d say the chances are at least 80%. But there’s another 20% probability as well… perhaps all this talk of ‘ascension’ is nothing more than a cruel lie meant to give these cultivators hope. Once they lose all hope, they probably won’t be able to keep on living,” Solewind said.

  Whoosh. Ning and the other four silently emerged from that small jail cell. They continued to walk through the enormous prison, with no one able to detect them.

  “GREETINGS, MASTER!”

  Suddenly, every inch of the prison exploded with raucous chants. Every single one of the million-plus golems obediently knelt down, and the sound of their knees hitting the ground echoed throughout the prison.

  “He’s coming.”

  “The lord of the devils is coming.”

  “N-no…”

  “He’s come again.”

  When the prisoners trapped within those countless jail cells within the prison heard the noise, they instantly became filled with terror. Each time this ‘lord of the devils’ arrived, he would bring them nightmarish torment that was even worse than what the devils were able to dispense. Everyone’s breathing became ragged and chaotic, and even the aura of hatred, resentment, and madness which permeated the place became much stronger than before.

  Ning’s face turned pale, as did that of the other four.

  “Hmph.” A cold snort rang out, followed by an awe-inspiringly powerful surge of heartforce that swept out and covered the entire prison. At the same time, some faint green mist began to seep towards every single cell.

  But suddenly, the green mist came to an immediate halt.

  Even that wave of heartforce trembled.

  “Who are the five of you?!” A furious and stunned mental query rang out.

  Ning’s group of five was standing there in the hallways. They were able to easily ensure the golems were unable to detect them, but there was no way for them to avoid the heartforce scan of a Daolord.

  * * *

  Book 28, Chapter 9 - Slaying a Daolord

  Ji Ning and the other four felt a bit frantic. All this was happening too fast.

  “Senior.” Heartlord Solewind sent mentally, “We came on the command of our master to enter the Archaeus region and test ourselves here. Alas, we accidentally entered the Mortal Realm, then rode the spacetime transfer array in preparing to depart from this place. We never imagined that the Sacred Immortal Realm was a place which we could not exit, and so we began to search for a way which would allow us to leave this place. We have no intentions of being your enemy, senior. I’d like to ask you to permit us to leave the Sacred Immortal Realm.”

  “Oh? Five World-level cultivators and five Archaeus medallions… such wealth!” The stooped Daolord who stood at the entrance of the prison sent his voice out echoing with the ears of the five. “Letting you leave isn’t completely out of the question. However, you have to agree to one of my conditions.”

  “Pray tell, senior,” Solewind immediately said.

  Without actually fighting them, no one would be able to tell how strong Ning’s group was!

  In the Archaeus region, there were some Daolords who would slay any World-level cultivators they saw and steal their Archaeus medallions. However, the majority of Daolords were unwilling to lower themselves and rob juniors, nor were they willing to offend the sect standing behind those World-level cultivators. G
enerally speaking, World-level cultivators within the Archaeus region all had significant backgrounds.

  “I need you to swear a lifeblood oath that once you leave this place, you will never let anyone else learn a single thing about what you experienced in the Mortal Realm and the Sacred Immortal Realm. If you accept, I’ll let you leave this place,” the stooped Daolord said.

  “A lifeblood oath?” Solewind immediately smiled. “That’s simple.”

  “Careful!”

  The nearby Prince Greatjoy’s face tightened as light suddenly shot out of his eyes.

  Moments later, the faces of Solewind, Ji Ning, Skyfire Brightshore, and Firesurge all changed. They, too, could sense a terrifying strong surge of power descend from the heavens towards the prison. For this surge of power to descend from the heavens was a clear size that it came from the grand formation which protected the entire Sacred Immortal Realm.

  “Kill!” Firesurge had an ugly look on his face.

  “Kill!” Prince Greatjoy bellowed out the same word.

  The five of them attacked simultaneously!

  ……

  The stooped Daolord was at the entrance to the enormous prison, and his eyes were unspeakably cold and grim. The skies above him suddenly lit up as the previously ethereal-looking formation was activated, causing an enormous black serpent to appear out of nowhere and descend from the heavens at tremendous speeds as it shot towards the prison.

  Just now, the stooped Daolord had intentionally been wasting some time chatting with them to buy himself enough time to unleash the power of the formation.

  “All those who discover the existence of the Sacred Immortal Realm must perish.” A murderous look was in the stooped Daolord’s eyes, and the enormous serpent moved so quickly that it appeared before him in a flash. However… immediately afterwards, the stooped Daolord’s face turned pale. “WHAT?!”

  His godsense was showing him what those five World-level cultivators were doing… and they were absolutely terrifying.

  Of the five, Ji Ning and Heartlord Solewind were the fastest to attack.

  “Heartworld, descend!” Solewind’s red robes fluttered as he glared towards the stooped Daolord coldly, and he showed no mercy at all when he attacked.

  Boom! Boom! Boom!

  His heartworld projection instantly descended upon this area, causing the entire prison to boom violently. It was as though something incredibly heavy had smashed down upon it, and it was smashed apart as easily as a piece of tofu. This enormous prison was capable of holding countless cultivators prisoner, but for people on Ning’s level it was incredibly fragile. Previously, they had been deep within the prison while the Daolord had been at the entrance, which meant they were separated by many different gates. It was simpler to just destroy the entire damn thing.

  “What?!”

  ‘B-but…”

  Countless cultivators gawked in amazement at this scene. The jail cells they had been trapped in were all crushed into tiny pieces, but they themselves were left completely unscathed. This was a testament to how precise and masterful Heartlord Solewind was!

  Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

  The million-plus golems were all knocked flat onto the ground under the crushing pressure of the heartworld projection. They weren’t able to resist in the slightest.

  “An Exalted Immortal!”

  “A Grand Immortal!”

  “The heavens have finally come to our aid!”

  Countless cultivators stared at the red-robed Heartlord Solewind, who stood there like a veritable god. Heartlord Solewind seemed to have become the center of this entire world, and he stared at that distant, stooped Daolord as he sent the full weight of his heartworld projection crashing downwards.

  “A Heartforce Cultivator?” The stooped figure was stunned.

  “BREAK!”

  Next to Heartlord Solewind was the white-robed Ji Ning, and his eyes were equally cold. Rumble. A terrifying mixture of electric light and watery light appeared around him. The seven types of Dao lightning and seven types of Dao water transformed into a series of divine swords. The many divine swords moved incredibly fast, quickly sweeping towards the distant stooped Daolord and forming a terrifying domain that was like a vortex of darkness which ground away at his form.

  This was the Yin-Yang Sword Domain!

  “A sword cultivator? How could he be as terrifying as this?!” The stooped Daolord was now completely flabbergasted, and he hurriedly controlled his black serpent and used it to protect himself.

  The black serpent howled furiously as it struggled to ‘survive’. The surrounding Yin-Yang Sword Domain was like a deadly fishing net that had been tightly wrapped around the serpent’s form and furiously tearing away at it.

  “Great Annihilation!” Prince Greatjoy had a similarly icy look on his face as he immediately unleashed his most powerful killer attack. His twin palms suddenly glittered with dazzling golden light as they instantly pierced through the skies, striking with invincible and deadly intent towards the stooped Daolord.

  BOOM! When the enormous golden palms struck down upon the black serpent, the black serpent tried to endure the power… but with a rumble, it began to shake and then crack apart.

  “Ahhhh!” The stooped Daolord let out a furious, terrified scream.

  “Kill him!”

  “Die.”

  Skyfire Brightshore and Waterlord Firesurge simultaneously struck out. The former struck out with a blazing red tail while the latter sent out two enormous entwined water dragons that shot out. The black serpent was already at the brink of collapse due to Ning’s Yin-Yang Sword Intent and Prince Greatjoy’s attack. Now, it completely broke apart… and the power of the Yin-Yang Sword Domain and the other attacks all simultaneously thundered down upon the Daolord’s body. The Daolord did have other treasures he could use to defend himself, but he was completely unable to do so.

  Boom!

  He was completely, totally annihilated!

  ……

  Utter silence.

  The countless cultivators all just stared in a dazed fashion. That invincibly powerful and utterly terrifying ‘lord of devils’, a man so strong that he made their souls quiver when they looked at him… had been instantly killed?

  It really had been just an instant.

  The five of them had only struck out a single time each! Ning had only made use of his Yin-Yang Sword Domain; he wasn’t even given enough time to launch a second attack before the Daolord had died!

  “We… we…” The countless cultivators stared at Ning’s group.

  “Bind them.” Heartlord Solewind swept the area with his gaze. His heartworld projection had the appearance of an endless range of blazing mountains. As for the million-plus golems that were being suppressed by it, the death of their master had resulted in them instantly becoming ownerless. Thus, Heartlord Solewind was able to bind them all right away.

  “Although these golems are fairly low-level, there’s certainly a great deal of them. Let’s split them up into five portions,” Heartlord Solewind sent.

  The other four didn’t really care that much and so just waved their hands to accept it.

  “This Daolord was really quite weak. I felt as though he was merely an ordinary Daolord of the First Step.” Prince Greatjoy shook his head. “If it wasn’t for the formation itself being incredibly powerful, brother Darknorth’s sword-intent domain alone probably would’ve wiped him out.”

  Ning and the others all nodded. This Daolord had been very weak.

  When Ji Ning, Solewind, and Greatjoy had attacked, their attacks had been blocked by the black serpent. In the end, it had been the attacks of Skyfire Brightshore and Firesurge which had caused the black serpent to collapse! As for the Daolord himself? He wasn’t able to resist them in the slightest.

  “I wonder… is there perhaps a second Daolord here in the Sacred Immortal Realm?” Prince Greatjoy was worried. “This one was far too weak, while the formation itself was rather strong.”

 
“It’s quite rare for there to be a Daolord assigned to watch guard over a continent. Do you really think there would be a second one?” Solewind shook his head. “As for the power of the formation… perhaps this Daolord purchased it from somewhere else. Truly powerful Daolords generally wouldn’t deign to do things like torture and torment mortal cultivators. Only the weaker Daolords would generally do such a thing. If there really was another Daolord here, he probably would’ve sent his godsense over to investigate long ago. If he did so, there’s no way it would’ve been able to avoid interacting with my heartworld projection.”

  “Mm.” Firesurge nodded in agreement. “These golems all belonged to the Daolord we just defeated. I think there probably was just one.”

  “It doesn’t matter if there was one or two,” Ning said. “Either way, we still need to go into the Daolord’s estate in the very center of the continent! The formation remains active, after all, and the core of the formation is probably located within the Daolord’s estate. Only if we go there will we be able to disrupt the formation and leave this place.”

  “Let’s go to the Daolord’s estate.” Prince Greatjoy nodded. “If there are no other Daolords, things will be much simpler. If there is another Daolord, then we’ll just have to give him a fight. There’s no other options for us!”

  * * *

  Book 28, Chapter 10 - Karmic Virtue

  If they wished to leave the Sacred Immortal Realm, they had to first enter the Daolord’s estate.

  Swoosh.

  Ji Ning and the rest of the five transformed into streaks of light that flew into the air. Space rippled around them as they then disappeared.

  Only now did these countless cultivators who had just been freed from torture, from their doom of eternal torment, finally come back to their senses. They had been too stunned by the death of that ‘lord of the devils’.